Out of the box: Microworld features in the landscape of information

Abstract

If my consulting work is an accurate barometer of technology trends then in 2014 we should see a rise of interest in using text analysis as an emerging trend for outcomes such as automated sentiment analysis. It is emergent in the transactional systems of the organization, such as CRM (Customer Relationship Management), but not yet in mainstream Information Management. This article discusses how this shift is inevitable as the balancing innovation for the dramatic improvements we have seen in delivery and infrastructure – connected by a well-established S-curve of progress. While we have focused on the efficiency of information delivery, our efforts have lagged progress on the effectiveness agenda in information use. Indeed in the move from paper we have lost any competitive edge. Technology to deliver facts has ‘levelled the playing field’ and removed the inherent institutional advantage over the selection of, and access to, information. Technology here, and in other areas, has changed the balance between delivery and use emphasizing delivery – everyone sharing the same facts – but has washed out narrative, annotation, selection and opinion. Technology can be employed to provide differentiation across the vast but inscrutable information sources available to every organization. Our challenge is, with technology, to establish the personalization agenda, and abilities, across the featureless landscape of external information resources.