Happy New Year, ISACA community! The year ahead holds great promise, but before we turn our attention to all there is to look forward to in 2022, let’s briefly reflect on how we’ve reached this point.
In large part, 2021 for ISACA was about putting in place a sturdy technological foundation on which our community can grow. It was a year of big challenges and bigger successes. We retired a 20-year-old association management system and transitioned to a new platform that is much more modern and functional, and will benefit ISACA members, website users and staff for years to come. There are always challenges for all involved when implementing such a large project, but the alternative of maintaining the status quo was unsustainable. We will continue to improve upon this new system throughout the year in order to bring greater value to you as a more modern, technology-enabled association.
Even as we overhauled our technological infrastructure and dealt with the lingering pandemic, ISACA delivered so much more for our community throughout 2021. Here is a sampling of the many highlights from the year, all designed to ensure our learning resources are even more relevant in making ISACA members leaders at work:
- Nearly 90 percent of members expressed satisfaction with their ISACA membership, including a record level who are “very satisfied,” according to ISACA member survey data. Nine in 10 members would also recommend ISACA membership to colleagues.
- ISACA members identified the range of CPE opportunities, keeping abreast of current issues in the profession and gaining skills to advance their career among the most valuable components of what ISACA provides.
- We introduced the new Certified in Emerging Technology™ (CET) and Information Technology Certified Associate™ (ITCA) stackable certifications, providing credentialing pathways for early-career professionals and others looking to sharpen their knowledge of IT fundamentals and emerging technology.
- We launched the Certificate of Cloud Auditing Knowledge (CCAK™) credential in partnership with the Cloud Security Alliance.
- We wrapped up the CDPSE early adoption campaign and launched the CDPSE exam after a successful beta period.
- We hosted an all-virtual Global Leadership Summit (GLS) in August. The event was attended by 550 chapter leaders from more than 200 ISACA chapters. GLS content was delivered three times live every day, enabling participation across time zones.
- We shared new chapter toolkits, including ones geared specifically toward providing resources around credentials and government relations/advocacy.
- We designed, developed and launched 13 new online courses and 15 instructor-led training/virtual instructor-led training courses to support the ITCA, CET, CCAK, CRISC and CDPSE certificates and certifications.
- We generated renewed interest in CMMI across the globe, including welcoming new customers such as Google and NASA, and initiated ongoing discussions with the US FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) and its Quality Management Maturity (QMM) program.
- We published three COBIT focus areas and a new edition of the IT Control Objectives for Sarbanes-Oxley, as well as 14 white papers and three audit programs.
- We transitioned several in-person conferences and events to virtual and hybrid formats to accommodate lingering health and safety challenges from the pandemic.
- Our One In Tech foundation presented Diversity, Equity and Inclusion(DEI) learning through a webinar series at the ISACA Conferences North America, Oceania and Europe, as well as at the EVOLVE emerging technology conference.
- We introduced a member speaker series as a new member benefit.
- We introduced new ISACA Live video streaming on LinkedIn so we could interact with our members more directly and provide commentary on the latest emerging tech issues and ISACA updates.
All of the progress noted above has positioned ISACA for even greater things going forward. Everything that we did in 2021 – and will build upon in the new year – is about strengthening value for our members and credential-holders, and making ISACA the association people and organizations turn to for strengthening trust in our digital world.
What am I proud of above all else is what ISACA means to our members, who frequently express how much the opportunities for continuous learning, career advancement and being part of a dynamic global network make a difference in their lives. As we move into the new year, we are laser focused on being even more relevant and impactful for our members in everything that we do.
Stay tuned for a follow-up blog post from me in the coming days with a view of our new strategic plan that will guide ISACA’s priorities in 2022 and beyond.