Information Management: past, present and future

LexisNexis has surveyed 500 people working in information services in a range of roles across Europe.  In depth interviews were held with professionals in France, Germany and the Netherlands and a broader survey was sent out to information professionals across Europe.  Finally, the researchers interviewed senior academics to review the findings.The findings map out the progress from a ‘physical world' of information to a digital one.Key themes identified in the report

• Adding value - information managers are under pressure to deliver business critical insight, and drive new market opportunities - they are equipped to drive competitive advantage
• Information overload - information abundance and the range of sources brings new challenges for those tasked with delivering actionable insight and meaning
• New skills - information professionals acknowledge the importance of communication and technical skills but are also clear they need to develop ways to help others understand and interpret data.  This includes creating visualisations and presenting information in dashboards - and helping others to interpret results.
• Under pressure - 42% of respondents said they felt rushed/pressed for time at work frequently or very frequently.  Information professionals are under extreme pressure to maintain quality services, rapid response while meeting the increased expectations of the internal customer.  At the same time they need to demonstrate value to the organisation.

New roles for information professionalsRoles have already evolved away from information facilitation to information analysis.  Respondents felt their roles within organisations would shift seeing them have more strategic influence across the entire business.The report includes extracts of interviews with leading academics who bring their own perspective to the findings.You can download the LexisNexis White Paper here.