IBM calls for info transformation

The IBM information-led transformation conference, held in Sandton yesterday, revealed how forward-thinking organisations can leverage their information analytics to optimise decision-making and drive competitive advantage.

“The world is changing; it's becoming instrumented, interconnected and intelligent. New business challenges have placed a renewed urgency on optimisation and a need for a new kind of intelligence.”

So said Arvind Krishna, IBM general manager of information management software, who pointed out that no country is immune from the economic crisis. He added, however, that with every challenge arises an opportunity.

According to Krishna, the world generated 40 exabytes of data last year. This means more information was created in 2008 than in the previous 5 000 years combined. He expects this number to double within the next year.

“Connectivity is expanding along with a deluge of information. To harness this flood of information, companies need to take all of that data to drive business insight. Using intelligence to improve efficiency of systems converts into wealth for the business and the economy,” Krishna added.

He pointed out that three in four business leaders believe a more predictive information base would drive better decisions. However, one in three managers makes critical decisions without the information they need. This results in about 19 hours of wasted time being spent by knowledge workers, each week, just searching for and understanding information.

In order to solve this dilemma, Krishna suggested that businesses access information in real-time in order to speed-up the process of decision-making and become competitive in a challenging market.

“More factual information leads to better decision-making and removes unconscious biases. Organisations that are better able to make informed decisions are achieving sizable and sustained competitive advantage,” said Krishna, who noted that people, processes and technology are critical to driving business efficiency, cutting costs, and making informed business decisions.

“Plan your information agenda, deploy business analytics to optimise decisions, and gain control with an information platform and infrastructure. The next generation of efficiencies will come from applying predictive, real-time analytics to optimise decisions at every contact point.”