Achieving Information Self-Sufficiency

• Cognizant 20-20 Insights

Achieving Information Self-Sufficiency As organizations struggle to meet the demands of the global marketplace, a business intelligence competency center can help create the systems and processes to synthesize all types of data, providing the business with trustworthy, timely and actionable information.

Executive Summary variety of formats — into collaborative insights that drive coordinated action. This needs to The speed of business has accelerated, thanks happen at a lightning pace in order to retain com- to the commoditization of communications and petitive advantage over others with access to the the ability of information to circumnavigate the same information in today’s highly communica- globe. This has resulted in the need to turbo- tive, global marketplace. charge the speed at which information is made available to business stakeholders and their This is being accomplished through one or more ability to act on it. This new age of information of the following capabilities: presents a number of challenges: • Finding relevant tidbits of data in the ever- • A set of proven templates that help identify increasing deluge, with the necessary context relevant and trustworthy information and of turning it into actionable information quickly transform these tidbits into coordinated enough to make an impact on the global mar- activities. This can be tabular information ketplace. generated internally or obtained from external sources; log-centric information (Web logs, • Deriving actionable information from coordi- RFID logs, mobile activity logs, etc.); and doc- nated activities. ument-centric information (Web content, news • Presenting new information from sources not media, social media, etc.). yet utilized. • A consultative support organization that • Instilling confidence that the information continually works with stakeholders to obtained is relevant, trustworthy and current. translate information into captured, extracted or created value and uses the necessary tools Many organizations are trying to deliver a high and processes to ensure insights can be con- degree of self-service information management tinually derived to execute action in a competi- to business stakeholders, or information self- tive timeframe. sufficiency. This is possible when users have both the actionable information required to make • Assurance that the full complement of just- informed decisions and the tools necessary for in-time, relevant, actionable, focused and trust- very quickly turning newly obtained data — in a worthy information will be made available as

cognizant 20-20 insights | november 2012 Information Self-Sufficiency

Information Agility

Identify an opportunity or risk

Measure and Devise a course refine of action

A Keen Focus Ability Collaboration to

Determine Empower measurement

Collaborate

Execution Agility

Figure 1

a resource, with the necessary support and in events to register their presence in internal the required timeframe, to those responsible systems for analysis and predictive modeling. for creating, extracting and capturing incre- • Negating the need for business stakeholders mental value for the organization. This will to become technologists to use information. discourage the practice of storing local copies for decision-making, as the shared information • Managing the entry points to analysis so resource will be viewed as more efficient. stakeholders can focus on top-of-mind business issues and identify disruptions to the status quo. This white paper provides a synopsis of the major capabilities of enterprises that enable informa- From the Beginning tion self-sufficiency. Organizations that have Much has been written in recent years about the reached this level provide business stakeholders need to make business more self-sufficient in with enhanced execution agility by empowering obtaining information required for deciphering them with information that is highly collaborative market maneuvers, strategizing on corrective and focused (see Figure 1). actions and taking swift and decisive action, as well as ensuring intended outcomes. However, Enterprises that embark on this journey have the ability to make such information available in reduced the time it takes to use information by: a self-service environment remains a lofty goal, • Reengineering the processes used to one that is out of reach for many enterprises (see synthesize new data sources into the informa- Figure 2, next page). There are several reasons tion fabric of the enterprise. for this phenomenon, including but not limited to: • Improving the processes used to enhance • The sheer complexity of how information is the understanding of information quality and organized requires those intending to use it lineage. to become technicians or hire “translators” to • Adopting new approaches to enable the avail- serve as their technicians. Neither is an optimal ability of just-in-time information. solution. • Consolidating the number of places that • The multitude of technologies employed to enterprise stewards need to interrogate, thin- obtain information also introduces complexities, ning out the barrage of information generated, resulting in the same scenario described above. both internally (introspective information) and • The top-of-mind information that is actionable from external sources. This capability takes changes more rapidly than can be accommo- into consideration the time lag for disruptive

