Despite extensive rhetoric from technology companies about turning data into information and the benefits this can have for profitability, confusion still exists in the marketplace on how it can best be accomplished.
Citing a recent report by international research house, Meta Group, Vivek Thomas, channel sales manager for the Middle East and Africa at Seagate Software`s Information Management Group (IMG), says Meta`s analysis of workgroup computing strategies identifies a new discipline which specifically addresses this need - information management (IM).
Based on the use of search, filter, agent, catalogue, information broadcast, decision support and business intelligence tools, IM allows users to access and manipulate large volumes of internal and external data for the betterment of business.
While this may sound like a management nirvana the challenge comes in the actual delivery of IM which is often reliant upon speedy response to user requests by the IT department.
Referring again to Meta`s research, Thomas says the market is driven by one basic principle: end users cannot give, in advance, a list of all the information they will need over an extended period. "A particular exception condition or business planning exercise will frequently require drill-down facilities to access detailed information that is usually not needed."
Agreeing with Meta`s conclusions, Thomas says managed query environment (MQE) tools partially address this need by off-loading report creation to end users while still keeping data under the control of the IT department. "However, some report development skills are required at end user level and this is rarely the case - particularly insofar as senior management is concerned."
A more workable solution proposed by Meta and supported by Seagate Software is microcube-based dynamic reports. "This meets the need for delivery of information with drill down and exploration capability," comments Thomas.
However, neither believes this is the ultimate solution. "Meta expects a combination of predefined reports with drill down capability, power-user-defined ad hoc queries, and prefilled microcubes to be deployed by most large organisations over the next few years," he adds.
Meta also expects the role of IT to evolve from delivering IM applications to empowering end-user choice based on adaptive information architecture. "Cutting through the techno-speak this all adds up to what Seagate Software defines as business intelligence (BI) - tools to keep managers informed about the state of the business."
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