Legacy Assessment Overview

At some point every company reaches a point where their legacy system can no longer be modified or evolved within the technology/platform/database/language limits it has. In order to modernize a legacy system that has evolved over years and years effectively, you need to spend a considerable time on analyzing: the original requirements and base system, the modifications made and the skill set of your staff. Evolution may have created additional problems that prevent an easy path going forward. Companies can’t get any more value out of existing technological investments without a significant change -- especially given today's business and economic conditions. Continuous Delivery is putting pressure on these systems and a decision has to be made: do I scrap the existing system or try to modernize it? First, you need a lot of information depending on the complexity of the system and your organizational capability with technology/architecture transition strategy. If you don’t have this capability, you need to develop it. That means you need to go outside your company to acquire it. This comprehensive strategy must reflect core business needs, the realities of technical capabilities and be based on solid knowledge and analysis of current systems, business requirements and skill levels.

To help executives address these needs and make informed decisions eCube Systems, a leader in enterprise modernization and system evolution, offers customizable legacy assessments. These assessments deliver powerful benefits by:

• Providing concrete input into a variety of strategic business and IT planning scenarios
• Developing cross-functional views into how to address complex projects
• Establishing the building blocks needed to launch modernization projects and more targeted application analysis

Legacy Assessment Features

The Assessment Phase, depending on the scope and depth of the project, can contain up to five distinct tasks. These tasks include Enterprise Assessment Planning, Business Architecture Assessment, Technical Architecture Assessment, Data Architecture Assessment, Application Architecture Assessment and Modernization Planning. These tasks can be scaled in breadth and depth based on organizational priorities, governance and related specifics. In summary, these tasks can include:

• Expose key business requirements and existing business architecture attributes
• Provide a structure chart for each technical asset
• Provide a Knowledge Discovery Metamodel of the existing system
• An abstract syntax tree model of the existing system
• Map business requirements and existing business architecture to IT architecture

Test the value proposition

Contact us for a free evaluation to see if these services will provide you with the benefits and cost savings you need. Our analysts will work with you to develop a Return on Investment (ROI) calculation that accurately reflects your project goals with the various solution scenarios possible.

With this analysis, which establishes ROI, Total Cost of Ownership and other values, you will be able to understand what the best solution is for you and what it is worth to your business in real dollars. If the numbers are compelling, we'll work with you to further define what the right solution looks like and to develop a plan that reflects your needs, benefits and the returns required. Call us to schedule some time with an analyst.

Enterprise Assessment Overview

Defining Strategic Needs and Goals

Enterprise Assessments provide IT managers with the analysis, tools and procedures that enable them to address complex technical issues head-on. If you plan to maintain, improve, migrate, transform or otherwise modify existing information systems, it’s essential to understand those systems.

Applying standards

eCube employs a standards-based methodology for assessing software assurance to assess whether a software system is meeting its security and business goals. This top-down, six stage approach uses claims and arguments to drive goal-aligned assessments, which provides evidence to identify best practices and improvement opportunities in both the development process and the application itself. This process is an efficient and effective way to establish whether your company can depend on this legacy application and its development process. Our process consists of the following tasks:

1. Business Architecture Assessment
2. Technical Architecture Assessment
3. Data Architecture Assessment
4. Application Architecture Assessment
5. Findings & Comprehensive Proposal Development

Enterprise Assessment Process Deliverables

Enterprise Assurance Assessments rely on a tool-enabled, analyst-driven examination of business goals, systems and related artifacts, along with discussions with subject matter experts. Assessments support large applications or enterprise projects for a variety of scenarios, including full-scale replacement, package deployment, platform or language migration, remediation, integration, consolidation and small, localized enhancements. Deliverables include:

• Application/Enterprise Assessment document
• IT knowledge transfer
• Cost Benefit Analysis with return on investment (ROI) modeling proposed options for next steps
• Application and architecture representations stored in industry standard meta-model repository

Test the value proposition

Contact us for a free evaluation to see if these services will provide you with the benefits and cost savings you need. Our analysts will work with you to develop a Return on Investment (ROI) calculation that accurately reflects your situation and the various solution scenarios possible.

With this analysis, which establishes ROI, Total Cost of Ownership and other values, you will be able to understand what the best solution is for you and what it is worth to your business in real dollars. If the numbers are compelling, we'll work with you to further define what the right solution looks like and to develop a plan that reflects your needs, benefits and the returns required. Call us to schedule some time with an analyst.

Enterprise Risk Services Overview

Regulatory requirements are constantly evolving and changing. Operating in today’s global business environment requires an adaptive risk function that continuously monitors and modifies a company’s risk profile. Forward looking companies use new regulatory requirements as a catalyst to improve processes and introduce new technologies while improving the efficiency and ROI of projects.

eCube can help you turn compliance efforts into a competitive advantage and improve your business processes while you identify, manage, measure and control risk. Our offerings include:

• Security Risk Assessment
• Internal Audit
• Regulatory Compliance
• Mergers and Acquisitions Due Diligence
• Strategic Consulting
• Trend Analysis

Security Risk Assessment

Understanding the threat posed by people, processes and technology that interact with sensitive information is vital for an information security program. Using strong IT governance as a backbone to ensure alignment with business strategies, eCube drives excellence through the IT infrastructure and into the supporting applications and data analytics. We also:

• Facilitate the selection of software
• Manage implementation
• Implement configurable controls
• Implement governance, risk and compliance (GRC) software applications

Our Risk Assessment, which helps ensure the suitability and robustness of the security controls required within the organization, allows your organization to make informed risk management decisions. Since information ultimately drives security requirements for processes and assets, our risk management services not only help organizations understand the real risks to technology assets, but also the level of control necessary to reduce risk.