cognizant 20-20 insights 2 Barriers to Self-Sufficiency • The information that provides context for facts and figures is stored separately and organized much differently from the facts and figures used in analysis, once again requiring Information organization the hiring of translators who can effectively complexity bridge the gap. People who would benefit from the informa- Suspect Barriers to service Too many • information technologies tion do not necessarily consider it to be trustworthy or relevant. Self-Service Information A technique that many enterprises have adopted is the concept of an information competency center Context Rapidly (ICC). An ICC provides a framework for elevating organized changing differently focus the speed at which insights can be derived from published information for heightened self-ser- Availability of only vice. The role of the ICC is to serve the needs of introspective those accountable for creating, extracting and information capturing value from information. This includes helping them identify the most suitable information and providing guidance on the tools and Figure 2 processes that will turn this deluge of information into collaborative insight and, eventually, coordi- dated by the technologists supporting the nated action. volumes of well-organized information. By now, you might be wondering how to identify • The information that is well-organized is whether the issues impeding the delivery of infor- largely introspective — not at all useful for iden- mation self-sufficiency exist in your organization. tifying and reacting to market forces in time to Some of the signals to watch for are depicted in have any measurable impact. Figure 3.

Are You Self-Sufficient?

Observed Activity Why This Occurs What to Address A large number of Excel spread- The complexity of information The perception that the technology arm of sheets and Access databases organization leads to translators the organization cannot deliver new infor- used to house data originating in extracting information into Excel mation at the speed required by business internal systems. and Access for use by business stakeholders. stakeholders. A large number of business It takes too long to change the The perception of data quality issues that spreadsheets integrating informa- organization of sanctioned data must be fixed before using it for anything tion managed from production sources to meet the needs of top- meaningful. systems, with data extracted from of-mind business issues. sanctioned data sources. A delay between the availability of The information made available The perception of low information quality. information and the communica- for analysis is not considered tion of intended action. trustworthy or relevant. Significant performance issues Information was migrated to The perception that performance is insuf- associated with recent changes to new technologies, but it is not ficient or that information will not be technologies used to access data, optimally organized for the new available at critical times. resulting in many local copies of environment, leading to perfor- data used for analysis. mance anomalies. The use of information available in The basic assumptions used to The perception that the information sanctioned sources for operational organize data have likely changed, available through sanctioned sources and scheduled reporting but not making it difficult to use the infor- represents operational reporting needs only for strategic purposes. mation for analysis. and/or that sufficient changes have occurred in the business that have not been factored into the sanctioned information fabric.

Figure 3

cognizant 20-20 insights 3 Accelerating Information lost because of the need to validate the rea- Self-Sufficiency sonability and lineage of data used to derive an action plan. This results from a lack of trust There are several ways to accelerate information that the correct or most timely information self-sufficiency: was obtained or that the process was error • Task a supporting organization with ensuring prone. There are four common types of errors the continued relevance and focus of the infor- that can incorrectly influence an action plan: mation. >> Origination errors (data incorrectly en- • Change the focus of the supporting organiza- tered into the system). tion, shifting its intent from delivery-based to Capture errors (inconsistent or incorrect consultative-based, with the additional ability >> vintages of information captured and used). to perform delivery. Transformation errors (errors made when Define and publish metrics for measuring the >> • transforming data from its source form to effectiveness of the supporting organization the form captured for analysis). and the relevance and actionability of the information it supports. >> Identification errors (incorrect information captured by identifying a system of Define and publish metrics for measuring the • record or reference that was out of synch relevance, trustworthiness and actionability of with other information utilized). information published for self-sufficiency. • Insulate the intended audience from the • Reducing the time required to provide access technical intricacies of using information to new information sources deemed critical to published for self-sufficiency. business stakeholders. • Ensure that information published for self- • Shortening the time required to identify key sufficiency is not completely introspective. tidbits of data that will serve as the starting point for deriving coordinated action plans Introduce methods and metrics to facilitate • using repeatable processes. an accelerated publication cycle for information aligned with the enterprise’s top-of-mind • Doing the above, in a way that is repeatable issues. (through the use of well-orchestrated templates that systematize information access). • Implement processes that protect the sanctioned sources of self-sufficient infor- • Providing a catalog as a central resource, mation from becoming complex information maintained by a central body (normally an dumps. ICC), which typically contains the templates, processes, business metadata, contact informa- Ensure that the organization chartered with • tion for experts and best practice guidelines to publishing self-sufficient information has achieve the desired level of self-service. (A new permission to obtain and synthesize the infor- family of products is emerging that provides mational needs of the enterprise at the speed this catalog, as well as hot links to templates required to react to the market, media and independent of the technologies used to create regulatory influencers of the enterprise. the templates, thereby negating the need for Self-Sufficiency Program Determinants business stakeholders to become proficient in the family of tools used to participate in the Self-sufficiency programs, such as an ICC, can self-service program.) reduce the time it takes to synthesize unexpected information derived from internal sources (intro- • A consultative organizational arm whose spective information) and external sources, as primary mission is to facilitate the foundational well as use it in action plans and massage it into components critical to the success of the self- coordinated activities. service program. A series of key metrics specifically devised The key foundational components critical to the • to measure the adoption, continued viability success of a self-service program include: and contribution to incremental organizational • Elevating the trustworthiness of informa- value influenced by the self-service program. tion. Too often, time-critical opportunities are

