evolving information world, The

Information professionals who adapt to today's changing business environment will find that new roles, practices, and opportunities lie ahead

At the Core

This article:

* Reflects on the changing nature of business

* Presents the opportunities available to information mangers

* Suggests needed skills

The information profession is undergoing cataclysmic change. Factors such as digital technology, the Internet, and wireless communication all drive the information future. The world has moved from Generation X to Generation D* - a digitally connected society. In the 21st century, successful organizations are competitive, fast paced, first-to-market, and global in nature. Creating strategic advantage requires a new type of information professional, one who possesses a broad spectrum of information, business, and knowledge management skills and one who can marshal information to maximize organizational competitiveness and strategic success.

The information profession's history provides a context in which to understand the evolution taking place today. Although the development of papyrus and the invention of the printing press gave mankind the ability to produce, copy, and maintain recorded history, the records management discipline did not develop until the mid-20th century. The profession's major focus was to identify, index, store, disseminate, and ultimately dispose of accumulated volumes of paper records.

In 1943, the first mainframe computers appeared. Less than 20 years later, computerbased word processing systems became widely available and with them a new means to create and store recorded information.

Coupled with the proliferation of reliable and inexpensive photocopiers in the early 1970s, the volume of paper-based information expanded exponentially.

The information management profession became specialized; records managers were responsible for paper-based records while archivists dealt with information of historical value. Librarians handled books and reference materials. Management information systems professionals managed all data and information services. This divergence continued throughout the 1970s and early'80s.

In 1981, the personal computer brought computing power directly to users, becoming the primary vehicle for access to information in electronic form. Electronic mail, databases, and word processing entered widespread use. Inexpensive PC printers allowed proliferation of paper records, and electronic records increased exponentially. By 1990, the Internet and the World Wide Web meant PC users could exchange information and collaborate with others anywhere in the world at any time. Within the last five years, e-- commerce, e-business, intranets, and extranets have focused attention on anywhere, anytime access to information through integration, interoperability, and wireless connections.

The world economy is no longer dominated by a few strong and productive nations. In the global economy, emerging financial systems, such as those in Southeast Asia and Latin America, have made a positive impact. This has meant that the economic "pie" is sliced in more and smaller pieces with competition increasing accordingly. On the positive side, competition has driven innovation in technology and created leaner, more nimble organizations. On the negative side, the inevitable fallout of strained economies and failed organizations hampers steady global expansion.

Technology continues to provide a foundation on which to build the future, but the pace of technological evolution is accelerating. It took more than 50 years for the telephone to reach saturation in the market; it took only seven years for the Internet to do so, and projections are that wireless communication tools, such as cell phones and handheld computers, will take even less time. Technological solutions will continue to enable users and organizations to access limitless information, share knowledge, and interact instantaneously.

As the complexity of business has increased, time has become an even more valuable commodity. Organizations seek to do more, produce more, and serve more all within the day's 24 hours. The ability to be first-to-- market is a strategic, competitive necessity in a global economy, in which new products appear with lightning speed. Even with recent problems for dotcom companies, e-business and e-commerce will continue to grow. Efficient access to the knowledge and information needed to develop products and services is critical to an organization's success.

Entering a New Age

Some refer to the present as the Communication Age. Indeed, the broadest, most efficient means to communicate globally is currently being experienced. To communicate with anyone at anytime is an opportunity to share ideas, experiences, and knowledge instantaneously and to collaborate as never before. This ability is powerful. Organizations that are at the forefront leverage communication as a strategic tool, using it to quickly develop products and provide on-demand services.

Global forces and technology's impact on business have advanced society dramatically, but there have been negative impacts. A 1997 study conducted by the Reuters news organization noted that almost half of the working population in developed countries feel they are unable to keep up with and manage the amount of information they receive. Another 38 percent feel they waste a substantial amount of valuable time trying to locate the information they actually need. Reuters also found that 48 percent of workers blame the Internet as the primary cause of work overload and its accompanying environmental and personal stress.

Clearly, the modern-day society suffers from "information fatigue syndrome." Technology has enabled virtually anything definable as information to be captured, classified, and stored. The challenge is making sense of what has been captured and determining its value. Technological tools are excellent at taking in raw information, but often its context is lost. In a society where knowledge sharing is critical to collaboration and stability, this becomes a global problem.

The variety of information objects continues to grow, compounding the syndrome. Documents can be either paper or electronic. Images can be analog photographs, video, or digital formats. Voice can be preserved as a digital record. The Internet, intranets, and extranets add Web-based information to the list. The individual who manages diverse information objects must understand the technology, processes involved, and interrelationships of the applications used.

Given the mega-volume of information being exchanged and captured, it is nearly impossible to separate information of value from "noise." As information volume increases, this challenge will only get larger. The demand for relating experience to information has increased, as has emphasis on capturing the context in which the information was generated as well as the content itself.

Managing electronic information presents other difficult challenges. Most electronic records are not considered true records; those that are are typically maintained in ways that depend either on the application or network environment, making representation and maintenance inconsistent at best. Many systems do not adequately capture or maintain metadata, making it difficult to preserve electronic records or apply disposition to them.

