The survey, carried out by the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) and PwC, included a sample of over 100 Irish companies among a total sample of 600 firms between the UK and Republic of Ireland. Information management is the overall term that refers to the way in which organisations manage, store, capture and secure information and data. Sound information management strategies are seen as crucial to the success of on-line initiatives, from corporate portals and e-commerce Web sites to on-line government services.
The survey revealed that document and record management was the greatest source of interest among respondents, especially in government and healthcare sectors.
What surprised AIIM most was the number of respondents that were entering their second and third phases of information management projects, while 21 percent of respondents were embarking on information management projects for the first time.
Implementation and change management was found to be the most difficult aspect of information management projects. As Sarah Drew, events and publications manager with AIIM Europe explained, companies might have chosen software but not considered its impact on the department or the rest of the business, in terms of training and workflow.
Of the companies surveyed, 63 percent had information management budgets in excess of EUR80,000 and 32 percent had budgets in excess of EUR800,000 up from 19 percent last year.
However, companies do not always have the experience to know how to spend their budget and might end up buying a technology that doesn't do what they need it to do, said Drew. "They need to consider the education gap that they've got and do something about it -- understanding the requirement and building around it so they get the return on investment they're looking for."
She said that the survey found Ireland's e-government strategy to be far more advanced than that in the UK. "Ireland's freedom of information and e-government strategy is onto the second phase of its amendment, while the UK is facing impending targets with its e-government strategy which it is struggling to meet."
To gauge future spending in the area, Drew used the above budget figures and cited the number of companies entering second and third generation information management projects. "They have clearly seen a return on their investment and are now prepared to invest more, so there is no reason why existing budgets shouldn't continue."
The Association for Information and Image Management and PwC carried out the survey in conjunction with an Info Ireland information management event, being held on 17 and 18 September in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin.
Quelle: electricnews.net
