Business Assurance Defined

Assurance

defined by Merriam-Webster http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/assurance Main Entry: as·sur·ance
Pronunciation: &-’shur-&n(t)s
Function: noun
1 : the act or action of assuring : as a : PLEDGE, GUARANTEE b : the act of conveying real property; also : the instrument by which it is conveyed c chiefly British : INSURANCE
2 : the state of being assured : as a : SECURITY b : a being certain in the mind assurance of salvation> c : confidence of mind or manner : easy freedom from self-doubt or uncertainty; also : excessive self-confidence : BRASHNESS, PRESUMPTION
3 : something that inspires or tends to inspire confidence assurances of goodwill>

synonym see CONFIDENCE

Business Assurance

Practice areas appear to have originated in the UK specifically in the financial auditing area.

Historical Applications

• Financial Auditing and Reporting
• Risk Assessment and Mitigation
• Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
• Controls and Reporting
• Security assessments

Modern Application Thoughts

Current applications of the term Business Assurance appear to be aligned with activities with the telecommunications and service provider industries. Application of the term captures the spirit of the historical activities as well as other telecom/service provider activities commonly referred to as Operational Support Systems (OSS) and Business Support Systems (BSS).

Business Assurance isn’t a specific technology, solution or activity. It’s the portfollio of all things done to assure a business operates properly. How a business defines operating properly is influenced by both internal and external entities and is very industry specific. Public, private, regulated or unregulated companies all have very different requirements. Common Business Assurance activity sub-categories have been created to help differentiate focus areas, products and technologies.

• Business Service Management (BSM)
• Business Activity Monitoring (BAM)
• Business Technology Optimization (BTO)
• Business Process Management (BPM)
• Business Information Assurance (BIA)
• Information Lifecycle Management (ILM)
• Supply Chain Management (SCM)
• Infrastructure Management (IM)

Vendors Promoting Business Assurance Solutions

• IBM/Micromuse
• EMC/SMARTS
• BMC
• HP
• CA
• Telcordia
• Others

Notes for Thought:

• Revenue Assurance– is this the driver for Business Assurance? If we focus on revenue and all things that a business does to drive revenue up and costs out – is this the real goal of BA?
• Are Revenue Assurance concepts widespred throughout all industries or is this really a telecom/communications company type concept? Practices: Telcordia, Accenture, etc.
• Should there be a “Chief Assurance Officer” or “Office of Business Assurance” function in companies today? Is this just an extension of a risk, disaster recovery (ITSCM) or audit function? Are they different today?