Network Computing is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.

IBM Bolsters The Case For Information Governance: Page 4 of 4

So finally we come to what IBM is offering in the way of products and services:

  • InfoSphere Business Information Monitor--tells users about information supply chain breakdowns before they affect downstream business processes. InfoSphere Business Information Monitor represents a first step in leveraging the assets that IBM recently acquired with Guardium.
  • Optim Data Redaction--redaction refers to the "blacking out" or removal of data. Removing sensitive data from documents and forms may be necessary for confidentiality and compliance purposes, such as not giving a third party privileged information in an eDiscovery case.
  • Global Business Services, Business Analytics and Optimization--doing something new for the first time often requires the use of third party services. Through its Business Analytics and Optimization service line, IBM offers information governance and assessment services. The company announced the opening of an Information Governance Center of Excellence

When large vendors, such as IBM begin to emphasize something new and
evolving, such as information governance, they recognize that they do
not have all the product and service bits and pieces in-house. They
therefore buy what they cannot make in a timely enough matter. IBM just
announced the acquisition of Initiate. However, it has also acquired
companies, including Guardium, Exeros and Lombardi that should help
flesh out its information governance products and services.

My Take
Information governance is a cross-discipline in enterprises. That means both IT and line of business people have to be deeply involved and committed. It requires money, discipline and formally adopted processes and strategies. In addition to the ongoing commitment of senior executives, the mindset and efforts of individuals have to go beyond the boundaries, not only of their formal job descriptions, but also the roles for which they are paid. Monetary, cultural and internal political considerations are all challenges for successfully executing an information governance strategy.

To top it off, information governance is a "vision thing" whose nature and processes can be sometimes painfully subjective. Personally, although I recognize the pain, having been involved in discussions on the meaning of "customer" at a Fortune 500 company, I believe the gain of information governance is well worth the discomfort. So the efforts of those vendors who play a leadership role in information governance, such as IBM, are to be commended. Yes, successfully implementing information governance well is likely to be a struggle, but the value of moving up through the stages of the maturity model may well be worth it. Can your enterprise afford to bet otherwise?