The amount of information stored and available for access in internal information repositories, the Internet and traditional media resources has increased dramatically. However, while there are many obvious benefits to having so much information readily to hand, the issue of information overload continues to plague organisations.
Willie Bezuidenhout, business technologist at Computer Associates, looks at how organisations can more accurately target information relevant to their needs. He pays particular attention to the information delivery maturity model (IDMM) and its role in providing a more streamlined information delivery.
With increasing volumes of information - on a wide spectrum of topics - available to almost all corporate employees today, it is becoming clear that the average enterprise needs to address the issue of information management in order to avoid being the victim of information overload.
Information overload not only slows the operational aspects of a business, but has a spill over effect into partners` and customers` activities as well.
Information management strategies are becoming increasingly vital to business survival, given the rise of IT-centric and collaborative relationships.
Implementing an effective management strategy enables companies to securely and reliably filter and deliver information to the right people, when and where they need it.
A sound strategy also provides a basis for supporting the shift to service-oriented business processes and IT consumption.
The initial conclusion is, therefore, that an information management and delivery strategy must be given high priority - providing for an IT infrastructure that has the ability to access and utilise the inevitable increases in data volume.
The information delivery maturity model
The information delivery maturity model (IDMM) methodology provides a basis for addressing challenges and opportunities that surround knowledge delivery within an organisation, and for identifying key requirements and tools to improve the levels of information access, relevancy and analysis.
Drawing a parallel between the IDMM and long-standing capability maturity model for software (CMM-SW), analyst group Datamonitor points out that both feature a quantitative and qualitative framework for benchmarking specific levels of capability.
However, the IDMM was also created in response to companies` data recovery and e-business requirements.
But to understand the IDMM, we must take a few steps back.
This methodology works very well with step-wise, incremental investments which are made over a period of time. It is not a "big bang" approach and, therefore, suits the nature of specifically SA`s current IT investment trend.
Due to the IDMM`s modular nature it also dictates an evolutionary, rather than a revolutionary, approach to information delivery growth.
And the open architecture and support for new and emerging standards ensures that the IDMM can fit in with existing infrastructure and applications, whether packaged, developed in-house, or a combination of both.
The levels of information delivery
The IDMM can be broken down into four levels. It would probably be fair to say that many companies are at - or even below - level one when it comes to their information management and delivery capabilities.
Level one represents the centralisation of access to data, or raw material. This includes both structured and unstructured data, database output/access, documents, spreadsheets, text files, PDFs, digital content and graphics.
The reality is - prior to level one - organisations are at a point where they are "drowning" in data, wasting time accessing data, while feeling that they don`t know what`s going on with their own business.
Once organisations attain centralised access to data, they have a need for more access to, and use of objective, trustworthy and useable information - a move which level two then facilitates.
Level three addresses issues such as delivering only relevant knowledge and applying patterns of personal experience to information.
An organisation that is able to deliver relevant information empowers its decision-makers with the right information. However, decisions are still made on a case-by-case basis, no matter how routine or how often the same conditions result in the same decision.
This is why it so important that companies eventually reach level four of the IDMM, as it applies predictive and rules technologies to automate routine decisions, enabling executives to spend time handling exceptions and non-routine issues.
The technology that supports IDMM
As with many other models, there is also a technology strategy that drives the IDMM.
The technologies that support each of the IDMM`s levels are:
At level one, portal and related content management and collaboration technologies centralise delivery to a broad range of data, content, and applications through a Web or wireless interface that can be personalised.
Reporting, OLAP and digital dashboard are then added to portal and content management technologies at level two - providing the ability to refine, analyse and sort data, therefore, delivering trustworthy information.
At level three, rules-engines and predictive analysis technologies are implemented to drive the delivery of relevant knowledge, while at level four these technologies evolve to automate repetitive actions and flag exceptions.
Why IDMM makes sense
Datamonitor believes the IDMM represents a step forward in e-business, an arena that has been somewhat overshadowed by other, higher profile developments.
"The difficulties inherent in organising, filtering and delivering business information have become increasingly apparent over the last few years. Computer Associates has differentiated itself by creating a logical, stepwise pathway for users to follow," comments Datamonitor.
I believe the lack of "pre-deployment" knowledge is one of the key reasons why many e-business implementations have failed. The IDMM brings with it a system that enables companies to assess their internal metrics, giving them a clear starting point from which to work from.
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