Information management has been on an evolutionary trend that has become a major determining factor of the success of a company. The means by which a company manages its information will determine the quality of decisions that the company management come up with. In essence, the means by which a company manages its information will highly determine the means of resource utilization. Well utilized organizational resources will in turn result in enhanced profit margins for the company. Proper utilization of information within the organization can prove to be a fundamental asset to the organization. First, proper information management will lead to the company saving money on its operations. In other words proper information management makes the business processes more cost effective. This is because it will eliminate the duplication of jobs , additionally, it saves time in sourcing for information, in the sense that the information is acquired in timely manner when it is required. Secondly, proper information management leads to the organization profits increasing (Choo, 2002). This is because it will enable the management to be able to know their market place position and compete effectively within the market.
Thirdly, proper information management will enable the company to evade any financial as well as strategic problems that the company may be prone to. This is in the sense that it will give the organizations managers the scenario of the organization in relation to the law. For instance, the means by which the company stores its information, does it conform to the set laws? Do the communications made within and outside the organization comply with the law? Such queries can be raised by having proper information management within the company.
Several trends have been noted to emerge, that affect information management within the small business enterprises. To begin with, the utilization of cloud computing technology has taken over information management within business institutions by storm. Cloud computing refers to the process by which computing and storage capabilities are delivered to a community of end users. Cloud computing offers the services that have the end user’s data computation as well as software within a particular network. The end users are then allowed to access the applications within the cloud network through a web browser software, or a mobile application or even a desktop. The business based software are normally placed within remotely located servers. The advantage of cloud computing with regard to information management is the fact that it enhances the rate at which small business can get their applications operational. It further enhances the manageability of the information contained within it while requiring minimal maintenance. This will provide the company management with the right picture enabling them to determine the business demand within their domain (Duffy, & Assad, 1980).
Another trend in information management is the adoption of in-memory databases. These are database management systems that utilize the main memory for the storage of computer data. These have been noted to be faster than the databases that rely on disk-optimization. There are impacts that can be realized within the organization if such trends are adopted or ignored. If adopted it is noted that there will be increased efficiency within the company that will lead to enhanced profit margins. If ignored, the business operation may be faced with major challenges such as the inefficient competition within the market place. This will always place the competitors ahead of them leading to a disruption in the company’s processes. Inevitably, businesses that wish to surge forward in the industry, while competing effectively within the market will have to adopt such trends in information management.
REFERENCES
Choo, C. W. (2002). Information Management For The Intelligent Organization: The Art Of Scanning The Environment: Information Today.
Duffy, N. M., & Assad, M. G. (1980). Information management: an executive approach: Oxford University Press.
