Getting strategic with information governance
Jinfo Blog

By Robin Neidorf

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Information management requires a balance of moving information around an organisation and ensuring that it doesn't inadvertently leak out. How an organisation governs the flow of information has a direct impact on the overall value of that information: inadequate intellectual property protection lowers the proprietary value of that proprietary information. Errors in managing copyright-protected information increases the risk associated with that information. Leaks in customer data create the potential for enormous costs. 

Traditionally, these areas of information flow have been managed separately. Copyright risk management policies are one set of requirements, whilst records management is its own practice area, and IP protection falls under a different set of protocols altogether. But information managers are starting to understanding that information flow - whether associated with copyright, data protection, records management or workflow integration - is all part of the same puzzle.

FreePint Research has launched the Survey on Information Governance to better understand the state-of-the-industry with regard to how information moves through an organisation, and the value it acquires or loses along the way.

Early results indicate:

• Managers are interested in moving from tactical, siloed approaches to governance into more strategic approaches that apply across departments and processes.
• The most advanced areas of governance are those that have the most stringent regulatory or legal frameworks - data protection, for example.
• A priority area for the coming year is better workflow integration, to ensure the right information is in front of users at the right time.
• Senior executives still tend to think in terms of addressing regulation, rather than the potential for increased value of information assets through improved governance.

Over the past three years, FreePint Research has undertaken in-depth research into copyright policies and practices, identifying critical gaps between policies and practices. This year's project moves beyond the single area of copyright to examine additional facets of governance and gain a better understanding of how each fit together in an overall approach to increasing the value of information within an organisation. 

You are invited to participate in the online survey. Invest 10 minutes of your time to contribute to industry knowledge, and you will receive a free copy of the resulting report. 

This project has been generously sponsored in part by Burrelles-Luce, Copyright Clearance Center and Moreover.

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