ABSTRACT
We are not in the Information Age, but in an age of information.1
Information is the life-blood of the modern corporation; in 1990 the typical Fortune 500 company stored 33 billion characters of electronic data, and in 2010 this is expected to be 400 trillion.2 To achieve such a significant increase in data over such a comparatively short space of time, it is assumed that it increases by a compound rate of 60 per cent per annum. When viewed graphically, as in Figure 13.1, it can be seen just how rapidly data can increase. Also, according to the US analyst, the Meta Group, the volume of corporate information is doubling every twelve months, and is accelerating.3 If this is true, then the graph in Figure 13.1 can be considered to be somewhat conservative. Whether these projections are accurate is, of course, questionable, as many similar projections within the technology arena have proved to be wide of the mark. However, the message that such projections portray is significant: as organizations produce more and more data, it can very rapidly spiral out of control, especially when there is no one to keep it in check, to ensure it is the right data, that it is current, accurate and adding value to the organization. Furthermore, as the lines of communication within organizations have become more sophisticated, the amount of information to process has increased and, more importantly, so has the time required to make decisions.
