Information Environment can be defined as copy of operational data specifically tuned for quick retrieval of business and analytical information, with a Business Intelligence front end to access information. Hidden behind this "simply-defined" technological wonder are complexities - people, technology, and politics. Although Information Environment technologies and approaches have rapidly developed over the years, the infrastructures surrounding their implementation are continually struggling to keep up.

Throughout the 1970's, 80's, and early 90's, primacy was given to operational systems and the data they process, especially those surrounding billing and accounts receivables. Rapid advances in technology and plummeting hardware and software prices simply meant that more data could be captured at cheaper prices. Utilization and access to the data continued to be governed by the security of a few key pieces of information, such as billing and receivables, basic customer information, and individual transactions. Although the information age of the 1980's allowed companies to know more information about their customers than ever before (much to the public's chagrin), business and market analysts were unable to maximize the data's potential and found it difficult to quickly and accurately obtain the information they needed for business decisions.

The business, however, always has its way of surviving, even if it is not the most efficient. The onslaught and affordability of the personal computer gave business analysts a taste of what information technology could provide to increase revenues. Unfortunately, the information still remained at arm's length. The advent of spreadsheet software and small database packages offered business analysts and executives the opportunity to track sales and chart progress at speeds never before imagined. Obtaining the information, however, still required much effort and created a hardly unusual cycle of double-entry. Fortunately, the dangers of double-entry quickly gave rise to rapid information downloads. But even then, the space capacities of PCs and a communications gap between information and business centers (fortunately, now subsiding) rendered the downloaded data difficult to understand and cumbersome to analyze.

All the while, large operational systems continued to grow and further establish their structures and technology as a norm. Many estimates maintain that nearly 70% of all business data for large corporations continues to reside in mainframe systems, even with the onslaught of client-server technology. Continued and frustrated attempts to convince these monsters to worship two gods, operational data management and information utilization, finally gave way to a wise interdependent division of the two.

nformation Environment technology essentially creates a cleansed, highly tuned, and accurate copy of operational data and turns it into an informational powerhouse focused on the needs of the business decision-maker. In addition, it allows firms to incorporate data from market research organizations, quality testing labs, and consulting services. Separated from the input constraints of legacy systems, this highly tuned database puts information at the hands of the experts quickly and efficiently. More importantly, the business customer truly sits in the driver seat, spinning out meaningful demographic reports, simulating and testing marketing strategies in hours not months, and discovering potential new markets based on solid information rather a gamble.

Are you using information effectively?

In the "Information Age", it's true that organizations which capture and use information effectively are those which will prosper and grow. Little wonder modern organizations use a multitude of computer systems and programs to capture, store, analyze and manipulate data of all types - manufacturing records, sales records, customer profiles, financial reporting, and more. Yet, few organizations actually use the data they have available in the most effective manner possible. The roadblocks are many:

• Department/Division information contained in different source files which do not talk to one another
• Legacy systems containing data which is not readily accessible
• Incompatible systems resulting from mergers or acquisitions
• No central warehouse for data
• No "single source" view of all relevant information
• Some data not captured at all, or captured incomplete
• No means to integrate data from multiple source files
• Programs oriented to technical, rather than business, users
• Data cannot be leveraged out of ERP systems.