Capture and release

A RECENT entry on the blog of JP Rangaswami, the esteemed chief information officer at investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, summed up a problem that information managers the world over face: “We spend a lot of money making sure information is buried under at least six foot of concrete, flying a variety of flags of convenience: privacy; confidentiality; secrecy; competitive advantage…” wrote Rangaswami on www.confusedofcalcutta.com.

“We then spend a lot of money exhuming the buried information, also flying a variety of flags of convenience: openness and transparency; Sarbanes-Oxley; Freedom of Information, right to personal data, disclosure…”

The problem, as Rangaswami sees it, is this: “The reason why we spend so much money doing all this is that we find the most complicated ways of locking up the information in the first place.”

In this issue of Enterprise Information, we take a look at new, improved ways to capture information with ease and to release it appropriately, according to when, where and by whom it is needed. Our cover feature, for example, explores recent advances in optical and intelligent character recognition (OCR/ICR) technology that is enabling organisations to capture information held on paper forms and documents and transform it into data with far greater accuracy than ever before.

Elsewhere in the issue, we look at how technology also makes it possible to unleash information: how search engines can help users locate it; how web services can open it up to employees working beyond the four walls of corporate headquarters; and how portals displaying it can be designed with ease-of-use for employees in mind.

We hope we’ve released this information to you in a way you find useful. As ever, if there is any issue that you would like to see covered in the magazine, or if you’re interested in contributing a case study or workshop for inclusion, don’t hesitate to contact me at jtwentyman@ark-group.com.

Features

Case study: Fluor Corporation Free
Fluor operates in a hugely complex business sector. It developed a knowledge management strategy, including content management and communities of practice, to help its staff across the world to work together better.

Case study: BBC Free
The BBC is one of the pioneers of so-called social-computing technology and was among the first to implement corporate-wide wikis. Euan Semple reveals how it was done.

Feature: Dangerously good Free
New developments in data capture technologies are making it easier than ever to transform paper documents and forms into digital information.

Regulars

Workshop: Opening up the corporate application Free
Web technologies are enabling organisations to make information held on external systems available to employees and trading partners beyond the corporate network, says Nigel Atkinson.

Workshop: Improving portal usability Free
The experience of using a portal can be an excruciating one for end-users. By paying attention to usability issues at the start of a project, development teams can ensure that portal investments pay off, says Janus Boye.

Workshop: The enterprise search roadmap Free
What are the factors to consider when choosing and configuring an enterprise-search system? Neil Bradley explores the answers.

Q&A: London Borough of Camden Free
The London Borough of Camden has implemented search technology to give council employees and local residents quick and easy access to online information about its activities and services. Enterprise Information spoke to Ainga Pillai, the council’s corporate applications manager.