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This research is reviewed periodically for accuracy. Last reviewed on 13 January 2015.
Key Challenges
■ Not all organizations understand the value of information, often a conscious vision is lacking,
particularly in the business.
■ Even when there is a vision, information is perceived and valued differently by individuals in
organizations even though they operate within the same charter and business objectives.
Different organizations have different aggregate positions on information value.
■ Information leaders that fail to appreciate that information is perceived and valued differently
and attempt to deliver solutions without taking this into account, run the risk of having conflict in
IT programs, negatively affecting their information strategy objectives and timescales for
delivery.
Recommendations
■ Identify the existing differences and attitudes to information in the organization. Establish
common ground with key stakeholders, both in business and IT, on how best to create value.
■ Use this common ground to review the current approaches to information delivery and the
existing barriers and points of conflict.
■ Address the issues identified by changing, where necessary, the information development and
delivery methodologies, and test the impact of change.
■ Ensure the information strategy takes into account the organization's values and beliefs in the
way the programs are delivered to meet business objectives.
Table of Contents
Introduction............................................................................................................................................ 2
Analysis.................................................................................................................................................. 3
Organizational Belief Systems...........................................................................................................3
Information Management Vision..................................................................................................4
How to Build a Values-Centric Approach to Information Management.............................................. 8
Recommended Reading.........................................................................................................................9
List of Tables
List of Figures
Introduction
Not all information management strategies are the same. Even between companies with the same
business strategy, it may differ greatly. And over time, strategies come and go.
Moreover, individuals within organizations have different perceptions of information. This is based
on their current and previous experience and, in particular, their current role within the organization.
For example, within the same organization a risk manager will have a very different attitude to
information than a marketing campaign manager.
Therefore, creating and executing an information strategy within the organization must take into
account its relationship with information and the values it holds about their information. Information
strategies that take values and attitudes into consideration are more likely to be successful, more
likely to reach their delivery objectives and experience less organizational conflict.
Analysis
Applying an accepted business framework such as Treacy and Wiersema's value disciplines
provides information leaders with insight into how a business can value information and what to
1
expect from information management.
■ Operational excellence brings value through offering the best price and through a lean and
mean process. Organizations with an operational excellence strategy outsmart their competitors
by having a superior grip on their business processes.
■ Product innovation companies seek value in a different way, by creating the most desired
products by the market, often at a premium price. These products may be technologically the
most advanced, or the most fashionable, or the business model through which they are sold is
particularly innovative.
■ Customer intimacy companies may not have the best, nor the cheapest products or services,
but have a superior knowledge about its customer base, and aims to be there with a well-fitted
offer the moment it is needed.
■ Gartner often adds a fourth perspective, that of risk management. There is value in and of itself
in being able to mitigate risks in business.
Next to defining business value, individual professionals have different perceptions, or beliefs, on
what value information brings too. We use the word "belief" here, because it reflects a fundamental
mindset. While one understands all other approaches bring value too, and can even apply them
when needed in specific indications, its belief is the natural approach people use when crafting a
business case. It is how we are wired as professionals.
These different perceptions of value may contradict each other, but they are not "wrong or right,"
merely perspectives based on the belief that information needs to be applied in a way that best
allows their success in their role. Coexistence of multiple beliefs within a single organization is not
only likely but also preferable. The full use of information requires all three belief systems.
Vision
Strategy
Metrics
Information Governance
Enabling Infrastructure
Master Analytic Ops. Social
Content Data Data Data Data …?
Table 1 shows 12 different ways to create value in information management, based on different
visions that may come from the value disciplines and belief systems that we've identified.
Operational 1. Vision: always on, general 2. Vision: information exchange 3. Vision: integrated value
excellence purpose Strategy: optimize cost, time chain
Strategy: cost minimization, and quality Strategy: agility, market
low switching cost, perhaps Metrics: supply chain alignment
high availability optimization metrics Metrics: time to market
Metrics: TCO Governance: dominance Governance: collaborative
Governance: SLA Org: operations Org: IMCC
Org: part of general Life cycle: analytics-based Life cycle: extended
outsourcing, or part of overall Infra: information-as-a-service Infra: integrated information
IT responsibility. infrastructure
Life cycle: compliance-based
Infra: as part of existing
systems
New business 7. Vision: customer self- 8. Vision: usage dashboards 9. Vision: information-based
service model Strategy: help customer products
Strategy: engage with the maximize value Strategy: information is the
customer Metrics: loyalty metrics product itself
Metrics: cost of service Governance: customer service Metrics: percentage of overall
Governance: transactional Org: IMCC outward facing revenue, margin
Org: service department Life cycle: analytics-based Governance: business
Life cycle: compliance-based Infra: part of Web/mobile apps governance
Infra: part of Web/mobile apps Org: information product
management
Life cycle: extended
Infra: Web/mobile dedicated
infrastructure
Risk 10. Vision: compliance 11. Vision: risk mitigation 12. Vision: handle risks others
management Strategy: minimize cost Strategy: risk management can't
Metrics: cost of compliance Metrics: cost of noncompliance Strategy: risk leadership
Governance: part of overall Governance: part of risk Metrics: market share
governance Org: IT/risk Governance: business
Org: IT/compliance officer Life cycle: analytics-based governance
Life cycle: compliance-based Org: sales, marketing, risk, IT
or IMCC handling both risk
and business side
GRC = governance, risk management and compliance; IMCC = Information Management Competence Center; TCO = total cost of
ownership
legal boundaries — to know the customer so you can cross-sell, deep-sell and upsell. As all
parts of the business need this information, the IMCC plays a pivotal role with the CRM system
in the middle. The life cycle is compliance based.
