Merck 2010 Annual Report Download - page 97

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Merck’s strategic objectives cannot be achieved without IT support. The future focus and global-
ization of Merck will only succeed if consistent standards, systems and processes are in place.
Reacting timely and flexibly to changing market developments, conducting innovative research,
running production reliably, and supplying customers rapidly require reliable, high-performance IT.
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IT risks with an impact on the business result occur when information is unavailable or errone-
ous, unintentionally disclosed or when the processes to be depicted have been implemented in
IT systems in a way that is too inflexible, too complex or illegal. Security gaps that are recog-
nized too late, or in the worst case not at all, and insufficient emergency planning measures
can quickly become incidents that affect the entire company. IT systems that do not reflect the
expectations of the businesses have the potential to massively hinder the economic develop-
ment of companies. Undesired data protection violations owing to incorrect or absent autho-
rizations create a negative external impression. The increasing dependency on IT as well as the
growing interconnectivity of IT landscapes in international companies make it necessary for
companies to invest heavily in maintenance, in the integration of new applications or even sys-
tems, and in the mapping of new processes. This development, in conjunction with constantly
new national and international legal requirements, makes data processing a time-consuming
and costly activity. As the complexity of the IT landscape increases, so do the potential risks.
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In addition, the general risk situation means more professional threats can be expected, with
the trend moving away from general viruses and toward targeted industrial espionage and
sabotage.
Significant potential IT risk scenarios for Merck include the failure of the central ERP (Enterprise
Resource Planning) systems, the publication of classified confidential research and business
development data, the manipulation of IT systems in chemical process control, as well as the
revocation of drug registrations due to deficient validation of the relevant IT systems.
The IT infrastructure of Merck has been consolidated to improve service quality while simultane-
ously optimizing costs. Subsequent to the acquisition of Millipore, the Millipore IT systems
were combined with the Merck IT systems within the scope of a controlled integration program.
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Risk report