How to Set Up an Enterprise Information Management Program

Companies across the globe are struggling to survive the latest economic downturn. Those companies and organizations that are best positioned to not only survive but strive in this economy are those that are most aware of their information assets and can proactively affect change by quickly adjusting their operations based on changes in market conditions.

Implementing an enterprise information management (EIM) program is no longer seen as a program to undertake when the funds are available, but rather it is a core part of business that is required to maintain a healthy revenue stream. Companies that choose to undertake such a program and do so correctly will make an impact and become an industry role model.

So what is an EIM program and why is it so important? Simply put, an EIM program transforms the vast amount of information collected every day into a strategic advantage. This enables a company to provide accurate, consistent information to all of its resources (employees, computer databases, contractors, vendors, partners, etc.), allowing them to perform their jobs more effectively. This is accomplished by addressing how the company manages its information assets.

If implemented correctly, companies and organizations can create an environment in which both the business group and technology group strive to collectively make the best decisions for the company: Business drives the requirements and then technology supports the business by providing the tools and applications necessary to make the program and, therefore, the company successful. Where to begin? Executing an EIM program is hard work and has many components.

Companies usually struggle with when to start, which focus areas to start with and how to get the initiative executed well from the onset. To wit, companies, regardless of size, should begin by developing an awareness of how such a program can benefit them and an understanding of the purposes and objectives of such initiatives.

1.Educating and planning are the most important steps in implementing such a program. Company executives should seek to join other organizations in collaborative discussions, encourage key employees to attend conferences and read literature to become more informed on the components of the EIM program which will help in developing the implementation strategy unique to the organization.

2. Understand where you want to go and how long it will take by preparing a maturity assessment and roadmap;

3. Involve key EIM stakeholders in strategic discussions and align the program goal with strategic initiatives;

4. Build awareness of the EIM programs on all levels;

5. Gain an understanding of resource needs and specifically the interaction model of third party resources; and 6. Determine the standards for measuring success of the program. Conduct a periodic assessment - It is tough to know if you are on the correct course of action if you do not know where you are. Conducting a periodic assessment allows companies to measure performance and affect change to keep the program aligned with strategic objectives. No assessment is more important than the first assessment, the current state assessment. Many companies shy away from completing this activity because they perceive themselves as knowing all of the challenges and differentiators that make their company unique. For the most part, this is a true statement. There are, however, at least three major reasons to conduct this activity: First, everyone has their own perspective of what is going right and what could be improved. Meeting with different stakeholders allows the company to understand different perspectives to form the perceived state of the company. More importantly, the assessment allows the EIM program management group to better assess alignment between different parts of the organization so that it can determine the best strategy for affecting positive change in the organization. Second, an assessment should be able to identify formal and informal processes that manage information assets. This allows the EIM program management team to understand and prioritize projects for improvement that will provide the quickest and largest ROI. This part of the assessment also can lead to minimize risk by reducing the amount of change necessary to implement the program successfully. Third, the assessment allows the EIM program management team to develop an effective communication plan and drives key standards of clear definitions (i.e., How do we define customer? Who is ultimately responsible for customer data? … Billing? Sales?, etc.). For more information about Information Management please move on www.eimguide.com