Example: A financial services institution sells banking products and insurance to consumers.
The company is structured around product business units. The company has invested in master
data management, a single instance CRM system and some early big data initiatives to get a
360 degree view of the customer. The IMCC has a strong ambassador role, continually looking
for opportunities to educate the various business units on how to share information and how to
use shared information.
5. When in customer intimacy, information is an enabler, the vision is to have a continuous
dialogue with the market, interacting with customers. By creating loyal customers, the purpose
is to improve the share of wallet, and the cross- and upsell rate. One way of tightening
relationships and creating more interaction is to invest in self-service. Sales and marketing
drives the governance of the information. Social media and mobile apps are key components in
the information infrastructure, and the use of data is very analytically focused for the business.
6. In customer intimacy, information can also be a driver. The information the enterprise shares has
a direct benefit for the life or work of their customers, such as in the form of personal analytics
(instead of business analytics for the benefit of the enterprise). The value proposition is to
enable customers to create their own value, and the result is measured in terms of loyalty and
the extent to which friends of customers (the customer's network) are included in sales.
Governance between enterprise and customer is based on trust, and perhaps even supported
by a separate entity to ensure trust.
7. New business models can be fueled by information as a utility, if customer service becomes
self-service. Customer engagement is combined with lowering the cost of service. The
governance is in the hands of the customer service department; the life cycle is compliance-
based and the information infrastructure is Web-based.
8. Information can also be an enabler in new business models. A new business model can be
sharing information and changing product sales into subscription services based on information
flow on, for instance, maintenance. The governance is in the hands of customer service, but
information needs to be organized by both business and IT. The life cycle is analytics-based; all
technology is Web-based.
9. When information is a driver for new business, information is seen as a product in and of itself
and can be sold to consumers. The measure of success is the percentage of revenue that
information products represent in the overall revenue mix. The organization and governance is
fully integrated in the business, like with any other product category. In essence, data is never
discarded and is available through a dedicated information infrastructure.
Example: A telecom company feels that big data is not only something to use for themselves, it
can be exploited as a service to business-to-business customers. Its IMCC has evolved beyond
internal support, and is now teaming up with the company's consulting arm, acquiring external
projects, based on telecom data. Once these projects become products, the IMCC needs to
develop into a product management organization. Initiatives contribute direct to the top line. As
a consequence, the information systems need not only be Web-scalable but also have high
availability.
10. In business cases revolving around risk management, where information is a utility, the value of
information is purely aimed at compliance. Metrics will focus on the strategy of minimizing the
cost of compliance. Information doesn't play a particularly important part in risk management; it
is seen as an IT problem and a function of governance, risk management and compliance
software. Governance is part of overall business governance.
11. Information can also be an enabler in risk management. Better information actively helps in risk
mitigation and selecting business opportunities based on an accurate comparison of risk
relative to project investment and returns. The result can be measured in terms of the cost of
noncompliance. The risk department is in charge of risk information governance, but the
information systems are aligned with other business systems; they don't operate as a silo.
12. Information can also drive better risk management, even something called risk leadership. If by
a superior information position you can handle risks and others can't then new business
opportunities open up. The result is measured in terms of higher win rates and higher market
share. Information about risk is completely integrated in business governance structures and
permeated throughout all business areas.
Example: A financial leasing company needs to comply to Basel regulations that specify
financial buffers, based on the risk profile of the financial portfolio. The company has a team of
advisors to help corporate client improve their risk profile. This is good for the customer's
business, and it allows the financial leasing company to offer better risk-adjusted rates. The
company uses "risk leadership" as a strategy to get competitive advantage out of compliance.
There is one more situation not discussed: "Do nothing." In some business environments, there
simply is no perceived value of information. This can have two reasons — either it has never been a
topic of discussion, so business professionals are unaware of the importance of information
management, or it can be a conscious choice. Cost minimization is not the biggest issue, and the
business simply isn't interested. As a result, information available will be fragmented, and total cost
of ownership will increase due to deferred maintenance. There is no determined life cycle strategy,
leading to potential compliance issues. This situation is generally undesirable. Information should at
least be a business hygiene factor.
What is important is that we are clear on what creates value, and the role we believe information
should play. Once this is understood and shared, we can create the strategy that works for your
organization.
■ Through sharing our perceptions, we can see how other people have other expectations,
leading to understanding the need for other strategies too.
■ Through understanding our own perceptions, we can identify which skills we are missing and
need to invest in to get to where we want or where we need to be.
■ Through understanding all perceptions, ours and others, we can perform a gap/fit analysis on
our existing information management practices. If the systems and governance are built based
on utility principles, but the vision about information is for it to be a driver, then the systems will
fall short. Conversely, if a complete new IMCC is to be established while the business sees
information as a utility, then we have a case of overinvestment.
Recommended Reading
Some documents may not be available as part of your current Gartner subscription.
"The Gartner Business Value Model: A Framework for Measuring Business Performance"
Evidence
1Treacy, M. and Wiersema, F., "The Discipline of Market Leaders: Choose Your Customers, Narrow
Your Focus, Dominate Your Market," Addison-Wesley, 1995.
■ Twelve Important Information Management Research Notes You May Have Missed in 2014
■ Chief Data Officers' Handbook
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