vVolve Takes On Technology

According to a recent article by Biz Community, The South African National Blood Service (SANBS) had to follow a rather rigorous documentation system to process roughly 800,000 blood donations a year. This resulted in roughly 30 million individual paper records and massive associated expenses. To make things worse, a fire in the warehouse destroyed numerous files. SANBS decided to go with the times and resort to a more efficient system of managing data  Enterprise Information Management (EIM).

The challenge of managing data does not only pertain to an organization such as SANBS, but extends to include companies in every industry from information technology, healthcare and marketing to sales, and many others. In a report published by Forbes in 2010 in association with SAP, more than 200 IT companies were surveyed. According to the findings, a majority of organizations incurred over $5 million annually with regard to data-related problems. 95% companies agreed that quality information management was critical for business success.

What’s EIM all about?

Enterprise Information Management is a method that calls for efficiently handling data. We live in a world that’s pining under the weight of a colossal information overload. The main issue, however, lies in making the right information available to the right person at the right time. Service and product based industries depend on upon well-assorted information to prime customers and make successful sales. In the case of healthcare, as explored above, timely and appropriate information could mean the difference between life and death for an individual seeking immediate attention.

Benefits of EIM

Compartmentalising data: EIM helps categorise data based on its quality, its characteristics, and many such factors. Segregating information can identify correlations between different inputs, such as the net sales for a given price point. This enables the management to gain an insight into the performance of various subjects and create effective strategies to counter any issues.

Improving semantic capabilities: Say there’s a brand that produces biscuits. If the term output means 200 tonnes in one department and 100 tonnes in another, that organization could be on the brink of serious mishaps. Thus, fixing common definitions, metrics and benchmarks are vital and that’s exactly what EIM aims at.

Removing redundancy: EIM helps remove large volumes of data by screening for redundancy. This process even standardises information. For example, customer names should be saved in one format it could be the surname, followed by the first name, or vice versa. Ensuring this makes the information easy to retrieve and use.

Validating data: This step brings with it the privilege of weeding out unnecessary data that was earlier discussed. The financial department wouldn’t need the demographic break-up of the target market, just as a product designer has no use for sales reports in 2000.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Modern-day experts and businesses perceive EIM as an opportunity that can drastically help improved automation, reduce costs and create value. Have you updated your business yet?