Building an Information Strategy

Dan Donarski, Director of Technology Advisers   email | bio
March 2010

 Traditionally, internal information technology departments have focused on increasing user efficiencies through implementing process automation and supporting disparate corporate-wide applications for specific user requirements. These initiatives are typically technology driven with expenditures that may be wasted on irrelevant technical innovations that do not add business value. In today's competitive marketplace, however, this is no longer a sufficient information technology strategy for businesses to gain and sustain a competitive advantage.   

Traditionally, internal information technology departments have focused on increasing user efficiencies through implementing process automation and supporting disparate corporate-wide applications for specific user requirements.  These initiatives are typically technology driven with expenditures that may be wasted on irrelevant technical innovations that do not add business value.  In today's competitive marketplace, however, this is no longer a sufficient information technology strategy for businesses to gain and sustain a competitive advantage.

Organizations need - and information savvy employees are demanding - personalized and centralized business intelligence and more self-serve capabilities from their information systems.  Making important business decisions depends on having up-to-date and trustworthy information.  Organizations need to build an information strategy that directs them toward a coherent, integrated environment for managing and delivering information in support of their business goals.  Creating such a strategy involves more than just applications.  A broader focus on information as a critical corporate asset is needed as well.  Building an information strategy means moving away from an environment where data is treated separately from business processes and individual applications.  As more corporate information is in digital format, data preservation and privacy are also concerns.

Within your organization, how confidently can you answer the following information strategy readiness questions?

• Do you know where all of your corporate data resides, and how it is interconnected?
   

• Do you trust all of your data to be accurate and complete?
   

• Can you access any piece of information, or collection of information, to support business decisions?
   

• Is your data secure and protected?
   

• Are you fully compliant with all governance requirements?
   

• Is your data being stored and managed in the most cost-effective manner?

To build a comprehensive information strategy you must focus on the goal of aligning information needs with business strategy.  First, understand your organizational business strategy, including business area requirements, and the required transaction processing.  Expand this strategy to information technology in general and information management in particular.  Second, have a detailed understanding of your current information capabilities and information technology system processing.  Third, overlay these two components and conduct a gap analysis.  Forth, gain an understanding of tools and processes that can extend your current information environment.  This analysis becomes the roadmap for developing and implementing your information strategy.

For more information on developing an organizational information strategy, contact Dan Donarski at ddonarski@KolbCo.com or 262/754-9400 ext. 284.