A while back I wrote a couple of posts ( one and two ) about attempting to value information as an asset, carried on the balance sheet. I took a very accounting oriented approach, and I think I’ve made some progress. This post follows, after a fashion, those two previous posts. ...
We call this the information value-gap. Closing the value-gap requires new strategies and new tools...Addressing the plumbing problem is a key strategy for closing the information value-gap
The challenge is complicated because: a) Not all information is used the same way; b) Some information can fall into multiple classes; c) Information is not depleted as it’s consumed (retention/disposition adds a different layer of complexity); d) It could be argued that, for some types of information, value increases with time unlike more “traditional” assets whose value depreciates; e) Some of the future economic benefit may actually be the avoidance of future economic sanctions or penalties
2 Comments - DE82-014250)) King Research went on to do many more studies of information value in a variety of contexts
Without going into detail on the discussion of assessing the value of information, it is probably worth reminding the "taxonomy" of the concept of information value
If a record is just data, that is zeroes and ones that is read by software a certain way, or interpreted by humans as different than a nonrecord, then we must next ask ourselves the question of what is information and how does a record have informational value. Information, in its most basic sense, is that which informs
The response to this situation has shaped the discipline of information governance, “…an organization’s coordinated, interdisciplinary approach to satisfying information legal and compliance requirements and managing information risks while optimizing information value.” ( The Sedona Conference Commentary on Information Governance, December 2013 ) 2
Whether CEOs and executives truly recognize that they cannot continue to “kick the can down the road” and that they must embrace IG programs as a way of maximizing information value while reducing associated risks and costs will play out in the next few years
The worth of each contributing business is in how it adds information value and how it enhances the product as a whole