As IT Professionals, we often remind ourselves that “It should be all about the Information, not the Technology”. Which is ironic, given that we’re inevitably ‘IT professionals‘ rather than ‘Information Professionals’. But how do ‘Information Professionals’ cope with the challenges of Information Intangibility?
The (in)Tangibility of Technology
As an excuse, it’s been really challenging to maintain a focus on Information:
- The Board needs to invest in a tangible proxy for Information… ah, Technology!
- Procurement rules need the delivery of a tangible bearer for information… ah, Technology!
- The Project needs a tangible focus for delivery… ah, Technology!
But even that tangible crutch is crumbling as the cloud turns everything into an intangible ‘as a service’. And yet it’s still everything EXCEPT ‘Information as a Service’.
Information Intangibility
There are a slew of advantages that stem from Information Intangibility. For example, information is non-erodible (it can be used without diminishing the asset), can be duplicated at almost zero cost, and transferred almost instantaneously around the world at negligible cost. Those characteristics are what make Information such a valuable asset… to technologists.
But those advantages make it invisible to business leaders as a corporate asset. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles won’t allow information to be recorded as an asset in the balance sheet. Information is therefore not valued, not valuable, not investible. If you don’t believe me, listen to a typical Board as they struggle to decide about an investment in Information.
Gartner Distinguished Analyst Doug Laney has much to say on this topic in his book ‘Infonomics’. Read his blog here: https://blogs.gartner.com/doug-laney/why-a-book-on-infonomics/
Making Information Tangible
We invented LINQ to give a crucial business value and cost context about the information itself. We did this by depicting the information flow that connects sources of data to the business purpose being served. Our customers confirm that an Information Supply Chain is intuitive to business leaders since it mirrors the value chains that fuel other parts of the business. Building on that, it’s self-evident that Information Waste is a bad thing that makes an Information Supply Chain inefficient and ineffective. Eliminating Information Waste becomes a powerful driver for change; change that leads to Digital Transformation.
By establishing a value / cost metric for Information, LINQ changes the debate around digital initiatives:
- Before LINQ: The CIO / CTO was pleading for the Board / Leadership Team to invest in systems that they often didn’t understand
- After LINQ: The CFO is demanding that the CIO / CTO invest to eliminate Information Waste along critical Information Supply Chains
Above all, LINQ makes information tangible to business leaders.
Kick-start Digital Transformation
That represents a paradigm shift in the dialogue around Digital Transformation which can only be successful when driven by business leaders and not technologists. By removing the challenge of Information Intangibility, LINQ becomes a powerful catalyst for business transformation.
Why not give LINQ a test drive? You’ll find significant Information Waste within the first month. Eliminating Information Waste will more than pay for LINQ within the first three months. Beyond that, it’s up to your imagination! www.linq.it