- Information
…The nature of demand for information technology is changing. Most employees are now knowledge workers. Social media is becoming vital for customer and internal communications., and data volumes continue to rise. As a result, in the business areas that drive growth – innovation, marketing, sales, customer service – up to 80% of IT enablement opportunities relate to business intelligence, collaboration, or the customer interface. At the heart of each of these opportunities is the need to capture, integrate, and interpret information, both structured and unstructured.
– The Future of Corporate IT, Corporate Executive Board.
Think about this for a moment. This is not as obvious as some of the trends that we see all around us, but I have no doubt about its certainty. In many ways this is a natural outgrowth of several other trends we are in the midst of.
As we move ever more certainly into a global economy, the processes we have designed for our operations will have a global flavor to them. These service providers will have mastered the art of lean six sigma, application of technology, and essentially doing more services for less, sometimes much less. The non-commoditized knowledge workers and access to the information they need (both internally and externally) will be critical.
The “Consumerization of IT” is also driving a demand for information in an always-on, instantaneous manner. Specific purpose-oriented information is expected to be at your fingertips at a moments notice. Apps have changed the notion of information to something which is highly personalized while constrained to a specific task. In this context the information provided is highly valuable but not process oriented in any way.
Mash-ups take the notion of specific purpose, specific context, information and broker relationships with like information to extend and amplify its value. Information here is stronger, but not process oriented. To the contrary, information becomes fuel for action and reaction. Scripted process simply does not fit this model.
The implications of this are far-reaching. Business processes and the engineering and re-engineering of processes will most certainly have a lesser role than today. At the same time “information engineering” will gain a greater prominence. This will not be the aggregation of data into warehouses for slicing and dicing. I see this more of reducing information to its consumable atomic level, and providing new and creative ways to reach it. Process maps will cede to APIs.
Identifying like trusted information across the ether that can amplify yours will also carry with it network effects and increase the value of all participating information. Information will also become richer and more meaningful. A CNBC broadcast can be coupled with annual reports and customer commentary can send a very powerful message.
Presentation of information will become ever more important. As we begin to be flooded with data, it will not take long until we are overwhelmed by meaningful information. Presentation of this information will be critical in that it will need to discern not only the wheat from the chaff, but be able to get to key points beyond words and numbers. What will land with the presentation of information is the emotional gravitas that the information presents and how it is presented. Everything else will be diluted in the sea of sameness.
Long live information.
