Information & Data Management

Information and Data Management has become a key factor in the success of many organizations. It is as important as managing the financial assets of your business. An organization's success depends upon how well they manage their information and data in today's information-service based economy.

Developing an approach that assures the data's definition, accuracy, completeness, and timeliness are essential for producing quality information. Maintaining the quality and integrity of data is critical for meeting the requirements and expectations of all who use that information. The impact of erroneous data is estimated to cost businesses over $6 billion dollars a year in terms of person-hours, faulty decisions, and redundant data storage. With the exponential growth of data available on the Internet, it is absolutely necessary to ensure an organization has access to reliable, high-quality data.

For example, each organization is required to periodically report financial and accounting data to Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The IRS has detailed specifications for accurately reporting operating incomes, revenues, sales, costs, and other financial data. Therefore, every organization should have the discipline to maintain the integrity of their data. Such data serves a dual purpose because it fulfills IRS requirements and it can be readily accessed to support financial decision-making.

Do you have information and data requirements adequately described in a business plan? Do employees know what information is critical to run your business? Do they know who is responsible for that information? Who has the right to access that information? How quality of your data is measured? Do you know the cost of erroneous data in your business?

Developing an information and data plan helps your business achieve success. It provides a roadmap for decision-making to improve your organization's operation with the right data at the right time with the right people.

Elements of that plan include:
  • Creating a clear and appropriate information and data governance approach.
  • Integrating information and data into your business and IT strategy.
  • Developing a consistent and meaningful business terminology.
  • Developing a contextual representation of information used in your business.
  • Developing a way to easily access and share information in your business.
  • Deploying successful information and data management practices.

Adopting a proactive approach to managing information and data in your organization establishes a knowledge-based environment. People can have the ability to turn information and data into effective decisions. It has the potential to positively affect your organization by reducing errors, avoiding thousands of dollars in unnecessary costs, and provide new opportunities for success! To learn more about information and data management approaches, contact us.