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Archives For November 30, 1999

Data Governance & Information Quality Conference 2013 (DAY 1)

June 17, 2013 — Leave a comment

Today is the first day of the annual DGIQ Conference on beautiful Mission Beach in the San Diego area. It represents the Pilgrimage to Mecca for all of the Data and Information Governance mavens in the world (although we still can’t seem to decide if it is Data or Information that we are Governing). It brings together Newbies, Veterans, Consultants and Vendors under one roof to discuss the Governance, Stewardship and Quality of our data/information. This year the fixation is on Big Data and the role of the Chief Data Office (CDO). These are fashion statements in my view and will be replaced next year no doubt by Privacy (our current fixation).

I am here with my Client, Salt River Project (Phoenix, AZ). They are a publicly-owned Utility (Power and Water) and live in a highly regulated world (NERC/CIP) but operate as a Commercial provider in a very competitive world around them. We are going to discuss their real-world experiences in establishing and maturing Information Governance in a mature bureaucracy. The Central Theme of the presentation focuses on “How to (successfully) Operationalize Information Governance within your Enterprise” (Hint: The message is to “ignore the Consultants and so-called Experts and leverage “what works” within your organization’s culture). It should prove to be an interesting story to tell to such an audience. Can’t wait to hear their reactions.

In addition, I am also here in my capacity of an IBM Information Management Champion. IBM is a Premium Sponsor of the event and will be giving 3x very good presentations on Information Governance. I am looking for some good inputs from these myself.

Finally, I will also be participating in activities associated with the Data Governance Professionals Organization (DGPO), DAMA and the EDM Council. All in all, it should prove to be a valuable investment of time and effort.

Check out the Agenda at:

http://www.debtechint.com/dgiq2013/agenda.html

Stay tuned for more details as the Conference progresses.

In Big Data, Compliance, DGIQ, Governance, Information Governance, Privacy, Regulations , , , ,
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The Illusion of Privacy

June 17, 2013 — Leave a comment

I have watched with considerable interest and bemusement the feigned outrage and posturing by many segments of the population since the revelations of the NSA’s global SIGINT programs. I find it all amusing at best given how little everyone has paid attention to fact that their Privacy began eroding back in the ’80’s and has diminished to Near Zero at this point. It is hard to believe that everyone should be so upset about something that they lost (or abdicated) such a long time ago (for many, before they were even born) and yet now are just realizing it. Nonetheless, perhaps these events and all of the spleen venting that continues to go on about them will start a dialog about “The Illusion of Privacy”.

Privacy is a state of mind (like Trust) that cannot be quantified or regulated in the world that we live in today. Virtually every consumer has abdicated their Privacy Rights by signing one EULA after another with their Service & Software Providers for all of the “apps, gadgets & devices” that they require to support their daily lives. Has anyone (besides Lawyers) ever read one of these before clicking Accept? Doubtful, I imagine and if you did read it what are your options? Decline is not one of them.

In the end we all must develop more Situational Awareness. If you fall into the trap of complacency and believe that there will be no consequences to anything that you post, write or say then you are truly the fool. We should all embrace the notion of “Low Tech” Face-to-Face (F2F) communications from inside our own personal SCIF’s (Secure Compartmentalized Information Facilities) aka our converted bomb shelters (for those who grew up during the Cold War). This is probably the only means of Privacy that we still have available.

Embrace the horror that we have created in our zeal for technology and for having abandoned our individual roles in checking the power and growth of Government intrusion in our daily lives.

Until next time.

In Business Analytics, Information Governance, Law, Privacy, Regulations , , , , ,
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My Year as an IBM Information Management Champion (Day 30)

June 8, 2013 — Leave a comment
The Lone Piper

The Lone Piper

It has been just a month now since I was selected by IBM from a broad group of nominations to become a Champion for Information Management. From what I have learned there are <200 of us worldwide (smaller than the average InfoSphere sales team from IBM that I see call on some of my clients!). There are a number of categories for IBM Champions (http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/champion/) but perhaps I am a bit biased when I say that Information Management seems to one of the broadest and perhaps most difficult to speak to in a succinct fashion. What is Information Management anyways?

In a world where everything has been reduced to buzz words and catch phrases the intrinsic meaning of a subject like Information Management is lost amongst the chatter IMO. I like to define it as “The Discipline and Science of Managing Information over its entire lifecycle and treating it as an Asset to be leveraged by the entire Enterprise in which to create sustainable sources of Competitive Advantage”. There are many tomes written on Enterprise Information Management and most have a similar view to mine.

