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What is BISA and when is it worth it?
BISA, the Business Infrastructure & Security Assessment, is the modular entry point of SIMO GmbH. BISA 1 Discover & Baseline uses interviews and an on-site visit to document how business, data, IT and security work together today, and names risks, critical gaps, priorities and immediate actions. BISA 2 Validate & Advance later checks the impact and develops a target picture and roadmap. It is worth it when you need a solid baseline first.
Author Andreas O. Schwan, Managing PartnerLast reviewed
BISA 1
Discover & Baseline: where you stand today.
BISA 1 answers the guiding question: where do we stand today, and where are our main risks and areas for action? Interviews with leadership, business units and IT and an on-site visit produce a documented baseline. The findings are assessed from the perspective of business, operations, risk and management. The baseline becomes the yardstick against which all later progress is measured.
Key results of BISA 1
- Documented current state
- The starting point against which all later progress is measured.
- Findings and risks
- Specific observations, backed by interviews, documents or the on-site visit.
- Critical gaps
- Missing protection or capability with a high impact on the business.
- Priorities
- The ranking of areas for action by risk, effort and benefit.
- Immediate actions
- Steps that need no major project and noticeably reduce a risk.
Areas reviewed
What BISA looks at.
BISA aligns the assessment of IT and security with the business. It starts from the business context: business model, goals, critical processes and dependencies. From there it reviews infrastructure, network segmentation, identity and access, endpoints, cloud and SaaS, backup and recovery, data flows and interfaces, service providers and operational responsibility, as well as AI readiness. Penetration tests are separate services.
The result is a picture that leadership, business units and IT can all read: what does the current state mean for operations, risk and management, and what needs to happen first?
BISA 2
Validate & Advance: from findings to target picture.
BISA 2 is not a repeat; it picks up where BISA 1 left off. It validates the measures implemented, assesses what has changed since the baseline, re-evaluates the remaining risks and widens the view to the target architecture. A completed BISA 1 is the prerequisite. We agree on the timing together, ideally once the immediate actions have been implemented.
The path through both modules
- Discover
BISA 1
Baseline, findings, risks, priorities and immediate actions.
- Improve
Your team implements
The immediate actions are implemented under your responsibility.
- Validate
BISA 2
Check progress, re-evaluate residual risks, name architecture gaps.
- Target
Target picture and roadmap
Action plan and roadmap toward the enterprise target architecture.
Questions from leadership
What executives ask about it.
When is BISA a better fit than BEIA?
For companies that want a solid baseline first and implement immediate actions themselves. If you face a major decision, investment, acquisition or succession and need the enterprise view in a single cycle, BEIA is the better choice.
What is not part of BISA?
Penetration tests are separate services. BISA assesses how business, data, IT and security work together and prioritizes actions. Your team implements the immediate actions, and BISA 2 then checks their impact.
Who takes part in BISA on the company side?
Executive leadership and those responsible in the business units and IT. The interviews and the on-site visit take place with them, and the documented baseline is built from their answers.
Author and sources
Who answers, and what it rests on.
Sources and further reading
- SIMO GmbH: BISA service description, Business Infrastructure & Security Assessment, modules 1 and 2 with glossary, 2026
- SIMO GmbH: BEIA service description, Business Enterprise Infrastructure Assessment, 2026
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Read on
The next question and the path behind it.
Related question
What is BEIA and when is it worth it?
The direct entry point before major decisions: eight layers, one day on site, ten building blocks.
Related question
How do you create reliable data flows?
One system of record per data set, binding key figures and reconciliations that expose discrepancies.
Getting started
BISA 1 or BEIA
Two paths, one goal: the modular entry point and the Executive Fast Track compared.
See how SIMO structures and evaluates alternatives.
Your next step
From the answer to the decision.
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