


Be honest: What would happen if you treated your money like you did your information?

Information is the world’s new currency – so where’s your wallet?

| Corporate insights

Forget bitcoin, the currency of the world is information. Transferable with no costs, understood in every language – it's also one of the most valuable currencies in the modern age. If you could see information's performance on the exchange, you'd be snapping it up as the soundest investment you'll ever make.

So why aren't businesses taking stock of their information resources, instead letting them be used, borrowed and shared on a whim? They wouldn't do that with their money. Where's their wallet?

Information is still misunderstood, despite our realisation that it holds tremendous value for organisations around the world. It is one of only four assets executives have at their disposal – they have their staff, their physical assets, their money and their information in the form of raw data or knowledge.

The way to manage information as you would your money (or any other asset) comes down to good governance. The rules that make for good management decisions.

Understanding the value of information

You're not going to invest in a wallet if money is just mere pieces of paper to you, just like you're unlikely to take information seriously if you don't know how valuable it is.

A single piece of information can change an entire business strategy. It can impart knowledge that determines an organisation's future. Effective information management can lead to incredible productivity gains, as people find the information they need and apply it faster.

Information management also aids compliance, potentially savings thousands in legal costs and untold amounts in reputation. AIIM's Industry Watch report shows that 14 per cent of surveyed organisations are incurring fines or bad publicity from their poor information management – a staggeringly high number.

While the true value of information may currently be difficult to measure, that doesn't mean it should be ignored. Physical assets will depreciate, staff costs will accelerate and the Australian dollar continues to struggle, but information is only becoming more valuable in the digital universe in which we live and work.

Where's your wallet?

Information management, much like your wallet, is very much about having a system and structure where everything is in its logical place. It means you can find what you need quickly – or hand your wallet to someone else, and let them get what they need out of it with no trouble.

For a business, having governance dictating information management decreases risk and many associated costs, while improving the value you can draw from all the data within the organisation.

Here's what we want you to do

Ask yourself, am I treating my information in the same way I do my money? Then ask, what would happen if I treated my money as I do my information? If the answer, like so many other, is "we'd be broke", it's time to rethink a few things.

Our white paper is a quick and complete guide to managing information just like you would your finances. Click the image below or to the left if you'd like to see how you can make yourself an information management wallet.

Follow by Email