Editorial

Editorial - Knowledge transfer

in action the generosity of
information professionals

This first issue of Business Information Review (BIR) for

2015 features articles on developing effective information
governance when implementing Enterprise Social Software
(ESS), the application of value co-creation to create a
framework for service innovation and improvement in academic libraries, and a new approach to designing value into
information systems which builds on some valuable earlier
principles.
Martin Whites Perspectives column alerts us to new
thinking on information management spotted in a range
of non-information journals covering information visualization and visual analytics, communication audits and
social network analysis, research examining tools for the
extraction of content from PDFs, thesaurus tools for the
Semantic Web (both important for retrievability) and organizational ambidexterity.
Allan Fosters Initiatives column focuses on the digital
revolution in companies, the leadership needed for digital
transformation (chief information officers and/or chief
data officers), the cultural changes needed if employees are
to flourish in digital workplaces, big data and its analysis
and newly emerging information management roles.
The lead article in this issue is Allan Fosters 2015 Business Information Survey. Now in its 25th year, the survey
provides an unsurpassed and in-depth exploration of the
concerns, challenges and opportunities facing a group of
senior information leaders.

BIRs 2014 best paper prize

The winner of BIRs award for the best article published in
2014 is Bonnie Ranvild Frisendahl of Novo Nordisks Global Information and Analysis team.
Her article on global information training (2014, 31(4):
237242) is an extremely well-constructed distillation of
the development and delivery of live and interactive training in a virtual classroom. Although the competition was
extremely tight, this article came out on top due its generosity in sharing the training story from the early stages of
training design, the learning and training techniques considered, course construction, tips to ensure engagement
during training and ideas about evaluation as the basis for
continuous course improvement. It illustrates a response
to a truly global, high volume and digital challenge but is

Business Information Review

2015, Vol. 32(1) 69
The Author(s) 2015
Reprints and permission:
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DOI: 10.1177/0266382115581088
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a solution that could be used on a smaller scale too with its

many practical and actionable ideas. It demonstrates how
information professionals can make a real impact on, and
a difference to, their organizations. Frisendahl receives
100 in cash and 100 worth of SAGE books, and her article will be actively promoted. To ensure that these lessons
learned reach a wide audience, Sage has made the article
available free until the end of April 2015 at http://bir.sagepub.com/content/31/4/237.full.pdfhtml and http://ow.ly/
KbYtO.
The runner-up for the 2014 best paper prize was Arthur
Weiss for Searching in a Global Environment: Finding
Information From and on Foreign Countries, Regions and
Markets. This can also be read free of charge on the BIR
website until the end of April 2015 at http://bir.sagepub.com/content/31/4/243.full.pdfhtml.
This article is a tour de force in its richness. Understanding search engines and search services is the bread and butter
of many information management (IM) professionals. Weiss
identifies a number of potential pitfalls and problems associated with using search to collate and analyse data sourced
from different countries, regions and markets. The article
provides useful tips and a wealth of information source/service references for global researchers and analysts. Its a
good example of knowledge transfer in action. Both Frisendahl and Weiss exemplify a key value of information professionals the wish to share experience with others in order to
learn from them and the generosity to do so.
This is the third year in which the prize has been
awarded. The selection process involved the editorial board
and the editors considering each article published in the
four issues of the year through the lens of breakthrough
thinking and potential impact on practice. Seven articles
were shortlisted, and these were considered again with professional relevance and the quality of writing/readability
added to the initial selection criteria.
The winning articles in 2013 and 2012 are still very
relevant and appear in the top download lists for BIR in
2014: Martin White, Intranet Focus Ltd, Digital Workplaces: Vision and Reality published in December 2012
(BIR 2012, 9(4): 201214) and Chris Rivinus of Tullow
Oil, IT Project Prioritization: A Practical Application of
Knowledge Management Principles, published in December 2013 (BIR 2013, 30(4): 196203).

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Editorial

International expansion of the

Editorial Board
Tracy Z Maleeff has just joined the Editorial Board and
strengthens our US membership joining Scott Brown on the
board as well as adding legal information expertise and the
benefit of a wide network of contacts. Tracy is the Library
Resources Manager at Duane Morris LLP in Philadelphia.
She earned her Master of Library and Information Science
from the University of Pittsburgh and has undergraduate
degrees from Temple University (magna cum laude) and
the Pennsylvania State University. Tracy currently serves
as the Chair of the Special Libraries Associations Online
Content Advisory Council as well as Chair of the 2015
Annual Conference Advisory Council. She received the
2014 Dow Jones/Special Libraries Association (SLA)
Innovate Award for consistent innovation, leadership and
creativity both in the information profession and in SLA,
the first time the award was made.

