<s>
Information	B-Application
management	I-Application
(	O
IM	O
)	O
is	O
the	O
appropriate	O
and	O
optimized	O
capture	O
,	O
storage	B-General_Concept
,	O
retrieval	O
,	O
and	O
use	O
of	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
may	O
be	O
personal	B-Application
information	I-Application
management	I-Application
or	O
organizational	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
cycle	O
of	O
information	O
organisation	O
involves	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
stakeholders	O
,	O
including	O
those	O
who	O
are	O
responsible	O
for	O
assuring	O
the	O
quality	O
,	O
accessibility	O
and	O
utility	O
of	O
acquired	O
information	O
;	O
those	O
who	O
are	O
responsible	O
for	O
its	O
safe	O
storage	B-General_Concept
and	O
disposal	O
;	O
and	O
those	O
who	O
need	O
it	O
for	O
decision	O
making	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stakeholders	O
might	O
have	O
rights	O
to	O
originate	O
,	O
change	O
,	O
distribute	O
or	O
delete	O
information	O
according	O
to	O
organisational	O
information	B-Application
management	I-Application
policies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Information	B-Application
management	I-Application
embraces	O
all	O
the	O
generic	O
concepts	O
of	O
management	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
planning	O
,	O
organizing	O
,	O
structuring	O
,	O
processing	O
,	O
controlling	O
,	O
evaluation	O
and	O
reporting	B-General_Concept
of	O
information	O
activities	O
,	O
all	O
of	O
which	O
is	O
needed	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
meet	O
the	O
needs	O
of	O
those	O
with	O
organisational	O
roles	O
or	O
functions	O
that	O
depend	O
on	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Information	B-Application
management	I-Application
is	O
closely	O
related	O
to	O
,	O
and	O
overlaps	O
with	O
,	O
the	O
management	O
of	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
,	O
systems	O
,	O
technology	O
,	O
processes	O
and	O
–	O
where	O
the	O
availability	O
of	O
information	O
is	O
critical	O
to	O
organisational	O
success	O
–	O
strategy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
broad	O
view	O
of	O
the	O
realm	O
of	O
information	B-Application
management	I-Application
contrasts	O
with	O
the	O
earlier	O
,	O
more	O
traditional	O
view	O
,	O
that	O
the	O
life	O
cycle	O
of	O
managing	O
information	O
is	O
an	O
operational	O
matter	O
that	O
requires	O
specific	O
procedures	O
,	O
organisational	O
capabilities	O
and	O
standards	O
that	O
deal	O
with	O
information	O
as	O
a	O
product	O
or	O
a	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
1970s	O
,	O
the	O
management	O
of	O
information	O
largely	O
concerned	O
matters	O
closer	O
to	O
what	O
would	O
now	O
be	O
called	O
data	B-General_Concept
management	I-General_Concept
:	O
punched	B-Architecture
cards	I-Architecture
,	O
magnetic	O
tapes	O
and	O
other	O
record-keeping	O
media	O
,	O
involving	O
a	O
life	O
cycle	O
of	O
such	O
formats	O
requiring	O
origination	O
,	O
distribution	O
,	O
backup	O
,	O
maintenance	O
and	O
disposal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
this	O
time	O
the	O
huge	O
potential	O
of	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
began	O
to	O
be	O
recognised	O
:	O
for	O
example	O
a	O
single	O
chip	O
storing	O
a	O
whole	O
book	O
,	O
or	O
electronic	O
mail	O
moving	O
messages	O
instantly	O
around	O
the	O
world	O
,	O
remarkable	O
ideas	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
proliferation	O
of	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
and	O
the	O
extending	O
reach	O
of	O
information	O
systems	O
in	O
the	O
1980s	O
and	O
1990s	O
,	O
information	B-Application
management	I-Application
took	O
on	O
a	O
new	O
form	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Progressive	O
businesses	O
such	O
as	O
British	O
Petroleum	O
transformed	O
the	O
vocabulary	O
of	O
what	O
was	O
then	O
"	O
IT	B-Application
management	I-Application
"	O
,	O
so	O
that	O
“	O
systems	O
analysts	O
”	O
became	O
“	O
business	O
analysts	O
”	O
,	O
“	O
monopoly	O
supply	O
”	O
became	O
a	O
mixture	O
of	O
“	O
insourcing	O
”	O
and	O
“	O
outsourcing	B-Architecture
”	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
large	O
IT	O
function	O
was	O
transformed	O
into	O
“	O
lean	O
teams	O
”	O
that	O
began	O
to	O
allow	O
some	O
agility	O
in	O
the	O
processes	O
that	O
harness	O
information	O
for	O
business	O
benefit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
scope	O
of	O
senior	O
management	O
interest	O
in	O
information	O
at	O
British	O
Petroleum	O
extended	O
from	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
value	O
through	O
improved	O