cognizant 20-20 insights 4 Elevating Information Trustworthiness not necessarily those that will increase incre- A whole book could be dedicated to the topic mental organizational value. of elevating information trustworthiness and The more complex the processes used to convert still only scratch the surface of the issues and information into an easily digested form, the more opportunities that enterprises must tackle. A these processes appear as a black box to those recent study of business stakeholders from the responsible for creating, extracting and capturing Global 2000 found that business decisions were value for the enterprise. This image of a black box made with either irrelevant (42% of the time) or causes two major challenges for the enterprise. erroneous (50% of the time) data.1 • Questions around information trustworthi- Three tenets drive information trustworthiness: ness force users of the information to check its accuracy and validity before publishing it into a The more time-critical the information, the • workflow process that will result in coordinated greater the need for information trustworthi- action. This time delay can rob the company of ness. key opportunities and turn risks into catastro- • The more critical the potential action plan, phes. the greater the level of scrutiny demanded for Because of the lack of trust, those account- trustworthy information. This level of scrutiny • able for wielding trustworthy information often directly impacts the time required to utilize store local copies of information they have information. validated themselves. The use of these local • The higher the regulatory consequences for copies to make decisions greatly complicates not having trustworthy information, the greater the viability of collaborative insight and coor- the investment in controls and programs for dinated actions in the enterprise. institutionalizing information trustworthiness. It could be argued that the benefits of doing A new family of technologies has begun to this are higher for opportunistic readiness than surface that provide an analysis of information for protecting organizations from the pain of lineage as a means of identifying transformation regulatory consequences; however, the latter anomalies and elevating trustworthiness. Many is often the driving force for programs such of the Excel sheets and Access databases distrib- as data governance, which prioritize initia- uted across organizations orginate from business tives that yield elevated information trustwor- stakeholders doubting that the technology arm of thiness. This behavior results in elevating the the organization is capable of obtaining and syn- trustworthiness of mandated data items and thesizing information critical to the success of the

Information Lifecycle

Strategy and Planning Data Data New Pre-Discovery Administration Discovery Model Focus

Code Metadata Alerts Consumer Storage Model

Ingest Dashboards Synthesized Data Prioritize, Prioritize, Producer

Justify and Fund Justify Access Generate Visual Navigation

Data Construction Post-Discovery Discovery

Figure 4

cognizant 20-20 insights 5 enterprise within the time constraints demanded to the process of finding content on Google or in today’s accelerated business climate. Yahoo.

Three ways to accelerate time to market for new Shortening the Time to Find information sources include: Relevant Data • Post-discovery, or the ability to figure out how Much has been written on the ever increasing information ties into an enterprise informa- deluge of information available for analysis and tion model after it is published. This requires how, despite this data abundance, it is becoming a longer-term architectural change in the way more difficult to find relevance. information is made available. Information The sheer volume of information made available portals such as Attivio reduce the timeline for analysis is increasing at an ever faster rate, for publishing new information available for with the amount of information doubling every analysis and collaborative insight by enlisting two years and accelerating.3 Keeping up with this post-discovery processes.2 deluge is difficult enough; analyzing it to spot • Columnar and cell-based enterprise report- patterns and useful information is harder still, ing and analysis tools, which lessen the impor- given the pace at which information circumnavi- tance of the enterprise information model. gates the globe. Examples include Sybase IQ, IBM Netezza, Greenplum and Teradata’s columnar solution. There are two forms of information required for Columnar and cell-based solutions reduce the analysis: time it takes to make new information available • Information that meets the status quo (i.e., to business stakeholders by separating the syn- roughly fits existing models that predict the thesis of new information into the enterprise outcome of competitive market forces). information model from the process of making the information available. • Information that results from market disruptions and that will not appear in internal • Information portals, or systems that table, systems until it is too late. document and log information through a single One way to meet the demands of market facility that makes finding information similar disruption is to implement a “beacon” that looks

