The odds are fairly good that your business collects and stores quite a bit of data about its daily activities. This data on its own has little meaning or value. Only when it is organized and summarized so as to derive meaning or value to the business does it become useful information. Information can be defined as knowledge derived from the analysis of your collection of data.
You can infer from this that your business data is not being fully utilized until it is organized into a logical information system. In short, how well you manage your data works in concert with the success of your business.
There can be no debating that if you are not going to manage your business data, there is no reason to collect it in the first place. A well-designed information system can help you manage your business data effectively, resulting in improvements to your bottom line.
Advantages of implementing a centralized information system for your business are: streamlined management of data, resulting in a decrease in data redundancy and inconsistencies, increased information sharing, and ease of data backup.
Are you currently able to effectively utilize your data to manage your business? Key advantages of being able to effectively manage your business data through a well-designed information system are: the ability to quickly extract useful information from otherwise less meaningful data, and the improved ability to better understand what you are selling, how you are selling it, and who you are selling it to (customers).
This should give you a clearer picture of the advantages of a well-designed information system. The initial cost associated with the cost of an information system may seem great at first. However, the long-term business benefits associated with an information system will far exceed the initial costs of implementing an information system for your business.
Dennis Miller, of DMill consulting, is a software application developer specializing in information system development. He may be contacted at (541) 312-8268.