business	O
processes	O
,	O
based	O
upon	O
the	O
effective	O
management	O
of	O
information	O
,	O
permitting	O
the	O
implementation	O
of	O
appropriate	O
information	O
systems	O
(	O
or	O
“	O
applications	B-Application
”	O
)	O
that	O
were	O
operated	O
on	O
IT	B-Application
infrastructure	I-Application
that	O
was	O
outsourced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
way	O
,	O
information	B-Application
management	I-Application
was	O
no	O
longer	O
a	O
simple	O
job	O
that	O
could	O
be	O
performed	O
by	O
anyone	O
who	O
had	O
nothing	O
else	O
to	O
do	O
,	O
it	O
became	O
highly	O
strategic	O
and	O
a	O
matter	O
for	O
senior	O
management	O
attention	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
transitional	O
period	O
leading	O
up	O
to	O
the	O
strategic	O
view	O
of	O
information	B-Application
management	I-Application
,	O
Venkatraman	O
(	O
a	O
strong	O
advocate	O
of	O
this	O
transition	O
and	O
transformation	O
,	O
proffered	O
a	O
simple	O
arrangement	O
of	O
ideas	O
that	O
succinctly	O
brought	O
together	O
the	O
managements	O
of	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
,	O
information	O
,	O
and	O
knowledge	O
(	O
see	O
the	O
figure	O
)	O
)	O
argued	O
that	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Data	O
that	O
is	O
maintained	O
in	O
IT	B-Application
infrastructure	I-Application
has	O
to	O
be	O
interpreted	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
render	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
often	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
the	O
DIKAR	O
model	O
:	O
Data	O
,	O
Information	O
,	O
Knowledge	O
,	O
Action	O
and	O
Result	O
,	O
it	O
gives	O
a	O
strong	O
clue	O
as	O
to	O
the	O
layers	O
involved	O
in	O
aligning	O
technology	O
and	O
organisational	O
strategies	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
seen	O
as	O
a	O
pivotal	O
moment	O
in	O
changing	O
attitudes	O
to	O
information	B-Application
management	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
recognition	O
that	O
information	B-Application
management	I-Application
is	O
an	O
investment	O
that	O
must	O
deliver	O
meaningful	O
results	O
is	O
important	O
to	O
all	O
modern	O
organisations	O
that	O
depend	O
on	O
information	O
and	O
good	O
decision-making	O
for	O
their	O
success	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
commonly	O
believed	O
that	O
good	O
information	B-Application
management	I-Application
is	O
crucial	O
to	O
the	O
smooth	O
working	O
of	O
organisations	O
,	O
and	O
although	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
commonly	O
accepted	O
theory	O
of	O
information	B-Application
management	I-Application
per	O
se	O
,	O
behavioural	O
and	O
organisational	O
theories	O
help	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
And	O
yet	O
,	O
well	O
before	O
there	O
was	O
any	O
general	O
recognition	O
of	O
the	O
importance	O
of	O
information	B-Application
management	I-Application
in	O
organisations	O
,	O
March	O
and	O
Simon	O
argued	O
that	O
organizations	O
have	O
to	O
be	O
considered	O
as	O
cooperative	B-Application
systems	I-Application
,	O
with	O
a	O
high	O
level	O
of	O
information	O
processing	O
and	O
a	O
vast	O
need	O
for	O
decision	O
making	O
at	O
various	O
levels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Concurrently	O
,	O
the	O
ideas	O
of	O
business	O
process	O
management	O
and	O
knowledge	O
management	O
although	O
much	O
of	O
the	O
optimistic	O
early	O
thinking	O
about	O
business	O
process	O
redesign	O
has	O
since	O
been	O
discredited	O
in	O
the	O
information	B-Application
management	I-Application
literature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bytheway	O
has	O
collected	O
and	O
organised	O
basic	O
tools	O
and	O
techniques	O
for	O
information	B-Application
management	I-Application
in	O
a	O
single	O
volume	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
heart	O
of	O
his	O
view	O
of	O
information	B-Application
management	I-Application
is	O
a	O
portfolio	O
model	O
that	O
takes	O
account	O
of	O
the	O
surging	O
interest	O
in	O
external	O
sources	O
of	O
information	O
and	O
the	O
need	O
to	O
organise	O
un-structured	O
information	O
external	O
so	O
as	O
to	O
make	O
it	O
useful	O
(	O
see	O
the	O
figure	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stage	O
1	O
:	O
Taking	O
advantage	O
of	O
public	O
information	O
:	O
recognise	O
and	O
adopt	O
well-structured	O
external	O
schemes	O
of	O
reference	O
data	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
post	B-Device
codes	I-Device
,	O
weather	O
data	O
,	O
GPS	O
positioning	O
data	O
and	O
travel	O
timetables	O
,	O
exemplified	O
in	O
the	O
personal	O
computing	O
