Given the exponential increase in data being generated across enterprise, social networking and legacy IT systems, the need for ensuring a consistent set of frameworks and objectives are used to bring relevance to this data is critical. The tendency of "boil the ocean" of data through Big Data initiatives including Hadoop, an open source analytics platform, have recently emerged as one viable alternative (McKendrick, 2012). Yet too often being able to take in literally terabytes of data and analyze it is of limited use without a consistent, strategic framework to make use of it (Rogers, 2011). Too many IT organizations are falling victim to speeding up mediocre reporting and analysis processes without first thinking about how to bring greater value into their strategic initiatives with the data (Daly, 2011). The answer to this dilemma isn't found in more technology; it's found in creating a more effective strategic framework to bring meaning into the data (Kalpic, Bernus, 2006).
Information Systems and Strategy
Finding a Path Out of Information Overload: How Enterprises Can Create a Unified Strategy to Transform Data Into Competitive Advantage
Given the exponential increase in data being generated across enterprise, social networking and legacy it systems, the need for ensuring a consistent set of frameworks and objectives are used to bring relevance to this data is critical. The tendency of "boil the ocean" of data through Big Data initiatives including Hadoop, an open source analytics platform, have recently emerged as one viable alternative (McKendrick, 2012). Yet too often being able to take in literally terabytes of data and analyze it is of limited use without a consistent, strategic framework to make use of it (Rogers, 2011). Too many it organizations are falling victim to speeding up mediocre reporting and analysis processes without first thinking about how to bring greater value into their strategic initiatives with the data (Daly, 2011). The answer to this dilemma isn't found in more technology; it's found in creating a more effective strategic framework to bring meaning into the data (Kalpic, Bernus, 2006).
Making Data Strategic Begins With a Solid Organizational Framework
The role of many Chief Information officers (CIOs) in companies is one of being the provider of the it "dial tone," ensuring that existing it systems and resources are stable enough to ensure core functions of a business are sustained over the long-term (Henschen, 2011). Yet this role of being the keeper of the "dial tone" is fraught with more risk than many CIOs would care to admit today, as they are continually being pushed into becoming strategists that support the core business functions of their company. This focus on being a strategic planner for it systems has many CIOs, the majority of which are actually technologists, looking at Big Data, cloud computing and the rapid advances in social media as a technology to be adopted, not as strategic tools for rejuvenating and transforming their industries. Yet for the CIO to continually add value to their companies, they must think more strategically, focused on delivering value over and above the "dial tone" in the company or the preservation of the status quo -- which if kept over the long-term will be lethal for any enterprise.
The best practices emerging out of this dilemma show potential to re-order how enterprises get in control of the exponential increases in data they generate and integrate to. At the foundation of this best practice is a strong focus on creating a business process management (BPM) framework that looks first to define and continually modify business processes that support goal attainment. This focus on business processes often escalates into completely redefining the core strategies of a business, in effect completely redefining the core workflows of a business (Kalpic, Bernus, 2006). The reengineering of these processes is what makes it possible for companies to continually grow and stay agile over time. If they failed to, their legacy processes would hinder their ability to compete and the entire organization would risk becoming anachronistic and out of touch with customers (Kalpic, Bernus, 2006). The focus on creating value by process efficiency is the best practice that pervades the companies getting the most out of their investments in information technologies including technical systems. Taking a more focused approach to creating, fine-tuning and aligning business processes to strategies is critical for it investments and technical systems to pay off over time. These social systems, or the definition of workflows and processes across the organization, must be the foundation of continual growth and evolution of business strategies for it investments to be relevant over time (Collett, 2011). The social systems or business processes and the integrating of them throughout the external consistencies of a business also are critical for the technical systems to stay relevant and agile over time as well. The use of it systems and technologies is then secondary to the supporting of key business processes that unify an organization. A solid organizational framework can save a company literally millions of dollars in bad it and technical systems by making sure every information asset and initiatives aligns to strategic plans and initiatives.
Big Data, Cloud Computing and Social Networks -- the Data Explosion
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