Information Visibility: Making IT Effective
As the amount of information in the world today continues to skyrocket, it is imperative for businesses to learn how to harness the wealth of data available to them. For many small and midsize businesses, the IT department will hold the keys to achieving effective information management. Too often, however, the “IT guys” are relegated to maintenance and trouble-shooting which means, unfortunately, their ability to capture, organize, and interpret data is vastly underused and, consequently, undervalued. In an era with more access to information than ever before, how can you be effectively utilizing IT within your organization?
According to a recent publication, IT consultants Wayne Thompson and Neil Stolovitsky believe “information visibility” is the key to positively impacting business outcomes with IT operations. They conclude that information visibility works in three ways:
1. Aligning business operations with corporate strategies
2. Optimizing resource allocation and utilization
3. Reducing the burden of regulatory compliance
In effect, information visibility creates an environment where data can be easily accessed, analyzed, and used to make informed decisions — in preparation or on-the-fly.
Of course, the responsibility for effective information visibility largely falls on the IT experts. In order to successfully implement an information management strategy, Thompson and Stolovitsky suggest an initial assessment of your organization and IT infrastructure in which you identify areas of data management that congest or inhibit the overall flow of information. After the initial assessment, allow your own IT department or local IT consultants to develop solutions to streamline data flow and make it more accessible to the people who need it.
In a world where reportedly 90 percent of business executives make important decisions on inadequate information, it’s obvious that companies need an accurate picture of relevant and reliable data to make better decisions. As such, make sure you can count yourself in that 10 percent of executives who make informed decisions by letting your information technology staff do just that — inform you.
[photo: icathing]
Additional Resources:
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Tags: data management, information management, information technology staff, information visibility, it consultants, IT experts