The Business Information Survey 2015

These survey results are essential reading for those working
in corporate information services and information service
provision in other sectors. Collectively they provide an
unsurpassed source to mine for comparison and ideas, with
sufficient context to understand where those ideas might
work for your team. Vendors should also take careful note
of the insights provided by senior information managers,
which include some strong messages about partnering with
clients and developing a more realistic assessment on content value. The Surveys title, Moving the Corporate Needle, is a neat representation of the key success factor
reflected in all interviews the need to deliver and be seen
to deliver value. Value must be evident to the C suite, and
the survey results provide convincing arguments for reporting as high-up in your organization as possible. Reporting
lines do not, in the main, fall within the power of the information function to dictate, but building effective relationships across senior management is the essential
alternative and most managers emphasize the need to do
so as a priority. (One warning from our experience: dont
fall into the trap of hitching yourself to a rising star these
folks are highly likely to move organizations and may also
fall from influence.) So effective business relationships are
a top finding again, and the challenges of dealing with
organizational change bring extra pressure but with it some
opportunities. With the constant need to increase value
comes how to prove it. No breakthroughs here anecdotes,
of course, and the proving of content value through close
analysis of use and even the presentation in the form of
ROI (return on investment) dashboards.
Strategic planning is more evident in this years discussions. Clarification of forward direction and reasons for
change provides an excellent mechanism for debating the

future development of the information service with business colleagues and for budget negotiations. Budget pressures are still tangible. Although some services are seeing
small increases in staffing and resource levels, the trends
in vendor pricing mean that the processes of procurement
require ever more substantial effort with some information specialists devoted to this work and good relationships with procurement functions essential. For the first
time in the survey, the use of free sources is noticeable,
especially for news where free Web-based resources can
now compete on speed and cost. E-books are also beginning to be mentioned as part of the content portfolio.
Outsourcing is now a mature operation, which can ensure
optimum use of different levels of staff expertise often
focused on enabling in-house teams to undertake highvalue work and to look for further opportunities to do so, for
example, competitor intelligence. The performance management of outsourced work and its suppliers requires
ongoing attention and significant expertise. The survey also
provides insights into relationships with information technology (IT) and the analytics functions within IT and elsewhere in organizations. Although a number of survey
respondents see opportunity in big data and recognize that
staff will need additional skills to take these up, IT still sees
big data as a computing function. So the debate on whether
the skills of information professionals can contribute to this
area is definitely one which will continue. One surprise in
the results is heightened reinforcement of the reference
interview and the need to foster deeper questioning and a
flexible mind set in dealing with intelligence needs. Intelligence requires looking at the need from all possible angles.
Are these UK-focused concerns only? Some survey
respondents speak for global information services and
international cooperation, but a brief scan of recent
US reports indicates that understanding your business,
being proactive in creating business solutions, leveraging
stretched resources, the mistaken belief that everything
useful is Internet accessible and measuring value are significant preoccupations. That Responsibilities for risk-related
research are on the increase.

Highlighting opportunities for

information skills
A constant theme for BIR recently is the opportunity that
big data offers to information professionals, not just in the
corporate world but in government, academia and the third
sector. The Initiatives column in this issue highlights a
recently published book by Amy Affelt, The Accidental
Data Scientist, 2014, Information Today Inc. Affelts subtitle? Big data applications and opportunities for librarians
and information professionals. With an introduction by the
renowned Thomas H Davenport, he and the author lay
down the challenge to information specialists, Rebrand,
and take up the new big data opportunities: Recognise that

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Business Information Review 32(1)

your knowledge and skills are of use but need expansion;

get into big data or youll miss a very big boat. The book
gives you many clues on how to go about it. The SLA is
also waving the big data flag. The 2014 May/June issue
of Information Outlook the SLAs flagship magazine
features several articles devoted to big data, its meaning
and impact; a SWOT analysis of information professional
skills; a case material from SAS on the support information
professionals are providing for this leading organization
in the analytics field; and an initiative to educate our sector
in data science.
The value of information/library professionals is also
being identified as an essential IT skill. Mary Shacklett,
in 2015, at http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10-things/
10-surprising-skills-that-will-give-it-job-seekers-the-edge/?
tagnl.e106&s_cide106&ttage106&ftagTREf7159e0
(consulted, 10th March, 2015), discusses the fierce fight for
talent, as companies tackle new disciplines like big data.
She considers that this is forcing companies to re-evaluate
the skills needed by IT job candidates. Top of her list of
10 emerging skills and qualities companies are looking for?
Librarian expertise! Shacklett defines this as:
the ability to aggregate data and look at it in unique ways to
get to the bottom of the information is becoming extremely
important. This is where a background in library science can
be a plus. The right kind of librarian can become an excellent
big data analyst and researcher.

