Content management - A VIP Editorial
Jinfo Blog

By Andrew Clark

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Delivering content that is targeted and cost efficient is one aspect of the ever changing role of an information professional in today’s environment. Enabling immediate access to an end user landscape of data and content that can often be confusing and fragmented with silos of information is another.

Throughout my varied career roles within the industry, how many times have I been told “I need this information now”. This takes many forms, from the desperate parent trying to complete their child’s overdue homework and queuing in anticipation at the reference desk in a public library or – in the corporate environment in which I work today – an expectant scientist who wants immediate access to scientific information to drive the innovative research process and aid new drug discovery.

In an ever changing pharma industry where leveraging competitive advantage is key to breakthrough and success – which is exacerbated by our ever growing culture of here-and-now access to information – understanding new and emerging technologies that might take work streams, content delivery and data management to a new level is critical. This understanding is essential not only for strategic business success but also for ensuring that any specialist information function remains at the core of organisational workflows adding value and driving change.

As a consumer of information, regardless of industry, it is clear that the product space in the arena of data and information delivery is competitive. As an information professional with a passion and enthusiasm for making a difference not just in the workplace but also for offering inspiration within the wider industry, my expectation for what constitutes a good information solution is an offering that pushes new boundaries, way beyond the off-the-shelf solutions that are all too common in the market today.

Technological innovation is all about optimising processes, adding value and enabling the best user-driven experience possible, which in turn will help to create a robust user-driven strategy for the information function that meets business needs and expectations. A good user interface is essential for this. This issue of VIP includes reviews of two solutions from players that do this well.

BvD’s Bankscope, reviewed by Heidi Longaberger, presents one example of a platform that easily manages data within the world of banks and financial institutions. Bankscope offers a variety of customisable end user tools and options that will aid analyses, providing enhanced value and opportunity to really use the data in a way the client may deem most beneficial to them, which is what a value adding delivery solution is all about.

Targeted at a slightly different market, and demonstrating information’s evolution into a truly 24/7 information access environment, Infotrieve’s Mobile Library, reviewed by Leah Pellegrino, brings to the fore an offering that demonstrates how the need for immediate access to copyright compliant information is rising to a new level. With a suite of products that are at the cutting edge of technology and design, I’ve heard Infotrieve likened to the equivalent of iTunes but for externally published STM information. In part I guess this is no surprise for a dynamic company that has won a number of CODiE awards in the last couple of years.

Technologically enhanced information offerings such as those reviewed in this edition represent just the beginning of very exciting product development roadmaps taking data and information delivery to new levels. Although, as ever, the challenge remains the same: whether you are a provider or consumer of information, you need to stay one step ahead of the game and show a little creativity.

Andrew Clark

Andrew Clark has more than 15 years’ experience in the information industry in both the public and private sectors and is currently Head of Information Discovery at UCB, a global Biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

This editorial appears in VIP Magazine No. 95, October 2011. Purchase online >>

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