Information Governance: Driving Value and Profits

Information governance: Two words regularly used by top executives to describe new programs for complying with the plethora of government mandates, the proliferation of content and the increasing legal and operational costs associated with corporate information. Information governance programs are also being developed to address new trends such as cloud computing, social media platforms, management of big data and "bring your own device" (BYOD) initiatives.

For many organizations, information is an asset that fuels business growth. However, there are certainly a number of high-profile cases that show information mismanagement can prove to be just as costly in terms of fines, brand reputation and legal fees. Organizations need to find a balance between the risk that information incurs, and the value it provides, for discovering buying patterns, driving product innovations and uncovering new opportunities.

Content Here, There and Everywhere

In recent years, there has been explosive growth in the creation and collection of content by applications and individuals. There are practically thousands of different types of information—stored in content management systems, data warehouses, physical warehouses, desktop computers, file shares, back-up archives, mobile devices, cloud services and even employees' personal computers. To complicate matters, this information is also scattered across jurisdictions—each with its own requirements, laws, and regulations.

What separates excellent companies from mediocre companies is the ability to properly utilize information to profitably grow the organization. Employees require simple, secure, and rapid access to information-regardless of source, format, platform or storage media.

As depicted in figure 1 (See Page S4 downloadable PDF), today, employees rely on accurate information to do their jobs in a variety of ways:

• To invest in new geographic regions—Sales forecasts and competitive information help determine if companies should invest (or divest) in specific geographic regions. Local legal and operational requirements are critical when making these decisions.
• To innovate products—Information derived from customer and employee feedback in the development process helps enhance existing product lines and facilitates the creation of new products.
• To process business transactions—The difference between approving and rejecting a transaction can cost a company millions of dollars. Examples include loan processing and insurance underwriting.
• To drive customer loyalty programs—Call centers are now motivated to cross- and up-sell to customers. High-speed and secure access to disparate information helps customer service representatives address customer issues while selling new products and services.
• To acquire other organizations—Growth by acquisition is a proven strategy. However, after a merger or acquisition, it's critical to bring new systems (and associated information) under the governance umbrella in order to realize the full value of the transaction. This also improves customer and employee retention.
• To deliver safer products to the market—Accurate, timely and comprehensive safety reports enable companies to produce, market and distribute safe products. Safety data must meet business and legal specifications and be available to be referenced on demand.
• To respond to audits and legal matters—Litigation and audits are inevitable. A faster response to these matters will minimize the burden of these activities on resources and increase the bottom line.

All Content Is Not Treated Equal

A common mistake made by organizations is a failure to differentiate information-handling processes and policies based on the value of information being governed. Certain business units (and individuals) create information that's inherently more valuable than others. For example, would you treat information from your vice president of sales the same as you would treat content from a marketing intern? Your information governance strategy must account for the value of information in how it is classified and accessed.

Of special importance is information related to future revenue. For example, a pharmaceutical company will place a high priority on protecting information related to future products because there is no patent protection. It is vital for companies to have systems in place to protect sensitive content such as:

• Product roadmaps;
• Manufacturing plans;
• Vendor supply lists; and
• Marketing and promotional strategies.

Information governance helps map information to the value it provides and enables organizations to govern records in priority order.

Sharing and Unlocking Information

There have been hundreds of case studies describing the importance of collaboration and how it improves innovation. Microsoft SharePoint has become the de facto standard for collaborating and sharing documents. Employees rely on SharePoint to plan new products, share ideas, manage complex projects and streamline processes.

Since SharePoint has become the central hub for employees, it's critical that users have simple (and relevant) access to SharePoint and non-SharePoint information—all within SharePoint's user-friendly interface. Companies need to keep track of what information is created, stored, and accessed in SharePoint. By providing these capabilities, SharePoint becomes a much stronger platform for your organization.

Information governance enhances existing SharePoint deployments by:

• Enforcing proper governance controls without impeding the benefits of SharePoint;
• Allowing all information to be securely and properly shared across departments, jurisdictions and systems; and,
• Moving relevant files from desktops and shared drives to SharePoint-automatically.

Some employees still rely on email for collaboration. Email (and attachments) have significant value to the business—whether they contain contract terms, meeting notes or employee opinions on a given topic. Email now requires strict governance—and as a result email archives must also be included in your information governance platform.

Meet the New Employee

Thanks to mobile and cloud technologies, automatic "out of the office" messages are a thing of the past. Employees count on using devices to collaborate on documents, take meeting notes, create presentations and collect data in the field. Employees are using their own smart phones and tablets to conduct business—a trend that continues to grow.

While the actual hardware may belong to the employee, corporate information does not. Data residing on the device belongs to the organization—creating a new twist to information governance initiatives. As a result, companies need to keep employees happy and productive while protecting and leveraging the information they create and consume.