Today’s managers are faced with information overload. Confronted with a profusion of company data and masses of Internet-based material, decision-makers are finding it increasingly difficult to keep abreast of things. In fact, more and more time is spent on trying to stay afloat in today’s flood of information – time that could be put to better use at the helm of the company. A fair chunk of the day seems to be dedicated to sorting out important information from bumf and clutter. Help is on the way, in the form of Information Logistics. It provides solutions aimed at reducing the complexity of information processes in and between companies.
The world’s major inventions have one thing in common: they are a boon and a blessing – but also a curse. This applies to the steam engine as well as to the automobile. And the same is true of computers and networks. According to a study conducted by the University of California, Berkeley, every year sees an increase in the amount of information made available via the Internet – an extra two billion gigabytes to be precise. Indeed, it generally only takes six to eight months for a company to double its repository of data. And many companies, it seems, have yet to master the intricacies of processing electronic information: time-consuming compilation of data and laborious categorisation are gnawing away at the efficiency gains achieved through automated structures and decision-making processes.