Market-Based Information Architecture
I was having a discussion with Aloys Hosman about the relationship between government, business, and the markets a few days ago and it got me thinking.
For the last 10 years or so, government has been trying to adopt the language and practices of businesses. The US President pledged to run his administration like the MBA that he is (and I will studiously avoid any discussion on the results here).
At the same time businesses seem to be adopting the language and practices of government for their information architecture. In the last few years we have seen an explosion of growth in the fields of business intelligence, standardization, compliance, and governance. This all seems to be a bit odd, as the refrain that we constantly hear from the business community is for less regulation, more competition, and customer choice. Yet, for their information architecture, they centralize their operations, standardize their equipment, and do their best to squelch independent projects. A bit Orwellian, if you ask me.
So, what would an information architecture based on free-market principles look like? Well, in a well-run, market-based I think you would see:
- An information ecosystem that is both more complicated and more efficient than a centralized model.
- Systems built on a smaller scale for more narrow audiences.
- Integration done with shadow systems and AJAX instead of ETL and ERP.
- Fewer server farms and more powerful systems in the hands of the users.
So, do you want to live in a republic, a confederacy, a monarchy, a theocracy, an autocracy, or something wholly different? The next time you start thinking about your IT operations, just remember that there are other options than a model based around central authority.
technorati tags:standardization, ETL, information architecture, information governance, business intelligence
July 29th, 2006 at 1:57 pm
[…] There is a real difference of opinion between the folks who think there should be a single view of the customer and those who advocate a more organic methodology (like a market-based approach). After watching several different companies try to implement a single data repository and overall data model I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. For the most part, they seemed to be political exercises to try and force compliance in using a solution that did not meet the needs of business units. At the same time, there is very real value to be gained through integration and shared resources (especially with business intelligence). […]
September 29th, 2006 at 4:10 am
[…] Regulation and the threat of real penalties for inaccuracies in reporting. People got interested enough to protect their own hides. […]