Business Information Model

Managing

Operational n tio Risk A ra ct o io b People Capabilitie n a s s ll T echn o Customers olo C gy L A B E R Media N S Competitors E Diffusing Focused Enhancing Disruptive Information Sustainable Events Value Markets Geographies

P Financing cs ro tri R duct Me e n g Inn s i ovation Proces a u h la C to e rs Defining lu Enterprise Va

Strategies

Figure 5

cognizant 20-20 insights 6 The Information Competency Center

Information Central Experts Business Consumers Self-Served Central of Information Request Wiki Browse + Catalog Communications Central Information Central Team Catalog Search Management

Business Consumers Consultative of Information Request Information Oversight Central Team

Promotes Tools, Information Central Team Templates and Assets

Enterprise Publish Governance Metrics SDLC/ Architectural Vision Information Central Team Information Central Interface

Figure 6 for variances in what is expected from customers, >> The business consumer uses the intelligent financiers, competitors, media and regulators.4 search facilities managed by the ICC.

The Information Competency Center >> The ICC finds content worthy of sharing, converts it into a reusable template and The ICC facilitates reporting and analysis self- places it in the catalog for shared use. sufficiency throughout the enterprise (see Figure 6). The main product of the ICC is a catalog that >> Business consumers ask for consultation on is accessed through a search facility in one of five how best to use what is catalogued for their ways: information needs. • Business stakeholders directly use the catalog >> Templates and catalogued content are to access information through active metadata. managed to ensure relevance for business consumers’ top-of-mind issues. • The ICC virtual team provides consultative support for finding needed information in the • The catalog and intelligent search, which catalog and facilitates the browse and search are the heart of business intelligence self-suf- processes to access information. ficiency and the primary product of the ICC. • During the consultative request process, These components contain access to business additional metadata is identified, which is metadata and hot links to information accessed added to the catalog by the ICC virtual team. through reporting and analytic templates. • A template deemed worthy of sharing is • The communications framework, which promoted as an ICC resource by the ICC virtual is critical for an effective self-sufficiency team. initiative. It enables access to experts to communicate what is available, including success • A need for an additional template is identified stories, metrics and future functionalities. and slated for development. • Governance of the ICC. This includes the ICC Framework Components metrics published to manage the ICC and the The components of the framework are: oversight organization tasked with ensuring that the ICC is meeting the intended outcomes. • The engagement interfaces, which are the key means for initiating self-sufficiency. These The ICC’s Role and the Development Processes include: Many enterprises are spending time and resourc- es encouraging their organizations to support all

cognizant 20-20 insights 7 the types of clients served by their information- normal way of doing business have grouped centric initiatives. Supported clients typically their consultative roles in the following ways: reside in multiple divisions, comprise multiple >> Self-serve information with no need for business functions and, in many cases, consti- consultative assistance. Consultative tute multiple legal entities that are often spread activities that support this self-service ca- across multiple geographies. In many enter- pability are continued enrichment of the prises, inconsistent technologies are deployed metadata catalog used to find information to support the conversion of large amounts of and discern the suitability of information data into insight, including business intelligence, for the task at hand. data warehousing, information portals and other tools, making this a complex support issue. >> A consultative need for using information models and templates made available for In an attempt to accelerate the conversion of data reporting and analysis. into insight, many enterprises have introduced >> Small delivery efforts performed in less Agile development techniques as a wrapper than “X days.” (This is normally the stick- to their delivery processes. From an outsider’s ing point that guidelines can help with.) In- vantage point, however, this is an additional terestingly, IT is much more concerned than level of complexity added to what is already a the business community about small deliv- laborious, sluggish process. A different approach ery opportunities that slip under the radar; is required. business users generally welcome this as an alternative to building it themselves in Excel. Finally, the complexity of information has introduced the necessity of data experts, or those >> Prototyping opportunities to help dis- who are intimately familiar with the scope, use cover business requirements in complex and suitability of information made available for delivery situations. The prototyping arm analysis. These experts are often geographically normally ends up in the ICC but can be lo- dispersed and not easy to find. Many organiza- cated anywhere. tions have data experts who maintain cross- >> Pure Agile/SDLC delivery. Key metrics reference tables in desktop tools that serve as are required to monitor the successful ex- the translation layer to connect two otherwise ecution of this organizational model. These unrelated data sources. metrics will monitor the engagement of information experts, the balance of the two Companies that have achieved information self- prongs of the organizational model and the sufficiency have adopted a two-pronged organi- engagement of both organizational support zational approach (see Figure 7). mechanisms by the business stakeholders • The first prong is responsible for the informa- of the enterprise. tion needs that demand a level of rigor and repeatability. The Agile approach fits perfectly with these information needs. Two-Pronged Approach • The second prong focuses on ad hoc information needs, or those that are more urgent and not clearly defined, making the release cycle somewhat problematic. Examples include a report for monitoring an acquisition with a PROCESS short fuse or an analysis to monitor a competitive situation or successful release of a new Traditional Consultative Agile/SDLC product. The size of the initiative undertaken by Approach this second prong will vary from organization Approach to organization, but creating a well-established and well-understood vehicle for supporting this type of information requirement is critical to the success of a self-service initiative. Companies that have been successful in adopting a consultative framework for supporting the synthesis of insights as a Figure 7

