The Key to a Successful Information Management Strategy: Recognizing that Data is an Asset

Do you remember when working on an urgent request meant you needed to travel back to the office to fetch paper documents, search your emails for an attachment, or comb through your computer’s file manager for an old file? Are you still doing this? It could be the hallmark of a lackluster information management strategy. According to a study sponsored by Ricoh, those clumsy and inefficient ways to search for information may describe your workflow if you work for one of the 83% of companies that still mismanage information.

The study also found that the 17% minority of businesses that do a good job of developing an information strategy enjoy higher profits with improved workflows that result in better and faster decisions and actions. If you still regard information management as a low-priority activity, it’s time to consider treating your data like the valuable asset that it should be.

Effective Information Management Strategies Offer a Competitive Edge

The success of your organization probably depends on the information you need to store, protect, and of course, access when you need it. In this information age, the way that data flows between employees, customers, and applications makes almost every business a digital business. Naturally, some kinds of businesses may find information management even more critical than others. For instance, a heavily regulated industry like finance or healthcare might have to manage and protect certain documents to stay in compliance and avoid fines. Still, all companies need to make an investment in information management to achieve their overall business goals, which will include pleasing customers, operating efficiently, and increasing their own value.

Effective information management no longer only means having IT hardware and software resources to process and protect data and documents. Today, many large companies have created the new position of a Chief Data Officer, or CDO, to oversee information strategy and management. In contrast to CTO, or chief technology officer, a CDO focuses upon maximizing the value of corporate data and not just software and hardware.

According to CMSWire, companies lose almost $10 million annually simply because of poor results in a single aspect of data management, data analysis. Part of the CDO’s mission includes mitigating these losses. Just as important, this information leader works to reduce costs and improve the value of information through helping to make better decisions about data storing, securing, gathering, analyzing, sharing, and quality control.

Why Does Your Company Need an Information Management Strategy?

In this era of big data, we generate 250 terabytes of digital information each day. CMSWire also reported that 80% of companies realize benefits when they begin managing their own portion of that massive volume of data better. Not every organization may require an executive who is only in charge of information strategy; however, to become a successful digital business, they will need a strategy to minimize losses and maximize the value of critical data. They will also need the leadership and tools to ensure the company follows the strategy to maximize benefits.

Few can argue that information has become a valuable asset, and a failure to value and manage that asset leaves companies open to losses because of improper security, problems with sharing and collaborating, poor data quality, and of course, wasted time. Just as important, many businesses also find that creating an information management strategy reveals other opportunities to improve revenues.

For instance, some companies may enforce better integration with marketing and sales systems to improve customer service and revenue. A growing number of businesses even learn the market value of their data and begin offering new services based on their information — all to create additional revenue streams. Finally, a company’s own data serves as its best source of the business intelligence that helps management spot trends and pinpoint problems. Only businesses that manage data well can maximize these benefits or even know which opportunities to explore.

Implementing an Organization-Wide Information Management Strategy

The best information management strategies do more than simply relieve companies of the burden of paper or poorly organized computer files. A good strategy should also not just focus upon individuals or even departments but upon the entire organization. Intelligent information management technology keeps documents — and information about these documents —accessible to all stakeholders.

These tools begin helping your improve information management because employees can use the system to learn what they have and find what they need. In addition, they allow you to set and enforce such governance rules as how information gets added to the system, who can view the documents, and who can share them. This kind of information management adds value to this critical asset and in turn, to your entire company. Your business can benefit by saving time, improving transparency, staying in compliance, and reducing costs. Because these platforms also encourage collaboration and give data managers a better view of what they have, they can even open additional streams of revenue and better business intelligence.