You ask yourself: What do IT security & compliance have in common with the subprime lending dilemma? Triple A ratings from your solution providor may rely on a false trust in vendor size, brand name and bona fides. Read the news. The top subprime lenders are world-class banks. It does not make a difference whether you compare the integrity between rating agencies and rated financial institutions or between operating system vendors and their security & compliance solutions. If there is no integrity in the separation of powers, and conflicts are ignored in the name of easy access, then any guarantee against a subprime-like debacle becomes worthless. In this respect, however, security & compliance software completely differs completely from other software categories. The separation of powers, or simply, “competition”, is essential in achieving true AAAA+ levels in IT security & compliance! This is what we call the “Max Approach”.
This statement may seem somewhat abstract, but integrity, trust, quality, IT security & compliance, auditing, etc., all imply a sound ethical foundation. All related production is based on abstract ideals and goals. So, where else should motivation come from than Socrates & Co.?