Organisations struggle with large and ever-growing collections of information and increasingly have difficulty getting a handle on it. Enterprise information management (EIM) helps tame that enormous growth by effectively and systematically using information.
Enterprise information management (EIM) is the systematic planning, development, management, distribution, evaluation, and preservation of all enterprise information in an organisation.
Information is essential in digital transformation.
Under enterprise information, we understand unstructured information (including documents, records, web content, video, images) and structured information (data, analytics).
Recently, organisations have focused on data and analytics. That is logical because with the help of data, one can make better "data-driven" decisions. But do not forget that much of the knowledge and essential information is in the unstructured information. This information supports the data and enables the organisation to make data-informed decisions.
An organisation that has the management of its information in order has a greater chance of staying ahead of the competition. Customers and employees will then receive the right information at the right time, management will receive information more quickly and can make the right decisions. And signals from customers arrive faster and can be used more quickly to create even more value.
Information management lifecycle
Information management touches many disciplines and is complex. Organisations usually do not have a grip on the information. The lifecycle of enterprise information can help organisations get a grip. From planning through development and management to final archiving and even destruction of the information.
TIMAF has developed a lifecycle that consists of six phases: plan, develop, manage, distribute, evaluate, and preserve.
The phases of information management
The first phase is the planning phase, in which the organisation's goals and the needs of the target group are translated into an information strategy. In this phase, a digital architecture is also developed and digital governance is determined.
In the development phase, information is created, edited, scanned, collected, and/or obtained in other ways. Information is also contextualised in this phase.
The management phase involves the organisation of the information. In the management phase, the information is stored, secured, assessed, and approved within an information organisation.
In the distribution phase, the information is compiled and offered for publication. Information can be optimised for a specific channel or audience.
The evaluation phase is the time to check if information is still current, valuable, and relevant and if the audience can find the information. Analytics are used to see what the usage is. Qualitative research can help determine why something has value and how the information can be further improved.
The preservation phase is also important in the process of information management. Reuse valuable information and preserve or destroy information that is no longer useful.
Use the information management lifecycle poster.
TIMAF developed the "More grip on the lifecycle of information" poster, which includes the entire lifecycle of information.
Use this poster to analyse and improve the process of information management.
Discuss the lifecycle with your colleagues and also involve other disciplines in the dialogue.
Look at what information (content, data) is used or created at what time in the customer or organisation process and determine everyone's role in that information process.
Take the information management training
Enterprise information management (EIM) is a discipline with a lot of overlaps and many subdisciplines. It is difficult to get a good picture of this.
That is why TIMAF has developed a training program in which you can become familiar with enterprise information management and also explore the various disciplines in more depth.
