Refresh Your Information Management Strategy To Deliver Business Results

Many enterprises lack a framework to ensure business alignment with their information management (IM) strategies. Yet sound strategy is critical for prioritizing IM investments. Business issues driving the urgency for a revitalized strategy include: 1) a renewed effort to use information as a strategic asset; 2) an increased demand for real-time information; 3) an urgent need for eDiscovery and retention management policies; 4) a new outlook on multichannel customer communications; and 5) an urgent focus on sustainability. Technical issues driving the need for an updated strategy include: 1) the rapid growth of Web 2.0; 2) the emergence of cloud computing for collaboration and content management; 3) efforts to save costs through data warehouse appliances; 4) the growing role of information-as-a-service (IaaS); and 5) the need to manage massive amounts information coming from smart devices. When done well, an IM strategy delivers the highest levels of business optimization and alignment across IT investments. If information managers do not have a current strategy to coordinate IM initiatives, they must cope with application and information silos that are mired in the past, inflexible to maintain, costly to operate, noncompliant, and difficult to integrate.