Abstract
The evolution of information management is described in five steps: (1) paperwork management; (2) centralization of data processing; (3) Information Resources Management (IRM); (4) competitive business intelligence; (5) strategic information management. Turning information into profit is one of the challenges today's managers have to respond to.
It is hard to underestimate the strategic significance of the new information technology; the leading-edge companies in the information intensive industries worldwide are pursuing successful strategies to exploit information resources and new technologies as a competitive advantage. However, it is important to point out that the ongoing development is related to a growing awareness that technology itself is not enough to gain competitive advantage: stimulation of creativity, creation of corporate wealth and organizational growth, new ways and methods in the management and use of business intelligence, capability to link efficiently information processing technologies, etc.—are all facts which strongly affect the firm's success in using information resources in support of strategic operations.