Information Management Strategy

An increasing number of organisations are recognising the benefit of having a robust information management strategy due to the massive growth in the volumes of enterprise data; the proliferation of data warehouse and business intelligence tools; and the recognition of data as a key strategic asset.

Effective information management strategies can help increase revenue, profitability and effectiveness, as well as reduce cost by:

• Providing competitive advantage by optimising an organisation’s information assets

• Supporting improved decision-making, for example, project prioritization, selection of appropriate data warehouse and business intelligence technology, and identification of relevant skills and resources

• Identifying the right organisational structures and governance processes needed to facilitate effective information management

Information Management Strategy starts with understanding the broader business objectives and success criteria, which we do through a process of interviews with stakeholders from the broader business, rather than in isolation within IT. We use that information to develop a long-term vision and delivery roadmap, with clear deliverables that allow you to track and measure success.

The following diagram outlines our proven approach to information management strategy.

This approach provides a defined and pragmatic methodology to what is typically a complex activity, and breaks it down into manageable steps, overlaid with our intellectual property in information management best practice.

Following are further details on the key steps.

• Kick-off: This is a critical step in achieving acceptance and support from the broader business, which helps to maintain momentum on the project. We engage key stakeholders, set objectives, define scope, roles and responsibilities.

• Education: Often key stakeholders and team members will have a different understanding of information management principles. Altis has developed our own Information Management Fundamentals materials to help provide a consistency of understanding.

• Current State Review: We focus on building a deep understanding of the existing information management environment, including a systems inventory, data movement processes, an initial assessment of data quality, as well as understanding key frustrations within the business.

• Business Requirements: This is an iterative process of requirements gathering, analysis and confirmation. The Current State Review is referenced to check if there are any gaps between the new requirements, and the current data warehouse business intelligence data sets. Business and IT strategy are also analysed as critical inputs to provide context.

• Future State Definition: We detail the information architecture, technology components, processes and governance needed to achieve the strategic objectives.

• Roadmap to Future State: Often an information management strategy will define an end state that is challenging to attain, so we develop a roadmap to break up the deliverables over time.

Execution

Your information management strategy is only valuable if it can be executed. The final stage in the process is to synthesize the strategy outcomes with ongoing future initiatives and prepare an execution plan.

We’re able draw on knowledge gained from hundreds of client engagements to ensure the link between strategy and execution is strong. And we’re also able to provide indicative cost estimates for the investment needed across multiple implementation phases.

Our information management strategy work spreads across all of our disciplines and services. For example, we developed a Data Quality strategy for Western Australia Water; an information management strategy for Auckland University of Technology, and the University of Southern Queensland; and assisted with the software selection for BT.