Some of the services provided by eCube in the IT Risk Assessment category include:

• Control Policy and Procedures Development / Implementation
• Information Security Reviews
• Continuous Monitoring Framework / Tools
• Business Continuity Planning / Disaster Recovery
• Risk Framework Development
• Project Governance / SDLC evaluation
• IT Security Governance

Internal Audits

According to a 2009 definition from the Institute of Internal Auditors, Internal Auditing is

“an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization's operations. It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by bringing a systemic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and government processes.”

Whether you are looking to speed up the establishment of an Internal Audit function utilizing best practices or bolster an existing Internal Audit capability, eCube’s highly experienced professionals can provide you with a practical solution that helps evaluate your internal audit’s strategic profile. Our auditors utilize a risk-based approach to help clients improve performance and operating efficiency. Common audit services may include preparing annual enterprise risk assessment; planning, scheduling, performing and reporting audit results; and presenting findings to Executive Management and Audit Committees. If necessary, eCube’s auditors will also represent your company with external auditors and work with the external auditors to ensure value add.

The different modes under which we provide Internal Audit services include:

• Advisory
• Co-sourced
• Outsourced
• Internal Controls Audit

Regulatory Compliance

AML, GLBA, HIPAA, PCI and SOX. Don’t think these affect IT? Think again. As businesses differentiate themselves and become more efficient utilizing IT, they find that aligning their IT strategy with their business strategy is critical in an era where IT can be a key competitive advantage. eCube can assist management in its endeavor to ensure that all IT risks (from a regulatory standpoint) have been identified, monitored and reported to senior management in a cost efficient manner.

Regulatory issues can be complex, confusing and time consuming. Non-compliance is not an option anymore, which makes this issue an overwhelming task for anyone. eCube has vast experience and expertise in dealing with regulations, the regulatory process, as well as regulators themselves. Some of the regulations we can help your organization comply with by identifying gaps and correcting IT internal control flaws are:

• Anti-Money Laundering/ Bank Secrecy Act (AML/BSA)
• Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)
• Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions ACT (FACTA)
• Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) and more

Our specific services include:

• Regulatory compliance project planning and management
• Documentation, evaluation, testing and remediation of risk and controls
• Improvement of internal controls and the quality of critical upstream business processes affecting financial reporting
• Automated tools implementation and support

Mergers and Acquisitions Due Diligence

When people talk about acquiring another firm, the term “due diligence” comes up sooner or later. Usually, legal definitions of due diligence say something such as:

Due diligence is a measure of prudence, activity or assiduity, as is properly to be expected from, and ordinarily exercised by a reasonable and prudent person under particular circumstances. It is not measured by any absolute standard but, nonetheless, depends on the relative facts of the special case.

Due diligence helps the acquirer of the goods get what he/she paid for. However, information security has to understand the component parts before it can protect the new entity. Hence, including information security and legal compliance issues in the due diligence process can give the new enterprise a head start.

An information security and compliance survey of combined assets is required as a first step in devising security for the joined organizations. eCube’s Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) consultants partner with you in an M&A situation to mange due diligence prior to the merger as well as integration once a merger has been agreed upon. eCube utilizes a set of Security metrics to help identify impediments to a potential merger due to differences in information systems, configurations and processes. Generally, information security and risk management require measurable security.

Measurable security can be grouped into the following main areas:

• Threat
• Vulnerability
• Configuration management
• Asset management

Strategic Consulting

eCube's seasoned experts not only provide audit and regulatory compliance services but also IT advisory and performance improvement consulting services to help organizations achieve the best strategic business value from their existing IT investments. Our engagements are designed to help IT managers and executives improve performance, handle risk, trim down costs and exert more effective and efficient controls over the IT organization. The consulting is customized based on the size and strength of your individual IT department.

Some of the services provided by our professionals in this arena include:

• Application Strategy and Planning
• Technology Assessments
• Business Process Assessments and Improvements
• Strategic planning
• Process, Procedures, People and Technology Assessments
• Cost Benefit Analysis and more

Trend Analysis

eCube’s Enterprise Information Management professionals help management improve access to and the reliability of information for decision making. Today, companies are operating in a business environment that has become more complex and risky due to the blending of a global economy, sophisticated automation and a mounting assortment of regulatory requirements. In this context, it is more crucial than ever for senior management to have access to the right information immediately.

Our Enterprise Information Management consultants understand that your data is essential to your success. We help companies improve their entire information life cycle including strategy, management and reporting so decision makers have the right information at the right time.

We partner with several Data Analytics partner to bring you the best in Information Security Data analysis including:

• Defining security log thresholds
• Setting up of executive dashboards
• Defining reporting methodology and frequency
• Establish analysis and financial thresholds that aid the audit/compliance process
• Aiding in putting together infrastructure that would allow reports to be used for audit/compliance purposes as every regulation has specific requirements on how to produce, store and distribute reports and alerts
• Creating a more comprehensive compliance dashboard that would incorporate data from non-infrastructure components like custom programming and integration interfaces