However, given the myopic focus on Big Data and the non-stop hype as to its virtues and disruptive capabilities I often feel like this Lone Piper who I came across this last week in Union Square (San Francisco). My music (i.e. message) may be well liked once you hear it, but it can be easily be lost in the din of hype (or traffic) around it.

I learned today that my preso for IOD 2013 was not selected so I can see that my role of Champion has limited clout. I was looking forward to espousing my belief that “Leveraging Information Governance can Achieve Strategic Business Outcomes”. I guess that I will have to shop around for another forum in which to “play my music”.

I am looking forward to seeing many of you later this month at the DGIQ Conference in San Diego. It is going to be the largest ever and no doubt most interesting as the maturing and benefits of Information Governance are really starting to manifest for many enterprises.

Stay tuned for the next installment of “My Year and an IBM Information Management Champion”

In Big Data, DGIQ, Governance, Information Governance, Information Management, Uncategorized ,
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Key Themes for Information Governance Success: “Adapt, Leverage & Embed”. Adapt to meet the relevant needs of the Organization. Leverage key elements of the Organizations Culture to create opportunities. Embed yourself in every major undertaking within reach.

I am presenting at this year’s DGIQ with my client, SRP. Our presentation is on Wednesday, June 19th from 11:00 – 11:50. Stop by to hear a most interesting perspective on Information Governance Operationalization.

Title: Forget the Theory and What the so-called Experts have to say – How you can Operationalize Information Governance in your Enterprise 
Greg Whicker, Director, Business Service Management, Salt River Project
Madison Prince, Organizational Change Analyst, Salt River Project
Richard Lee, Managing Partner, IMECS, LLC

Overview: Far too many organizations are attempting to take a Prescriptive or Best Practices-based approach to operationalizing Info Gov in the enterprises. We will proffer that “The critical path to success is one that requires an Adaptive Model, which leverages the Governance Structure, Culture and Business Model of your Enterprise to create an environment where Info Governance is embraced by everyone based on the culture belief that that Information is an Asset (top down & bottoms up)”.

Key points we will emphasize during our presentation:

  • The entire organization must come to believe that “Information truly is an Asset”
  • Cultural Adoption based on the use of effective Communications and OCM Techniques is critical to success
  • Advocacy by Executive Leaders is essential to business buy-in and ownership
  • Information Governance Processes and Messaging must be “baked in” to every activity
  • Technology is not a critical enabler to success; Cultural Adoption is.

“Adapt, Leverag…

Posted on June 6, 2013 In DGIQ, Governance, Information Governance, Information Management
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My Year as an IBM Information Management Champion – Day 20+

May 30, 2013 — Leave a comment

My year on the IBM Champion Roller Coaster has started to pick up speed. I have been supporting the Big Data marketing teams with several activities recently. The two most visible are;

Big Data Bytes – May 31

May 31, 2013 2:00 PM ET

Big Data Bytes is a weekly videochat where we look at some of the hot articles, blog posts, and social chatter about topics related to big data. For Friday, May 31, our guests will be Richard Lee (@InfoMgmtExec) and Tom Deutsch (@thomasdeutsch). Richard has been a Management Consultant for more than 30 years and speaks at conferences around the world on key business issues related to Enterprise Information Management & Data Governance. Tom is big data program director at IBM and co-author of the popular books Understanding Big Data and Harness the Power of Big Data.

What the video chat LIVE on ibmbigdatahub.com/BigDataBytes

Follow and join in on Twitter using hashtag #BigDataBytes

I am looking forward to my chat with Tom Deutsch tomorrow (Friday)

 

IBM Big Data Hub (a Google+ Forum/Hangout)

https://plus.google.com/111782494410500764298/posts

I have a conversation with on the topic of “Operations Analysis”

  • Christy Maver IBM Big Data Product Marketing Manager

If you have time check these out and let me know what you think.

Stay tuned for my next installment where I write about my First 30-days as an IBM Champion

PS – Follow #IBMChampions on Twitter for more frequent updates.

 

In Big Data, Business Analytics, Governance, Information Governance, Information Management
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My Year as an IBM Champion for Information Management – Day 3

May 13, 2013 — Leave a comment

Late last week I learned that I have been selected as a 2013 IBM Information Management Champion (in addition to my current role of being a “Social Media Influencer”). It is a high honor for me to represent such a great program and to join an esteemed group of peers. Each of us brings a unique perspective to the disciplines of Information Management, Analytics & Information Governance which we use to help extol the benefits of the InfoSphere portfolio to our clients and colleagues. I very much look forward to strongly participating in the program and will be speaking at a number of events in the coming months in my capacity as a Champion as well as working on a daily basis to help bring insights and capabilities to clients working with various elements of the InfoSphere portfolio. I promise to use my Blog to highlight interesting Case Studies and Anecdotes over the coming year. Stay Tuned!

