Göran Samuelsson

Effective digital information management

Today, the increasing volume of digital information is used more frequently and over longer periods of time, increasing the need for structure. How can we improve the management of these digital information flows while ensuring the quality of the information over time? The status of information mangement in a number of public authorities has been analysed by conducting two studies. Effective information management has been defined and we asked the authorities in what areas they would consider help useful in order to become more completely digital authorities. Through interviews and questionnaires we have also identified future challenges. These challenges mainly involve generating information that communicates, that is to say, we need to increase interoperability between business systems and more long-term solutions for preservation (e-archives). This is increasingly important, as many authorities are becoming outsourcers, purchasing all services and products regardless of whether they are managing schools, railways or hospitals. This means that the benefit and value of the authorities is increasingly shifting towards managing and administering information – information that is often very long-lived. Another outcome of this review is identification of the need for a standardized, common information model shared by all information professions, regardless of whether one is a business architects, information security professional or an archivist. It is of utmost importance that we find techniques and methods to be able to work together to develop even more efficient sustainable information management.