Data-driven decision-making is a key driver of competitive advantage in today’s digital age. But the efficacy of such decisions depends on the quality of the data. As the amount of data available for decision-making explodes, enterprises struggle to keep pace and make sense of it. Their success in harnessing data depends on the efficacy of their information management systems.
Information management is harnessing technology to unlock the value of data, the objective being to empower users with actionable information from data. Good information management systems track relevant data and store it in a way that all authorised users can access it easily.
The digital revolution brought about by Industry 4.0 is reimaging work. Side-by-side, information management is also undergoing a seismic shift. Legacy information management systems no longer meet new business challenges. These systems were set up to solve problems that are no longer relevant. Enterprises need new strategies and approaches to deal with the new problems that manifest in today’s digital age. The following capabilities of next-gen information management systems enable users to navigate the digital ecosystem with ease.
Break down silos and foster collaboration
Enterprise content almost always resides in multiple content repositories. And most internal repositories are clunky, siloed, and often access-restricted. Some of them have incomprehensible formats. Information trapped in isolated silos hinders collaboration and innovation. Enterprise users struggle with multiple and inconsistent repositories. They have access to vast quantities of information but cannot use it. Critical data remains unavailable for decision-making, and analytical systems churn out half-baked insights.
The first principle of next-gen knowledge management is to make everything accessible.
The system requires upfront decisions on data warehousing, architecture, and formats.
The next step is to map the information systems, databases and repositories that exist in the enterprise. Many enterprises have more systems and repositories than they think they do. Also, some silos exist to protect sensitive data from prying eyes.
The latest information management systems implement content abstraction tiers. Such abstraction simplifies data views for users, offering them contextual and curated access to data. It focuses on what’s relevant to the user’s needs, hiding the unnecessary technical aspects.
Integrating disparate data sources creates a unified information ecosystem. Cloud-based platforms offer a central repository accessible from anywhere, anytime.
Intelligent information management
The exponential data growth due to relentless digitisation overwhelms legacy tools and systems. True to form, most legacy information management systems cannot handle the recent data exposition.
Also, repetitive data management, classification, and identification tasks bog down information workers. Next-gen information management systems use artificial intelligence (AI) to overcome such limitations.
AI equips information management systems to recognise patterns and extract insights. It also enables predictive analytics. Machine learning-powered tools automate content tagging, summarise datasets, and personalise user experiences. Robotic process automation and intelligent content services automate data entry, classification, and routing. Until now, these tasks required painstaking manual effort.
Enhanced search capabilities
Search capabilities are another big area of change in the next-generation information management systems. Formatting and storing huge volumes of data is useless without a workable system to identify the right data when needed and an interface to do it.
Legacy information management systems return a bunch of PDFs matched on keywords. Users searching for information must download each PDF, open it, and search again within the document. The latest information management systems have advanced search capabilities to reduce such friction. These tools are on the cusp of co-opting fourth-generation AI-driven search. Such search goes beyond keywords and understands user intent. It leverages natural language processing to understand the context and nuances of the search query.
Proactive compliance and governance
Information governance is no longer optional in today’s data-driven world. Clear data creation, storage, access, and disposal policies ensure sanity in today’s fast-paced world.
The latest information management systems automate classification, enforcement, and approvals tasks. Many solutions co-opt advanced governance features such as:
- Data classification system to categorise information based on sensitivity and compliance requirements.
- Data lineage and auditing, to track the origin and transformation of data. Such insights make explicit data use patterns and identify potential compliance issues.
- Robust reporting, offering insights into data usage, access patterns, and potential risks. Next-generation knowledge management systems deliver proactive insights at the right time.
Side-by-side, the information management system ensures privacy and meets compliance mandates. These policies ensure that no one can access data not meant for them.
One good example is OpenText’s NetIQ Data Access Governance (DAG). DAG identifies sensitive data, makes explicit who has access, and automates permission controls. The tool ensures only authorised users can access critical information, reducing the risk of breaches and unauthorised modifications.
Premium for UX and simplicity in design
Most legacy information management systems solved mission-critical, document-intensive, and high-volume process bottlenecks. Only a limited set of specialists used these systems. As such, UX was not a priority. But of late, even lay users access and use information management systems. In such a scenario, the weaknesses of the UX become apparent and stifle productivity.
Clumsy UX increases the time users spend searching for information. This time carries an opportunity cost. Enterprise users could do other value-adding tasks, such as engaging with a customer, during that time.
Usability and UX are not abstract concepts, though. They depend on the context of specific workflows and processes. Overall, enterprises today value simplicity for its ability to get things done fast.
Next-generation information management systems offer simple, neat, and intuitive interfaces. The information architectures categorise content logically. The best UX design also ensures a seamless and consistent experience across tablet, desktop or mobile devices. The latest information management platforms offer enterprise users the latest features and functionality. One such platform is OpenText, which enables enterprise teams to work smarter with their data. OpenText cloud equips enterprises to manage any volume of data at scale. The tool automates data-related processes and enables smarter AI-powered decisions.
