3 Ways to Get Your IT and Cyber Budget Approved By The Board
Once you’re done with your budget proposal, it’s up to the board to approve or reject it. While you can’t do much once you submit your budget proposal, you can present the budget in a way that would increase the chances of getting it approved.
By communicating your budget clearly, with information that is relevant and easy to understand by the board, you are making it easier for the board to approve your IT budget. Here are 3 ways to get your IT budget approved.
1. Give accurate figures for what you want to spend
The importance of proper quantification is often overlooked when making budget proposals. Most IT budgets focus solely on the specific licensing costs of solutions. But the truth is you need to first quantify how much the risk will cost the business.
THEN you need to include the amount of time you will spend in manpower, licencing costs, cost of experts, and even the efficiency of proposed threat mitigation solutions. By presenting the board with accurate and upfront figures, you are minimising nasty surprises and developing trust with the board, thereby helping you get your IT budget approved.
2. Show ROI
Cyber and IT don’t often ‘make money’ however they almost always protect the revenue generation of the company which is the true ROI. You need to show this in your presentation.
It’s important to keep in mind that decision-makers prefer to be presented with information they can easily understand. Since they mostly deal with financials, showing them ROI means presenting them with the type of data they want and need to make proper decisions.
3. Communicate risk ownership
Every year, digital threats increase in intensity and complexity, and you are bound to face a high-risk threat. If you are a CISO or IT manager, it is crucial to avoid these risks and work on effectively communicating it to decision-makers. By making them responsible for this risk, you are minimising the chance of scapegoating.
However, in order to achieve that and get your IT budget approved, the risk needs to be communicated properly to the board.
By using a cyber risk quantification tool like Boardish, you are able to get quicker IT and cyber budget approvals as well as showing exactly how much each cyber and IT risk will cost the business. Then, with Boardish, you can translate risk solutions into financials and show the board real figures.
By communicating in ROI, you present complex IT and cyber solutions in financial terms, which speeds up the decision-making process. Boardish allows you to enter multiple solutions and control their effectiveness, as well as figures such as time spent, per-user licenses, and expert costs.
Doing this, allows you to present the board with accurate solution costs, which helps you get your IT and cyber budget approved. Effective and accurate communication ensures proper risk ownership, making it clear that decision-makers are responsible for it and not CISO or IT managers.
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