cognizant 20-20 insights 8 Organizational Byproducts the necessary information for accessing the of Self-Sufficiency template. A new family of products delivers active links (e.g., Semanta, BBI, LyzaSoft) or Two classes of products delivered by the new allow the launching of templates right from the organizational model depicted above include: repository. Metrics are available for reporting • The traditional project-based model, which and analysis, definition and derivation. These aligns projects with the Agile release cycle and metrics are for corporate key performance delivers BI through a traditional project man- indicators, as well as less pervasive metrics agement-based model. In this first category, used to measure and influence the adoption of projects are enabled through a traditional services delivered through the ICC. funding model. • The business rules used to derive the data • The consultative arm of the organization, contained in the metrics and the reporting and which supports the more ad hoc informa- analytical templates. tion needs of the organization. This arm has Guides for the suitability of the metrics and a catalog of BI artifacts that can be used to • templates. support the information needs of the organization as they arise. (See the following sections). • Content maintained by the experts. • Best practice guides. The Catalog’s Role and Scope for Driving Self-Sufficiency • A list of the stewards and owners of the data used in metrics and templates. The catalog is the vehicle that catalyzes self- sufficiency (see Figure 8). Composed of business • The governance and lineage of the data used metadata, it is the first resource to be utilized in metrics and templates. when users are looking for available facilities to The consultative component of the organization satisfy existing informational needs. driving self-sufficiency should be accountable for ensuring that the business metadata contained The catalog is not a list of data elements and their in the catalog is relevant, accessible, secure and definitions. It is the single authorative source for: accurate. • Reporting and analytic templates, with guides to their use. In many cases, the The Role of the Information Lifecycle templates are passive links, or they provide If successful, there will be a push for the business

Consultative Catalog

Reporting and analytical Governance templates Metrics and and their lineage definitions

Publish Portal Stewards search Business and View of rules owners catalog S ecurity

Best Information practices suitability Information from experts

Figure 8

cognizant 20-20 insights 9 community to create templates and share them tions about the storage and consumption of infor- for consumption through the central catalog. Two mation not possible in general-purpose database types of information include: solutions.