Taken together, these issues are indicative of a complex, information intense world. Clearly, these drivers of the Digital Information Age - expanding technology and a variety of information objects - will continue to present a spectrum of new challenges for the information professional.

Identifying Required Skills

Much like human and financial resources, information is an asset with a calculable return on investment. To maximize the information resource and provide strategic value, all forms of information must be integrated. Managing information as a strategic resource requires a new breed of information professionals.

In his December 2000 InfoPro article, "The Right Stuff," Bruce Dearstyne, Ph.D., of the University of Maryland, indicates that the realm of the 20th century information professional included a well defined work domain, a narrow set of professional skills established over a long period, and production of results that were highly observable and explicit. Dearstyne notes that success was often calculated in terms of hours spent, costs reduced, and input and output processed. It was a consistent and uniform function, typically manual with some technical assistance. Clearly, these information professionals were not part of the strategic operation of the organization. Needed - yes; strategic - no.

In the 21st century, the spectrum of professionals needed includes records and documents managers, archivists, librarians, process designers, knowledge managers, information technologists, systems analysts, and communications network professionals. Single-scope professions will evolve into an integrated and broad profession focused on meeting the strategic needs of the organization and society. Increasingly, information professionals will work as part of crossfunctional, collaborative teams in order to ensure the organization's success.

Information professionals must see and act from broader perspectives. They must realize that technology, no matter how well designed and implemented, can take the organization only so far. The 21st century organization's most valuable strengths are the collective intelligence and capability of its people. The information professional must step up to the challenge of maintaining and protecting this organizational asset, leveraging it as a strategic commodity.

In order to accomplish this, the information professional must be able to manage all types of information - physical or virtual. Inherent is the ability to understand how various types of information objects integrate and interact. Evolved information professionals will facilitate access to a wide spectrum of organizational knowledge, acting as its managers and architects. They must be able to capture content as well as translate the context of information for the user, thereby providing value previously unparalleled. As integrators of information and knowledge transactions, Digital Age information professionals will leverage the power of information to help create strategic advantage, thereby becoming proactive rather than reactive, strategic rather than merely tactical.

The information professional's evolved role requires understanding technology as a tool that can be used to build business solutions and create opportunities. Developing information policies and related procedures focused on the organization's strategic business needs becomes a critical skill.

As Dearstyne notes, successful information professionals must move from being skill-based workers to becoming knowledge facilitators, creating new solutions and options using a broader blend of expertise, experience, and intuition. Rather than being tied to a specific process, information professionals may work within a wide range of relationships, leveraging intellectual capital and experiences. The immersion in knowledge work requires all information professionals to be open, intellectual, dynamic, and flexible.

Personal and professional evolution requires openness to new skills, experiences, and perspectives. Without abandoning the core competencies of the traditional past, a range of new skills needs to be learned. The information professional of 2002 and beyond will deal with an entirely new work environment, with little functional separation between formerly independent information management disciplines. Every information professional will be part of a larger team, focused on creating strategic advantage. Each professional will play an integrated role, leveraging his/her best skills with those of others.

The new competencies required for success comprise two broad categories: technical and personal. Technical skills include the ability to

* create and maintain cross-disciplinary information drawing on both technical and operational areas

* capture information efficiently and position it logically

* develop integrated, user-friendly access to all information objects using a variety of technical and procedural tools

* facilitate research and reference so that the organization remains innovative and strategically competitive provide means to manage digital information in ways that afford logical, efficient access to content and context

* store and protect the organization's key information and knowledge assets Personal skills include the ability to

* think strategically so that projects presented to senior management are related to core strategy

* interact with diverse individuals in a broad range of situations to maximize collaboration and understanding

* manage multiple projects simultaneously and successfully

* think both conceptually and tactically to add multi-dimensional value to the operation

* behave ethically to protect an organization's intellectual property

Preparation for jobs five years from now must begin now. To gain these evolved skills, all information professionals - records managers, archivists, librarians, or systems professionals - need to broaden their training and experience. Information management courses provide both technical training and operational experiences. Library coursework provides education in reference and knowledge management as well as context understanding. Records and archives programs within schools and associations offer education in information capture, organization, preservation, and disposition. Business management coursework offers education in financial, project, and strategic management. The information professional of the 21st century must acquire the broadest possible range of skills in all these areas. The Digital Age requires broad thinking and a large toolkit.

The challenges for today's professionals are many: to keep up with trends in technology and processes, to be aware of evolving best practices, to adapt constantly to an ever-changing world, and to expand personal horizons and grow. The reality is that professionals who do not become strategic players contributing to competitive advantage and critical objectives will not survive professionally in this increasingly complex, demanding Digital Age. The future really is now.

* Generation D is a registered trademark of Worldcom USA

H. Larry Firing, CRM

H. Larry Eiring, CRM, is the Records and Information Manager for Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. He can be contacted at leiring@cov.com.

Copyright Association of Records Managers and Administrators Inc. Jan/Feb 2002
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved