Information Governance Gets Serious ...

... or, more accurately, EMC gets serious about information management, and -- ultimately -- information governance.

Perhaps you saw this press release last week announcing the formation of EMC's Information Management consulting practice.

And, as always, there's more than meets the eye ...

What's Going On Here?

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know my rant:

• information is becoming the single most important asset in most businesses.  Not only is there ever so much more of it every year, but every byte has the increased potential to save you money, make you money or get you in a whole lot of trouble.
   
• because information is becoming so important, IT finds itself being pulled into a new role of information governance, in much the same way the CFO manages and governs financial aspects of the corporation.

I've written about information governance before -- it's one of those big, hairy, strategic topics that just can't be ignored.

And EMC wants (needs!) to lead and define this important space.  It's what we're all about.

We've got the products, we've got the implementation services -- but how do we consult with customers to help them get good at managing (and governing) information?

The Vertical Challenge

Once you start drilling into this topic, you'll notice that it becomes very industry-specific very quickly.

Yes, there are some 101 and 201 level principles that apply to most every business, but to really understand how information is used (and managed and governed), you've got to take a steep vertical dive.

How information is managed/governed in health care will be different than insurance, which will be different than energy, which will be different than retail, or manufacturing, or financial services ... well, you get the picture.

And if this is going to be a business-relevant strategy, it's got to be very much in tune with particular industries.  Even something as innocuous as email management has a strong vertical flavor once you get into it.

Do You Build ... Or Buy?

From a strategic perspective, once you've decided you want to play at a serious level, you've got to figure out how to get there.

Lots of companies hire a few people, announce their new practice, and hope for the best.  I call this the "four guys and a dog" approach to getting into the services business.

On a practical level, there's no way to achieve size, scale and proficiency using this approach.  It rarely hits critical mass -- and, because the way services growth is funded -- it grows very, very slowly, if at all.

The other alternative is to go out and buy a rock star or two.  EMC did this with its Microsoft Practice: we acquired three service specialists, and -- voila! -- we had impressive scale, scope and expertise in a very short amount of time.

Our approach to Information Management follows this second line of thinking. 

We acquired BusinessEdge Solutions, a privately-held company with amazing credentials that was doing very well in this space.

These are very cool guys.  They know their stuff.  They organize by vertical.

And they don't seem to have any obvious competitors so far.

Putting The Pieces Together

Now you've got the classic "perfect storm" situation, at least from my perspective.

You've got a compelling widepsread industry problem that can't be ignored and is going to get worse -- information management and governance.

You've got a world-class technology company that's been investing in technologies to help address this challenge, and is arguably way out in front in many areas -- that'd be EMC.

And now you've got a world-class consultancy capability that can directly engage with customers on a strategic level to put the game plan together -- and that's BusinessEdge Solutions, now the EMC Information Management consulting practice.

I love it when a plan comes together ...

So, What Does This Mean?

I think the game is on. 

IT is becoming more about information, and the new IT leaders will be informationists, not technologists.

And, right or wrong, EMC has invested heavily to meet this new opportunity.

Some would say we've over-invested.

I'd disagree with that statement.

Comments

[David Banks]

An example of Industry-level Information Governance

I have worked in the realm of Visual Analytics using an Australian invention; that of Discovery algorithms. A U.S shareholder of the Australian company was the ISO (Insurance Services Office) a private company based in Jersey City, New Jersey offering, amongst others, expertise in data management — and deep knowledge of insurance. Through this and much more, ISO is the logical choice for collecting, processing, and interpreting information about risk. And ISO develops and implements effective controls to ensure data quality, privacy, and security.

ISO maintains several of the largest and most important insurance databases in the world.

When discussing with Frank Coyne (CEO & Chairman) the heritage of one of the services, ISO ClaimSearch® he explained simply that his business fundamentally relied on the effective and efficient collection of data. ISO facilitated this by designing the very forms containing the many records of information related to the claims. Gaining industry trust and adoption of the thinking was the key to its success. (ISO ClaimSearch® contains information on approximately 600 million claims. Insurers and other participants submit claim reports — more than 210,000 a day — in all lines of business. Insurers, law enforcement agencies, and government fraud bureaus use the information to detect and prevent fraud).

I consider this a great example of Information Governance which delivers service to industry and ultimately the community.

[Chuck Hollis]

David -- great story! Thanks for sharing!

-- Chuck