press	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stage	O
2	O
:	O
Tagging	O
the	O
noise	O
on	O
the	O
World	O
Wide	O
Web	O
:	O
use	O
existing	O
schemes	O
such	O
as	O
post	B-Device
codes	I-Device
and	O
GPS	O
data	O
or	O
more	O
typically	O
by	O
adding	O
“	O
tags	O
”	O
,	O
or	O
construct	O
a	O
formal	O
ontology	O
that	O
provides	O
structure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stage	O
3	O
:	O
Sifting	O
and	O
analysing	O
:	O
in	O
the	O
wider	O
world	O
the	O
generalised	O
ontologies	O
that	O
are	O
under	O
development	O
extend	O
to	O
hundreds	O
of	O
entities	O
and	O
hundreds	O
of	O
relations	O
between	O
them	O
and	O
provide	O
the	O
means	O
to	O
elicit	O
meaning	O
from	O
large	O
volumes	O
of	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Structured	O
data	O
in	O
databases	O
works	O
best	O
when	O
that	O
structure	O
reflects	O
a	O
higher-level	O
information	O
model	O
–	O
an	O
ontology	O
,	O
or	O
an	O
entity-relationship	B-Architecture
model	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stage	O
4	O
:	O
Structuring	O
and	O
archiving	O
:	O
with	O
the	O
large	O
volume	O
of	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
available	O
from	O
sources	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
social	O
web	O
and	O
from	O
the	O
miniature	O
telemetry	O
systems	O
used	O
in	O
personal	O
health	O
management	O
,	O
new	O
ways	O
to	O
archive	O
and	O
then	O
trawl	O
data	O
for	O
meaningful	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Map-reduce	B-Operating_System
methods	O
,	O
originating	O
from	O
functional	B-Language
programming	I-Language
,	O
are	O
a	O
more	O
recent	O
way	O
of	O
eliciting	O
information	O
from	O
large	O
archival	O
datasets	B-General_Concept
that	O
is	O
becoming	O
interesting	O
to	O
regular	O
businesses	O
that	O
have	O
very	O
large	O
data	O
resources	O
to	O
work	O
with	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
requires	O
advanced	O
multi-processor	O
resources	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
IMBOK	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
argument	O
that	O
there	O
are	O
six	O
areas	O
of	O
required	O
management	O
competency	O
,	O
two	O
of	O
which	O
(	O
“	O
business	O
process	O
management	O
”	O
and	O
“	O
business	B-General_Concept
information	I-General_Concept
management	O
”	O
)	O
are	O
very	O
closely	O
related	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
:	O
The	O
pace	O
of	O
change	O
of	O
technology	O
and	O
the	O
pressure	O
to	O
constantly	O
acquire	O
the	O
newest	O
technological	O
products	O
can	O
undermine	O
the	O
stability	O
of	O
the	O
infrastructure	O
that	O
supports	O
systems	O
,	O
and	O
thereby	O
optimises	O
business	O
processes	O
and	O
delivers	O
benefits	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Information	O
system	O
:	O
While	O
historically	O
information	O
systems	O
were	O
developed	O
in-house	B-Architecture
,	O
over	O
the	O
years	O
it	O
has	O
become	O
possible	O
to	O
acquire	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
software	O
systems	O
that	O
an	O
organisation	O
needs	O
from	O
the	O
software	B-Application
package	I-Application
industry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Business	O
processes	O
and	O
Business	B-General_Concept
information	I-General_Concept
:	O
Information	O
systems	O
are	O
applied	O
to	O
business	O
processes	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
improve	O
them	O
,	O
and	O
they	O
bring	O
data	O
to	O
the	O
business	O
that	O
becomes	O
useful	O
as	O
business	B-General_Concept
information	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Business	O
process	O
management	O
is	O
still	O
seen	O
as	O
a	O
relatively	O
new	O
idea	O
because	O
it	O
is	O
not	O
universally	O
adopted	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
has	O
been	O
difficult	O
in	O
many	O
cases	O
;	O
business	B-General_Concept
information	I-General_Concept
management	O
is	O
even	O
more	O
of	O
a	O
challenge	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
the	O
emergence	O
and	O
popularisation	O
of	O
the	O
Balanced	O
scorecard	O
there	O
has	O
been	O
huge	O
interest	O
in	O
business	O
performance	O
management	O
but	O
not	O
much	O
serious	O
effort	O
has	O
been	O
made	O
to	O
relate	O
business	O
performance	O
management	O
to	O
the	O
benefits	O
of	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
investments	O
and	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
new	O
information	O
systems	O
until	O
the	O
turn	O
of	O
the	O
millennium	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Business	O
strategy	O
:	O
Although	O
a	O
long	O
way	O
from	O
the	O
