Holistic Information Management

 The companies that can deliver holistic information Management solutions today will be able to leverage their own information going forward competitively and solving problems systematically.

Digital is the era of information abundance, information provide significant opportunities for business growth, also brings unprecedented risks when mismanaged and cause the business failures all the time. With the fast pace of changes, the information management challenges will only intensify. Managing information and the information position of an organization is what ought to be called Information Management. Information doesn’t stand still, but permeating into every corner of the business. Thus, Information management life cycle is complex, it’s important to take a holistic approach for processing and refining information to improve the organizational decision effectiveness and achieve its business value.

Break down silos to streamline information flow: Information does not live alone but permeates everywhere in the businesses. Information Management has to break down silos, to keep information flow and apply an integrated and holistic information life cycle management solution to conquer challenges and generate business value rather than try to “control” it. A holistic information management approach involves the logical steps for information collection, storing, processing, analyzing, and refining, to ensure that quality information can flow to the right people and allow them to make effective decisions at the right time consistently, to improve business fluidity and bring better business results. Nowadays, information is the most time intensive piece of business innovation. Information brings about business ideas; business ideas generate lots of information. Thus, information flow can further streamline idea flow, catalyze innovation, and improve the organizational unique competency.

Manage a holistic information life cycle: Data is raw content, without context. Data starts to be 'information' when adding some business context or having some connections to other information items. Information is one of the most invaluable assets of the business today. Compared to the physical asset, Information Management should be managed holistically in order to truly capture its business value and improve business responsiveness and maturity. In practice, the organizational data environment is often fraught with inconsistency, redundancy, multiple, sometimes overlapping data or knowledge platforms, all of which make information management as one of the most difficult, but critical management disciplines. Managing a holistic information life cycle is about processing data (organizing, retrieving, acquiring, securing, maintaining, updating, distributing, etc.), ensuring transparency and visibility, enabling trust and reliability, and climbing information management pyramid (Data-Information- Knowledge-Insight-Wisdom) steadfastly. The ultimate goal of holistic information management is to guide the company forward by capturing business insight, identifying and assessing risks and adjusting the business speed.

Focus on information-based holistic problem-solving: Information Management is the means to an end, the end is all about problem-solving scientifically. As businesses today transform themselves into the digital mode which is based on information, Information/Knowledge Management is the management with knowledge as a focus, involves the use of technologies, information, and processes with the aim of solving business problems, especially at the strategic level. It will be those companies that proactively invest in information Management solutions today will be able to competitively leverage their own information to improve decision effectiveness and business adaptability. In fact, the ability to explore intangible information asset becomes far more decisive to build competitive business advantage for the long term. Sometimes, if there's a lack of quality information and holistic understanding, the business intends to solve symptoms but cause more problems later on or perhaps on the other side the company. Thus, it’s critical to solve problems holistically based on coherent information, technical business capabilities, and skillful problem-solvers with holistic thinking mindset.

The digital paradigm means hyperconnectivity, interdependence, integration, and holism. Those companies that can deliver holistic information Management solutions today will be able to leverage their own information going forward competitively and solving problems systematically. They can build a high intelligent organization and run at a premium speed to thrive in the hypercompetitive digital era.

Posted in: Information/Data Management