Practical Business, Digital World
Jinfo Blog

By Robin Neidorf

Abstract

Are we battling technology or leveraging it? Far from solving our problems, technologies such as intranets often seem designed to frustrate. And as for big data, that's the latest and, some would argue, "biggest" challenge to date. Find out about how FreePint is launching a series of articles, case studies, reports and webinars (Big Data in Action) to help info pros turn big data into bold insights and knowledge gains.

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When I looked over the recent FreePint Articles to write these comments, the one that jumped out at me was Tim Buckley Owen's FreePint Subscription commentary on the work-from-home flap generated in the wake of Yahoo's now-famous reeling in of the staff. Only a few members of FreePint's staff work in our central office. Teleworking is essential to our productivity, our ability to work with the best people for each job, and our job satisfaction.

But it seems to me there's an even broader point to make, which is echoed in many more recent articles and throughout the FreePint Articles database: can we align the capabilities of technology with our business objectives? Technology is central in business today, but it feels as if we're battling it just as often as we're leveraging it. Commissioning editor Andrew Grave even uses the subhead "Technology vs People" in his FreePint Features article on next-generation competitive intelligence.

At its best, technology turns what was once impossible or prohibitively expensive into just another step in a process. Who doubts that intranets make more visible the knowledge that used to be locked on paper in filing cabinets? Yet intranets have become their own battleground in the fight for frictionless productivity, as contributing editor James Mullan so often demonstrates. His most recent FreePint Subscription contribution assures us that intranets "aren't yet at death's door", but follow his commentary over the past year, and you will get the strong sense that they suffer chronic, debilitating ailments.

The problem seems to get worse, rather than better, when new technologies begin to enter the mainstream. Suddenly the technology is the cure for all ills... even if most people are not quite sure what it does.

Big Data in Action

The latest example of this phenomenon is "Big Data". The technologies encompassed by big data offer exciting possibilities for turning unstructured information into knowledge, massive amounts of raw data into insight, and streams of information into trend analysis and decision support. But at the moment, a lot of the discussion around big data is vague, confusing and lacking in the real-world practicality that will allow information professionals to think creatively about how to harness its potential.

To bridge this gap, FreePint is developing a series of articles, reports and webinars called Big Data in Action. We're publishing case studies, practical examples, and plain-English discussions throughout April and May, culminating in a live discussion at the SLA annual conference in San Diego in June.  Register your interest in the Big Data in Action series, and you'll receive free reports, early notification of webinar registration and other announcements throughout the series. And if you have your own big data story to tell, please email me (robin.neidorf@freepint.com).

In the meantime, I'll be happily and productively working from my home office, in close collaboration with my FreePint colleagues, contributors and readers like you, around the world. It's not "technology vs people" but "technology AND people" that makes this digital world go round.

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