What is the most widely used international standard for IT governance?

COBIT, or the Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies, is recognized as the most widely used international standard for IT governance. It provides a comprehensive framework that allows organizations to develop, implement, and optimize IT governance and management practices. This framework aligns IT with business goals, ensuring that technology investments support the organization’s strategy and deliver value.

COBIT emphasizes the importance of governance and management of enterprise IT, establishing a standard for evaluating and improving IT processes and aligning them with the business's overall objectives. It provides guidelines for defining and managing the roles and responsibilities of IT professionals, ensuring accountability within IT governance.

While other frameworks and standards, such as those from ISACA or COSO, provide important guidelines for various aspects of risk management, control, and compliance, COBIT specifically addresses the governance of IT and its integration into enterprise overall governance structures. This focus on IT governance makes COBIT the go-to standard in this area.