• Introspective, highly predictable and highly The way many appliances represent their data repeatable information. models is more closely aligned to the structures • Less introspective information that is focused of columnar databases, thereby diminishing on top-of-mind issues surfacing from competi- the enterprise data model’s involvement with tive, market, innovative, regulatory and other analysis of data. Other appliances make it feasible disruptors that require rapid synthesis, com- to hide the complexities of the enterprise data munication and monitoring of an action plan model from those deriving insight from it through to ensure that the results of these actions are the use of massive amounts of memory and achieved as intended. computing power. In both cases, it becomes much more possible for those utilizing these informa- The main purpose of the information lifecycle is tion stores to be self-sufficient. to shrink the size of the proverbial haystack. It needs to ensure that the nuggets of gold hidden One of the greatest attributes of an appliance in the deluge of data are not buried in what used is also its greatest downfall: its ability to access to be important for deriving vast amounts of information quickly and hide the The main purpose insight in the past but today complexities of the model used to access the data is historical trivia. The infor- from the eyes of those consuming its contents. of the information mation lifecycle is devised Because it is simple to store data in an appliance, lifecycle is to shrink to monitor the use of infor- it is necessary to continually ensure it does not the size of the mation published for self- morph into a data dump due to lax information service and stratify it into lifecycle management. Otherwise, the issues proverbial haystack. several categories: justifying investment in the appliance, such as performance and usability, will resurface. • Information required for operational use. This information is not subject to the same Behavioral Business Intelligence and scrutiny in the information lifecycle process Self-Sufficiency and is generally highly introspective. It’s unlikely that the desire will be fulfilled for • Information that supports key strategic, a single reporting and analytics tool, used tactical and operational organizational throughout the enterprise. Even if fully deployed, intents and is not covered by category one. traditional BI and reporting tools lack the col- • Information required for strategic, tactical laborative, crowdsourcing and “recommenda- and/or operational intents that have not been tion engine” features that are taken for granted institutionalized into category one. in our Internet experience but usually lacking in corporate systems. • Information required for a short-term need that is expiring. Information that is expiring Our introduction of “behavioral business intel- will be put on a watch list to be removed from ligence,” or BBI for short, is a novel approach the pool of easily searched data once its for making the best use of a company’s multiple relevance is diminished. reporting and BI systems, with multiple reports • Information required for a short-term need and sources, multiple opinions and numerous that has expired. This information should be questions seeking answers from a pool of enter- removed immediately from the pool of easily prise-wide expertise. BBI uses a combination of searched data to avoid the unintended conse- “social media” techniques to identify recommend- quence of the information repository used for ed next steps, allow annotations of insights and self-service being relegated to the status of a discoveries, post questions for review and archive data dump. the wisdom of the community. BBI attempts to logically harmonize the multiple BI systems and Appliances and Self-Sufficiency reports with users. Data warehousing appliances have stormed the marketplace, and for good reason. Appliances Another approach for simplifying the complexity generally share nothing from the information of reporting tools is to physically harmonize infrastructure, enabling them to make assump- them with technologies that serve as a wrapper

cognizant 20-20 insights 10 across a more complex environment. This has Value Sourcing Model been accommodated in the marketplace in three distinct ways: Created Value • Information portals, such as Attivio, which (Innovation) provide a single interface for tabular (struc- tured), big data and document-centric (unstruc- Extracted Value tured) information. (Expansion of customer value) • Collaborative BI solutions, such as Lyzasoft, Yellowfin and Semanta, which provide a layer Captured Value that insulates the business stakeholder from (Converted to the reporting and analysis framework by inte- sustainable value) grating them into a new technology that serves as a springboard for all available reports and analysis templates. Captured Value (Disruptively) Extending the collaborative team to be

• Model Sourcing Value experts in all the technologies utilized for Protected Value reporting and analysis. This option, which might at first seem less expensive, often is (Operational risk more so due to labor costs. It can also relegate remediation) the collaborative team to being a purveyor of Figure 9 tools rather than a consultative partner. Spotlighting Top-of-Mind Issues Much has been written about the information deluge that companies must address to identify, goals of the enterprise. It should also be governed synthesize, communicate, execute, monitor and by an information lifecycle process that stratifies adjust actions based on the impact measured in information into the following categories (see the marketplace. Figure 10): Information directly aligned with top-of- One thing is perfectly clear: The ability to use intro- • mind issues. spective information sources (internally generated or controlled information) is somewhat limited in • Information required for operational and other scope and use. Therefore, a more holistic approach regularly occurring purposes. to information is required. This situation requires • Information required for regulatory purposes the consumption of information from the variety of only. consumer interface channels in which companies Supporting information that is made available directly participate — the Web, RFID (the equivalent • for occasional use (i.e., lineage data). of Web logs for the storefront), mobile, agent and kiosk information feeds — as well as indirectly par- • Information required to be accessible in archive ticipate through the ever widening assemblage of form for regulatory purposes. social media, blogs and other sources (Facebook, • Information that was recently (and could once Twitter, Google+, Yelp, Friendster, Xing, YouTube, again become) a top-of-mind issue. Picasa, Blogger, Digg, Reddit, etc.). • Information made available for other reasons. It is easy to get lost in the job of housing or ref- In many organizations, the information gover- erencing all of this data, and it is easier to get nance function of the enterprise is accountable overwhelmed trying to use it. A better means for fine-tuning the placement of information into of spotlighting top-of-mind issues is to align the various stratified components of the informa- the information used within an organization tion lifecycle, which can have an impact on both with a value sourcing model (see Figure 9). The cost (i.e., the technologies utilized to house infor- value sourcing model should be aligned with the mation) and usability. strategic, tactical, operational and opportunistic