workaday	O
issues	O
of	O
managing	O
information	O
in	O
organisations	O
,	O
strategy	O
in	O
most	O
organisations	O
simply	O
has	O
to	O
be	O
informed	O
by	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
and	O
information	O
systems	O
opportunities	O
,	O
whether	O
to	O
address	O
poor	O
performance	O
or	O
to	O
improve	O
differentiation	O
and	O
competitiveness	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
problem	O
lies	O
in	O
the	O
migration	O
of	O
ideas	O
and	O
information	B-Application
management	I-Application
value	O
from	O
one	O
area	O
of	O
competency	O
to	O
another	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Projects	O
:	O
Information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
is	O
without	O
value	O
until	O
it	O
is	O
engineered	O
into	O
information	O
systems	O
that	O
meet	O
the	O
needs	O
of	O
the	O
business	O
by	O
means	O
of	O
good	O
project	O
management	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Contrary	O
to	O
common	O
expectations	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
some	O
evidence	O
that	O
the	O
public	O
sector	O
has	O
succeeded	O
with	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
induced	O
business	O
change	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Business	O
operations	O
:	O
With	O
new	O
systems	O
in	O
place	O
,	O
with	O
business	O
processes	O
and	O
business	B-General_Concept
information	I-General_Concept
improved	O
,	O
and	O
with	O
staff	O
finally	O
ready	O
and	O
able	O
to	O
work	O
with	O
new	O
processes	O
,	O
then	O
the	O
business	O
can	O
get	O
to	O
work	O
,	O
even	O
when	O
new	O
systems	O
extend	O
far	O
beyond	O
the	O
boundaries	O
of	O
a	O
single	O
business	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
always	O
many	O
ways	O
to	O
see	O
a	O
business	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
information	B-Application
management	I-Application
viewpoint	O
is	O
only	O
one	O
way	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
important	O
to	O
remember	O
that	O
other	O
areas	O
of	O
business	O
activity	O
will	O
also	O
contribute	O
to	O
strategy	O
–	O
it	O
is	O
not	O
only	O
good	O
information	B-Application
management	I-Application
that	O
moves	O
a	O
business	O
forwards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
other	O
hand	O
,	O
corporate	O
governance	O
,	O
human	O
resource	O
management	O
,	O
product	O
development	O
and	O
marketing	O
are	O
all	O
dependent	O
on	O
effective	O
information	B-Application
management	I-Application
,	O
and	O
so	O
in	O
the	O
final	O
analysis	O
our	O
competency	O
to	O
manage	O
information	O
well	O
,	O
on	O
the	O
broad	O
basis	O
that	O
is	O
offered	O
here	O
,	O
can	O
be	O
said	O
to	O
be	O
predominant	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Organizations	O
are	O
often	O
confronted	O
with	O
many	O
information	B-Application
management	I-Application
challenges	O
and	O
issues	O
at	O
the	O
operational	O
level	O
,	O
especially	O
when	O
organisational	O
change	O
is	O
engendered	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
novelty	O
of	O
new	O
systems	B-Architecture
architectures	I-Architecture
and	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
experience	O
with	O
new	O
styles	O
of	O
information	B-Application
management	I-Application
requires	O
a	O
level	O
of	O
organisational	O
change	B-Application
management	I-Application
that	O
is	O
notoriously	O
difficult	O
to	O
deliver	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
of	O
a	O
general	O
organisational	O
reluctance	O
to	O
change	O
,	O
to	O
enable	O
new	O
forms	O
of	O
information	B-Application
management	I-Application
,	O
there	O
might	O
be	O
(	O
for	O
example	O
)	O
:	O
a	O
shortfall	O
in	O
the	O
requisite	O
resources	O
,	O
a	O
failure	O
to	O
acknowledge	O
new	O
classes	O
of	O
information	O
and	O
the	O
new	O
procedures	O
that	O
use	O
them	O
,	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
support	O
from	O
senior	O
management	O
leading	O
to	O
a	O
loss	O
of	O
strategic	O
vision	O
,	O
and	O
even	O
political	O
manoeuvring	O
that	O
undermines	O
the	O
operation	O
of	O
the	O
whole	O
organisation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
implementation	O
of	O
new	O
forms	O
of	O
information	B-Application
management	I-Application
should	O
normally	O
lead	O
to	O
operational	O
benefits	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Investment	O
in	O
vertical	O
information	O
systems	O
that	O
route	O
information	O
flows	O
for	O
a	O
specific	O
task	O
(	O
or	O
set	O
of	O
tasks	O
)	O
in	O
accordance	O
to	O
the	O
applied	O
business	B-Architecture
logic	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
