Information managers are intimately familiar with data silos of all sizes and types, and the rigors of so much time and energy spent moving and aligning data to serve yet another new purpose.
With ongoing costs, constraints and the scale of data we are predicting, it is not an outrageous proposition that some are seeing our current strategy as a hopeless pursuit. It is not surprising that one or many researchers would conclude that the time is ripe for a rigorous, theoretical scientific approach to contemplate the sphere of data in its totality.
Such an approach would call for the kinds of theories and principals for data that we take for granted in chemistry or biology, or economics. Such a conceptual approach is more compelling when based on the work of a contractor to the U.S. Army that is already in pursuit of one big unified data space.
At last month's 25 Top Information Manager Symposium, Suzanne Yoakum-Stover (the subject of our latest cover story), presented a short keynote you can watch now called "Data and Dirt." Her presentation summarizes her findings in work for the Army in support of military intelligence. She is the executive director of a tiny consultancy called Mission Focus and also heads the Institute for Modern Intelligence.
"Military intel these days is still very archaic because our work is isolated and narrow. I have this gut feeling we're on the brink of a transition like we saw in physics that will happen for intelligence." - Suzanne Yoakum-Stover
Wherever you stand on Ms. Stover's viewpoint and methodology, we are - and expect you will be - inspired by her bountiful intellect and scientific approach.
For more information on the 25 Top Information Managers project, why it came about and what it plans for the future, you can view the welcome and introduction segment from Information Management Editorial Director Jim Ericson here and send your suggestions to him. We will feature more highlights from the event, all of which are available on our new video pages.
Jim Ericson is editorial director of Information Management, a SourceMedia publication. You can reach him at Jim.Ericson@sourcemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jimericson.
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