In Business Analytics, Information Governance, Information Management
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IBM Champions Program

Posted on May 13, 2013 In Business Analytics, Information Governance, Information Management, Uncategorized , , , ,
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Information on Demand 2012_Post Conference Wrap-up

October 30, 2012 — 1 Comment

Nate Silver – Author of “The Signal and the Noise”

 

As we shift our focus from the mania of IOD to Super Storm Sandy and settle back into our weekly routines, it strikes me just how much I was saw and learned at this year’s IOD. Having missed the last two IOD’s due to reasons that I won’t get into here, I was a bit overwhelmed at first by the sheer growth in the number of Keynotes and Sessions/Tracks to choose from and the . I went to several Partner sessions on my first day of IOD (Sunday) to get a flavor for the InfoSphere Information Server 9.1/MDM Server 10.2 roll-out plans and to mentally/physically prepare myself for the activities to follow. It was clearly not enough. I found that once the official event kicked off I was juggling 2-3 sessions for every time slot available over all 4 days. I literally was slammed right up to the last event on Th before bolting for the airport. As I sit at my desk in the Client Site facility that I work out of I am having withdrawal symptoms in terms of the limited amount of information and activities that my days now consist of. I will soon be counting the days until next year’s event.

For the Captain’s of Industry whom follower my blog and Tweets, let me leave you with a few carefully chosen take-aways in terms of strategic direction and leadership;

1.- The leverage and exploitation of Information is, and forever will be, the most significant and sustainable source of Competitive Advantage that your organization has available to it. It is up to you to set the strategy and direction for your organization to capitalize on this. Do not subordinate this responsibility to your Marketing or IT folks. It is your’s alone. Own it and Lead the charge.

2.- Advanced Analytics is not a fad (unlike the term “Big Data”). It is a core competency that every Information-driven Enterprise must establish, nurture and make pervasive across all aspects of your business activities. To be successful, you must have a healthy mix of Decision Scientists, Analytics Geeks and Pragmatists who in aggregate are the core of  your “Analytics Center of Excellence”. Under your direction and leadership they must foster a “culture of analytics-based decision making and planning” for your entire enterprise.

3.- All Enterprises need true “Strategic Partners” in order to be successful. There are many who claim to be such, but few who meet the mark in terms of overall capabilities, track record, thought leadership and innovation. I continue to believe that IBM is uniquely positioned as “The Strategic Partner of Choice” in the marketplace, no matter what Vertical segment of Industry, Government or Academia you represent. However, success cannot be achieved by simply choosing  the best strategic partner. You must take full responsibility for the delivery of all strategic outcomes and manage/optimize the relationship to achieve this. I cannot emphasize this requirement enough. You are the master of your own destiny here and cannot be passive or dis-engaged in order to be successful.

Step up to these challenges Business Leaders and you will achieve the Competitive Advantage and other Strategic Outcomes that you need to remain successful/viable in your business endeavors.

 

 

In Big Data, Business Analytics, Governance, Information Governance, Information Management
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Information on Demand_Thursday October 25, 2012

October 26, 2012 — 1 Comment

How silly can it get?

Thursday was the final day for IOD and it was chockablock full of interesting activities and presentations. As you can see from the photo some of these activities involved fancy dress ala “The Three Amigos” (or whomever they are). Most silly of these was the “What’s Next?” soothsayer event at lunchtime. IBM, like other large corporations these days, requires their senior execs to humble themselves in front of customers and staff members by participating in such activities. It does bear asking “Would I trust the advice of such folks”. In this case, yes as these guys are among the best and brightest that IBM has on their team As a side note, It was good to see Irving once again after a long hiatus. I have very much enjoyed listening to his wisdom and insights over the years at Bill Zeitler’s “Analyst Gatherings”.

