Information Revolution is about how information should be obtained, validated, stored, accessed, and distributed. It's the strategy of information management, in other words.
The book describes five levels of business information evolution. Most companies have some kind of operational and consolidation level capability. They can use data to take on everyday issues and consolidate data into department or functional perspectives—the first two levels. The book argues that winners in the next decade will advance on to Levels 3 (integration into an enterprise-wide view); 4 (optimization by market); and 5 (innovation, using ideas to generate new revenue).
This book adds a new model to the literature of information management, the Information Evolution Model, that, according to the authors, is derived from the needs and workings of real companies. The model provides an “evolutionary” path to be followed in addressing infrastructure, knowledge process, human capital, and culture.
The fact that the process here is evolutionary rather than a tear-up-the-scenery remake of your entire organization should be comforting to readers. If your organization can agree on a starting point (a quiz is provided to help you determine your spot on the evolutionary scale) and a destination, the book provides a “virtual GPS” to lead the way, the authors write.
How do you know when you've reached Level 5? Landmarks to watch for include the routine encouragement of new ideas, the incorporation of cross-industry information into the decision-making process, and the budgeting of resources for researching and developing ideas. You'll also see something else: higher margins, greater market share, and consistent first-mover advantage. “As much as 40 percent of revenue may come from initiatives that are less than three years old,” write the authors, all of whom are executives with SAS Institute.
- Sean Silverthorne