There are groups of people that have banded together to form associations with a goal of bringing standard ways of managing information into the organization. One example of these groups is ARMA, the Association for Information Management Professionals, whose charter is help its members understand the requirements of managing information -- both paper and electronic forms in the face of legislative and regulatory requirements by delivering standards and best practices (From the ARMA Website). The team at ARMA is working in conjunction with several other associations to help bridge the gap between information managers and technology managers. Recently the ARMA team partnered with the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) and published a paper: Collaboration: the New Standard of Excellence. I highly suggest reading the paper as it provides a framework for opening a dialogue within the organization on improving the collaboration between groups that are challenged to manage information.

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Posted by Brett Cooper Common services for information management
08 NOV 2006 21:27 EST (02:27, GMT)
In my last blog entry I discussed the idea of common services being applied to the information management challenges of today and into the future. The idea of a methodology that sets information as the foundation for the organization and above it services that:

I am sure that there are other common services that are required, but each of the above provides a basis for constructing solutions to derive the value from the information.

Whenever I think about solution criteria I review Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. I use Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as a template for a way of thinking about solutions -- a strategy for laying out my thoughts. Many others have used Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to explain other solutions and processes. The idea that Maslow brought to the forefront is that there are layers to a solution -- starting at a lower level and building to top level where the solution lies. One can not move to the higher level of the solution until they have taken care of the layer below.

In a Hierarchy of Needs for Information Management I would propose that the physical infrastructure is the first layer -- the starting point. Then we can build on to the pyramid with each successive layer until we reach the top where the actualization of the solution occurs -- profit from their information. In each layer the solution builds on the capabilities of the underlying layer. This strategy for building solutions enables us to peel back the layers of the onion and expose the common services and glue that holds each layer together with the next.

In the case of information management, the highest goal is to provide value -- profit back to the organization based on utilizing and managing the information. At each level of the information management solution processes and resources are expended to reach the next level. On a side note, if you haven't read Jonathan Livingston Seagull, now would be a good time to get a copy -- it is a quick read and will help you understand the ideas behind Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs through an example. I read the book in high school in a humanities class and have found the premise of the book to help me look at strategies in a new way. Back to the topic of information management -- Let's visualize the Hierarchy of Information Management Needs:

For the next few days we will peel back the onion and look at each layer and the glue that holds them together.

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Posted by Brett Cooper What are the organization's information management challenges?
07 NOV 2006 22:54 EST (03:54, GMT)
Before we dig into the future of information management challenges it is important to understand what challenges organizations are seeing within their current environment.

First, electronic and paper based information sources are growing at dramatic rates. Several analysts predict that the amount of information stored within organizations is doubling every 12-18 months and that the time frame for information growth will shorten. Further, the sizes of files are increasing. Several years ago many files stored were only 10-20KBs in size. Today, many files are over 1MB in size -- if not larger. There are a couple of reasons why:

1. The base file formats themselves have expanded as more and more capabilities are available within the applications.
2. Users are adding richer content to the documents, including media, graphics, and sound.

Also, databases, or structured information environments, are storing more and more information. Databases are behind everything that we do; from financial systems that track every sale using a database, to a Web survey that relies on a database to record the records and support systems that keep tabs on helpdesk issues, even this blog is kept online in a database that publishes the information to the Web. The amount of data being stored in databases is also increasing.

Email is also a reason why information is growing exponentially, and it is not just spam that is causing the increase -- users are sending emails at a much higher rate than before. The informal communication medium of email has caused many organizations to look at systems to archive older less frequently accessed communications. The email solution providers themselves have stepped up the pace in delivering solutions to combat the growth of the environments. Single system imaging of attachments is now a standard feature of all of the major email packages -- when a user sends an email containing an attachment to a set of users the email system only keeps one copy of the attachment providing links to all of the users so there is only one copy of the data stored within the system. One analyst group, Enterprise Strategy Group, found through their research that some 75% of all corporate intellectual property is now contained in corporate messaging systems.