Day 4

For those who stayed to the end of IOD it was well worth their time and energy. Some of the best customer and product presos were on Day 4. I spent a number of hours in presentations on the Industry Models, Business Glossary, Metadata Workbench, Data Architect/Data Studio, Information Warehouse, Information Governance, Reference Data, etc. . All of these areas were integrated seamlessly into each conversation giving me ever-more confidence that IBM has worked out nearly all of the integration kinks across the InfoSphere Portfolio and has now moved forward substantially with the execution of their long-term vision & roadmap. This is a very good sign indeed. Many enterprises have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for this to be achieved so that they too can create a true “data-driven enterprise” without have to completely sweep the floor in the process (not that IBM would object to this).

I left IOD feeling very energized about “Everything Big” that IBM communicated over the course of the event. I was especially pleased to have not been assaulted by the term “Big Data” at every turn. Thank you IBM. Looking forward already to IOD 2013.

To my Captains of Industry out there, my message is simple; “If you want to create truly sustainable sources of Competitive Advantage from Information & Analytics then you have only one Partner in this journey to consider; IBM. Many others have some of the components required to achieve this desired strategic outcome, but nobody has the fully integrated capability of IBM when it comes to the end-to-end solution set & achieving early time to value.  i.e. People (Skills. Competencies), Process (Methodologies, Best Practices, Industry Segment insights) , Technology (Information Management, Analytics. Info Gov) and Culture (Change Management. Organization Optimization).

As a final note on IOD 2012, I would like everyone to take-away the beliefs that Information is one of the most critical assets that any enterprise has today. As such it is the full responsibility of the Business Leadership Team to define and execute the long-term strategy for its exploitation and governance. The IT organization is a key partner in this journey, but its role should be limited to providing & supporting the technology underpinnings for information and to manage the successful delivery of all information products as defined by the business. Until my Captains of Industry accept these responsibilities and accountabilities they will never achieve the Competitive Advantage that they so desperately want/need.

Adieux

In Business Analytics, Governance, Information Governance, Information Management
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Information on Demand_Wednesday 10/24/2012

October 25, 2012 — 1 Comment

Wednesday at  IOD provide another opportunity to drink from firehose of “Thinking Big”. The day was kicked off with two very lively presentations/talks  featuring Jeff Jonas, IBM’s Unstructured Analytics “Guru in Chief”,  followed by Nate Silver (“The Signal and the Noise”), who is a real Data Scientist by anyone’s definition. This was the red meat that the  assembled masses needed to get themselves amped up for Day 3.

 

Day 3

The 3rd day of IOD provided me with a wealth of opportunities to deep dive into some particular areas of interest/focus i.e. Business Glossary, Metadata, Industry Models, Information Governance, Customer Case Studies, etc. I found plenty of opportunities for this and was continuously juggling my schedule throughout the day to sit in on the richest of these discussions. One o

f the most compelling sets of presos were on the newly branded “Business Information Exchange (BIE). BIE is the V9.1 bundling of Business Glossary, Metadata Workbench and several other components in the InfoSphere Information Server stack into a “business friendly” suite for managing the enterprise’s Controlled Vocabulary, Business (and Technical) Metadata. The platform allows for Business Stewards and Information Governance professionals to manage Compliance, Impact Analysis and Lineage across their enterprise landscapes.

The BIE discussions continued into the domain of the Industry Models where I saw the long-term roadmap for the models from several years ago playing itself out in real-time. Th

e Industry Models are now moving into the domain of Information Architecture (IA) where unstructured information is organized using constructs as Controlled Vocabulary, Taxonomy and Metadata Tagging. This has been a critical requirement for some time now given the growth of unstructured and the rise of “Big Data: (yes, you heard me use the term in positive vain.

It is clear to me now that IBM has delivered on promises made several years back regarding “Putting the Business in the Drivers Seat” in respect to both Information Governance and Information Management. The entire Information Management Ecosystem is fully aligned with this ideal (Data Warehouses, Business Analytics, BI, etc.). As a result they are no

w without the exception the end-to-end leader in Business Informatics and Advanced Analytics. The portfolio they have created is not only Best in Class, but fully integrated from the Top Down and Bottom Up. Additionally, they have created the most flexibility along the way to integrate these capabilities into any type of enterprise landscape, not matter how heterogenous.

Captains’ of Industry take note. “IBM has positioned themselves as the Strategic Partner of Choice to support your organizations’ “Analytics Vision” no matter how large or small it might be. You owe it to your organization to engage with them in a conversation about  this journey at a time in the near future. Planning is critical to success so don’t hesitate.

Today is the final day of the IOD Death March and it is a full one as always. I will provide my review of the final day in my Friday (10/26) posting.

 

In Big Data, Business Analytics, Compliance, Governance, Information Governance, Information Management , ,
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