Important values include a can-do attitude and calmness

under pressure! Whilst Elasticsearch, apparently the second
most popular enterprise search engine and an open-source
product, was unknown to us, a recent news post by Martin
White reinforces the role of information scientists as senior
skilled users in any implementation development. Information scientists as specialists in search and retrieval can
determine which of Elasticsearchs many, many functions
to implement, given the nature of the content and the type
of query that will be used. There is an acute shortage of
these skills in organizations (see http://www.cmswire.com/
cms/information-management/enterprise-searchs-futurerelies-on-information-science-skills-028375.php?mkt_tok
3RkMMJWWfF9wsRohvavOZKXonjHpfsX67%2BUqUK
O0lMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4ISMpkI%2BSLDwEYGJ
lv6SgFTbDDMblp27gPXR).
Information professionals may well be poised on the
threshold of a new renaissance. A recent piece by Gartner
mentioned in Initiatives considering new tools for smart
data management and use quotes:
Smart data discovery has the potential to expand access to
sophisticated interactive analysis and insights to business consumers and non-traditional BI users the approximately 70 per
cent of users in organizations that currently do not use BI tools
or have statistical backgrounds.

This can realistically apply to and stimulate competition

for the role of business information professional skills.

Information governance
The whole area of IM is a fertile application ground for
information professional skills with effective information
governance and increasingly important opportunity. Oliver
Rolfe of KPMG International is well qualified to write on
governance matters and is currently engaged in ensuring
that the implementation of ESS (Enterprise Social Software) is not capsized by failure to build in effective governance controls. The ESS offers tremendous potential for
innovation and for productivity by enabling people
(employees, partners and customers) to connect and collaborate in real time. Encouraging this flow of ideas and
information should be a competitive force for any organization. But the very power of an ESS carries inherent risks:
inadvertent information loss, regulatory compliance and
secure user access. Rolfe argues that information governance must be considered from the germination of an ESS
programme and that this requires bringing the necessary
expertise together from the start. Risk managers, business
leaders and the ESS implantation team make for an effective partnership. This blend of skills used well will avoid
unpleasant surprises later on and this article explains how
to go about it.

The search for value

We have often reinforced the criticality of service innovation and the alignment of services with the aims of the
organization. As the academic sector has become more
competitive in its strategies to increase viability, this has
meant focusing on attractiveness to the student population. The academic library is playing a pivotal role in
enhancing the institutional brand, and this is visible in
many university library strategic plans. Typical goals
include enhancing support for student learning, personalizing the student experience, improving the study environments, contributing to the development of researchers
of the future and developing new services that will ensure
an excellent student experience. In business and industry,
the concept of value co-creation is well established as an
approach that includes active involvement between a supplier and the customer to create a value-rich experience
and improved products. The article by Anwarul Islam
considers how value co-creation can play a role in the
academic library environment and reports on research
that has yielded a value co-creation framework that
should be applicable to service innovation. The critical
success factors in its use will be the willingness of the
Library to be transparent in its dialogue with student
users and the identification of the segments of the student

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Editorial

population to work with. The article provides ideas to use

in other information service settings.

importance of information and library professional skills

in understanding user needs is paramount.

Adding value to systems development

Many business information professionals have been
involved with the specification of information systems and
learned at least some of their skills on the job. The article
by Majid Nabavi and Hamid Jamali attracted us because
it shares earlier research on the factors that need to be borne
in mind if information systems are to yield the maximum
value to their end users as well as deriving an enhanced
model to consider. The principles of adding value to information systems are little different to those required in the
development of information services and products. Two
models are particularly important, the first developed by
Taylor may seem obvious, but was a true breakthrough, that
is, the only purpose of an information system is to add
value to the data or information it processes. Information
systems either help users to perform better (or not), but
better performance is defined according to the users need
and their working environment and Taylor proposed a
model presenting essential criteria for conferring value.
Other models followed updating users needs and also considering the processes required to add value the value
chain approach. Building on these foundations, Nabavi and
Jamili have evolved their model to link users needs and
goals, the data and the services required to meet their needs
and the processes required to make data useable. The

And BIR in 2015?

Our aims remain constant:
 to stimulate innovation in business information
services and products by sharing good practice;
 to alert, assess and report on new developments and
factors influencing the information market place;
and
 to explore the opportunities offered by technology
and social media for transforming the management and use of information and knowledge in
organizations.
Our hunt for new authors redoubles and the BIR Survey,
Initiatives and Perspectives in this issue highlight many
worthwhile topics. At the top of the list are the digital workplace, the impact of mobile computing on information
delivery, the role of enterprise social platforms in service
provision, open access and its impact, content supplier/
buyer relationships, big data, information extraction and
visualization, text mining for intelligence and the skills
required for todays information environment. We welcome articles to consider, and look forward to a successful
year with great content and even more readers.

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