The regulatory and corporate governance requirements of today are another challenge that is causing organizations to rethink their information management solutions. The challenge of securing, keeping private, and retaining information in a specific way is requiring organizations to deliver new solutions that seamlessly integrate into their current environments. It seems that every month I read of at least one lost notebook computer or stolen records that compromise the security of an organizations information exposing personnel information that should be kept under strict lock and key.

On the paper processing side of the organization there are more and more forms that are being filled in, from paper invoices and contracts to patient records and insurance processing documentation. Many organizations are flocking to move these systems to electronic systems. I recently attended a trade show for print and information management and was surprised to see that some 40% of the vendors on the exhibition show floor were selling paper management solutions from cardboard boxes to filing cabinets. I had thought that the world had already changed to electronic records, but I was surprised to find that many organizations are processing records in paper form as the electronic systems are years away from being able to deliver the solutions that the organization require both from a budgetary perspective and from a process perspective. I recently went to my eye doctor and found that their paper based system that I had known for years was in the process of being replaced by an electronic patient and records management system. Each doctor and assistance now had a notebook computer that had all of the patient record available from a central server. Even with this great new solution in place the office still printed out the records to maintain a physical record of each transaction. My eye doctors expect this practice to come to an end when they work the bugs out of their electronic system. After only a few months of using the system their insurance processing time has been cut down because all of the records and bills are transferred electronically and there is less confusion - the result - faster reimbursements. I have not yet asked them what their plans are to keep up with the growth of the system, but I will when I next visit as I am sure that they aren't thinking about growth since they are eye doctors, not technologists.

What we are seeing with the growth of information within organizations is the inability of current systems and management techniques to keep up. Budgets and resources are being squeezed to deliver more and more in the face of new business requiring flexible solutions and each misstep by the organization shows up on the evening news.

Organizations are looking for a set of common services to help not only control the growth of the environment, but to provide visibility into the environment by their audiences and enable them with new levels of capabilities so they can more effectively do their jobs. The audiences and the IT staffs are usually separated by more than just physical office locations -- they are separated by a lexicon and a way of doing business.

A great example of this is a hospital. Doctors have a job to do -- cure and help their patients. Technology can help them do their jobs, but is not the sole tool in their arsenal -- they use a time honored methodology to find the solution that may require the use of technology to diagnose and prescribe treatment. The information that is used in the treatment of the patients is stored either in a paper record and/or in an electronic system. The information can contain the doctor's notes, x-rays, prescriptions, the graphics from MRIs, and a host of other information. Does the doctor need to know that the system is running on Windows, Linux, or UNIX? Should he care that it is being replicated to a remote facility in case of a disaster? I don't know the right answer to these questions, but I would think that the doctor would want to know that he is able to perform his job as a result of the IT department performing their function of supporting the organization. He would want to be surveyed to understand what his needs are from a new technology so the solution will meet them when it is put into production and he was trained to use it. I believe that the doctor would want to know what the benefits are to him having to learn a new system.

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Posted by Brett Cooper Where is "Information Management" taking us?
06 NOV 2006 23:21 EST (04:21, GMT)
Today starts my two week stint on the Expert Answer Center and I am looking forward to sharing my thoughts on the Information Management space and where it is headed. Every customer and vendor that I have talked to is answering the question of how they manage their information to increase the profitability of their business through the reduction of risk, cost and complexity of their most important asset -- information. I am starting to see a level of common services that need to be delivered regardless of the type of information in the organization. There are three major information types found within organizations.

1. Structured information found in databases like Oracle or SQL.
2. Semi-structured information found in email systems like Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes, or Novell GroupWise.
3. Unstructured information found in user files, such as Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, MP3s and the like.

All of these information types require common services, from managing the infrastructure to insuring quality of service and everything in between. During the next two weeks we will explore the solutions and where they are heading. I think that there will be some great surprises along the way as many customers and vendors see new opportunities within their environments to provide compelling solutions.

Let me know if you have any questions. Thank you.

Let me know your thoughts on this or any of my blog entries.
Posted by Brett Cooper