Topic Overview: Must-Read I&KM Research For An Economic Downturn

Financial bailouts, downward consumer spending, and roller-coaster stock markets are starting to put pressure on information and knowledge management (I&KM) professionals. Will industry consolidation mean gut-wrenching systems consolidation? How will budgets be affected? And how must I&KM leaders adapt their strategies? The good news: CEOs and CIOs still crave innovation, the need for trusted business information has never been higher, and many already in-flight collaboration strategies will bear fruit in the coming months by connecting dislocated organizations virtually to solve tough problems. I&KM pros must do three things during this period: squeeze more value from existing investments like enterprise content management (ECM) or business process management (BPM); assess their current costs; and seek out incremental project opportunities that deliver fast, visible results. In spite of budget pressure, I&KM pros must also keep a handful of critical "must do" projects on track and plan to jump-start innovation-driven projects that will help the enterprise "power" out of the economic downturn.