cognizant 20-20 insights 11 Business Architecture Implications Categories of Data The phenomenon with which enterprises have struggled over the past several years concerns Tier 1 the viability of the information model and the Information contents of the information represented by the supporting top-of- ever-changing business model. The reason for mind issues this change can be attributed to: • A business climate (both business-to-business and business-to-consumer) that is enabled by Tier 2 information. Information required for regularly • The reduction of communication costs to near occurring purposes zero. • An expansion of the formal and informal media covering events through both traditional and Tier 3 Tier 4 less traditional news delivery mechanisms, Information made Information required available for such as social media and blogs. for regulatory occasional use purposes Information and the vastly reduced cost of (i.e. lineage data) enabling communication has helped to rewire the world as we know it. However, the time value Tier 5 Tier 6 to information and the mechanisms utilized by many enterprises to enable the new-generation Information that was Information recently a top-of- required in archive value proposition continue to be somewhat out of mind issue, and can form for regulatory reach. In these organizations, it is easy to identify regain this status purposes business stakeholders who have cobbled together what they believe they need as an information fabric to participate in the new digital economy, Tier 7 using the desktop tools they have, namely Excel Historical trivia and Access. Figure 10 It is time for IT to adopt a new means for integrating new sources of information into the business information architecture that is available to business stakeholders both in time to be actionable and in an easily digested format. ments accessible through Web and mobile technologies. There are a variety of ways to start the journey to Extending secured access to reports and this next-generation business information archi- • analytical templates to remote locations tecture, including the following: through mobile and disconnected mobile • Big data, or enabling components of the facilities. information architecture in ways that are not • Business information competency centers, practical or suitable through traditional means. or introducing organizational constructs, • Data warehouse appliances, or technologies processes and business metadata repositories devised specifically for reporting and analysis, that facilitate self-service. thereby simplifying information consumption • Behavioral business intelligence frameworks and presentation. that insulate the business stakeholder com- • Shared metadata repositories that provide munity from the complexities of the multitude hot links to reporting and analytical templates of technologies available for reporting and across all reporting and analytical environ- analysis.

cognizant 20-20 insights 12 Footnotes 1 Information Management for Dummies, IBM Press, 2006, based on a joint study with Accenture of 250 companies.

2 Mark Albala, “Post-Discovery Intelligence Applications: The Next Big Thing,” Attivio, 2009.

3 “The Data Deluge,” The Economist, Feb. 25, 2010.

4 Thomas Davenport, Competing on Analytics, Harvard Business School Press, 2007; Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point, Back Bay Books, 2002; Mark Albala, “Enhancing Information Focus Through Partition- ing,” InfoSight Partners, 2009.

About the Authors Mark Albala is a Business Consulting Practice Director of Cognizant’s North American Enterprise Infor- mation Management (EIM) Business Unit, overseeing its Information On-Demand Group. Mark specializes in providing solution architecture, information governance, information strategy, strategy roadmap and governance services to companies across industries, and supports Cognizant’s enterprise information management delivery capabilities. A graduate of Syracuse University, Mark has held senior consulting, thought leadership, advanced technical and business development roles for organizations focused on the disciplines of business intelligence, governance and data warehousing. He can be reached at [email protected] | Twitter: http://twitter.com/mcalbala | LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin. com/in/markalbala | Google+: [email protected].

About Cognizant Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a leading provider of information technology, consulting, and business process out- sourcing services, dedicated to helping the world’s leading companies build stronger businesses. Headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey (U.S.), Cognizant combines a passion for client satisfaction, technology innovation, deep industry and business process expertise, and a global, collaborative workforce that embodies the future of work. With over 50 delivery centers worldwide and approximately 150,400 employees as of September 30, 2012, Cognizant is a member of the NASDAQ-100, the S&P 500, the Forbes Global 2000, and the Fortune 500 and is ranked among the top performing and fastest growing companies in the world. Visit us online at www.cognizant.com or follow us on Twitter: Cognizant.

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