Cobit

COBIT, the Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies, is a framework for the governance and management of enterprise IT. Developed by ISACA, it helps organizations create value from IT by aligning IT goals with business objectives, managing risk, optimizing resources, and ensuring compliance with laws and regulations. The framework is designed to be integrated with other standards and practices and supports assurance and improvement activities across an enterprise.

COBIT originated in the 1990s and has evolved through several iterations. The current iterations, including COBIT 5 and the COBIT 2019 refresh, provide a comprehensive set of governance and management objectives expressed as processes, together with guidance on performance measurement and governance design. COBIT 2019 introduces the concept of a governance system that can be tailored through design factors to fit an organization’s context, risk appetite, and compliance needs.

At its core, COBIT offers a process reference model covering governance and management objectives, plus enabling factors such as principles, policies, information, processes, people, organizational structures, services, and technology. It emphasizes performance metrics, maturity assessment, and continual improvement to support both management oversight and independent assurance.

Common uses include defining control objectives, conducting risk and control assessments, enabling IT governance discussions at senior levels, and supporting regulatory compliance. COBIT is frequently used alongside frameworks such as ITIL, ISO/IEC 38500, and ISO/IEC 27001 to form an integrated IT governance program.