The information system model to aim for in order to recover lost revenues and margins and to move quickly towards achieving the objectives of its mission.
The frequent market changes deriving from various factors, (technological evolution, globalization, cost optimization, and why not, health crisis) subject the information systems of organizations, both public and private, to manage, for continuity and "survival", the news and the quantities of data getting bigger and faster and faster to allow immediate decisions.
(by Arturo Veneruso and Gianfranco Ossino - Innovation Managers and members of the AIDR Observatory for the Digitization of the Environment and Energy)
THE DEVELOPMENT CRITERIA OF THE INFORMATION SYSTEMS FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE ORGANIZATIONS
For several years now, since we have dealt with topics related to Information Systems, we have been wrapped in terms that have become usual today, such as industry 4.0, Internet of think and Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Cyber Security.
All the areas listed above create a natural uncertainty as to which procedure to undertake and which priorities to consider when an Information System must be designed or evolved.
If we then add that we are experiencing, also certainly on the basis of the ongoing health crisis, a phase of accelerated change, the organizations are reviewing their processes and Information Systems. It is sufficient to consider how the provision of services is inducing the bodies and organizations, generally public or more conservative, to reorganize the front office, both from a logistical and IT point of view, by designing "APP" systems never considered or stored on site.
Based on the foregoing, there is no doubt that this change is a driver of growth opportunities, even if the price that organizations and service users are paying will certainly be high. We would have liked a boost to the lower intensity change.
The figure shows a typical "vision" of the two Information Systems in force in an organization, that of providing the service and that of managing its own business (ERP, CRM, etc.). Both based on:
- flexibility criteria, both towards the user of the service (on-site and / or on-line use, etc.) or of the asset, revised with respect to the initial characteristics, and towards its managerial and operating staff (specific "APP" systems for deliveries of remote activities);
- Smart-working best practices, recently forcibly experimented.
The reference model, presented below, guides the creation of an increasingly "data-driven" information system, a known method, which few organizations have actually implemented at present, in a widespread manner, analyzing every component of their business.
The design of the Information System must be based on data of interest to the organization and the development priority must be addressed by those requirements and the related application areas necessary, without which it is critical to govern the organization's service and performance objectives.
The reference model described is focused on:
- Guidelines for the evolution of the company information system as a function of a system of indicators relevant to the organization, whose values must allow, when fully operational, the management of corporate risk, the governance of the business, the quality of the service / product released and the data treated.
- Criteria for governing the technology used in the information system to manage data safely.
Below are the possible guidelines for the evolution of the Information System according to the Indicator System considered a priority for the organization.
The set of indicators relevant to the organization must necessarily address the level of priority of attention of the data functional to their enhancement, also to the advantage of a less expensive and expensive evolutionary maintenance of the developed Information System.
This procedure would make it possible to identify those application areas and the technological driver areas for the design of the Company and Service Information Systems, if they are diversified. In a transversal way, in any case, the management and security process of the aforementioned data must be safeguarded. Security must be the focal point, in terms of confidentiality, integrity and availability pursuant to ISO 27701 and in accordance with the management of personal data (European Data Protection Regulation 679 of 2016), which inspired the ISO 27701.
With this procedure, the objectives of the organization can be pursued by providing for both the choice of the reference environment technology of the most suitable Information System and the set of tools deemed most relevant, such as the Internet of think and Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, applied consistently with the objectives.
The implementation of the security aspects can be applied, considering organizational, procedural and technological aspects, with prevention activities, applying Cyber Security methodologies and tools in all the technological levels that participate in the Information System.
CONSIDERATIONS ON THE DATA IN THE EVOLUTION OF THE INFORMATION SYSTEM OF THE ORGANIZATION
For the sake of completeness, the model described also highlights an independence from the technology component for a greater focus on the data of the specific organization / application or business area or on the pulsating factor that will illustrate the state of achievement of the organization's objectives.
The combination of data and technology constitutes, in fact, digitalization, a transversal phenomenon in continuous evolution for the evolution of technology.
Connecting more and more objects and guaranteeing an almost instantaneous transmission speed of information means an exponential growth in the amount of data in circulation and a punctual and real-time view of the performance of your organization.
The DATA therefore represent the lifeblood of digitalization, the flow of which is characterized by five distinct moments in the life cycle of the data:
- Acquisition: where the Source performs the role of data collection / collection
- Transmission: through which the data is directed towards its management / supervision / use
- Management: where data is stored (cloud storage)
- Supervision and processing: where data are analyzed and valued (data mining)
- Fruition: where users acquire the results
The set of all these data goes under the name of BIG DATA characterized by the three V's: extended in terms of Volume, transmitted with very high Speed and of manifold Variety.
PROJECTED IMPACT
The emergency of these days offers organizations an opportunity to accelerate the digital transformation, adopting solutions that are not tactical but strategic, which allow both an emergency management with containment of losses and an increase in competitiveness with the recovery.
Topics treated by us AIDR (Italian Digital Revolution Association) in the initiative "Digital transformation talk" through the realization of a series of free webinars. Among these in particular TUESDAY 12 MAY 16:00 - 17:00 we will talk about "The definition of the Requirements and the testing of digital solutions in the new business processes induced by the change taking place". To participate: https://www.aidr.it/webinar-aidr-2020/. We also plan a series of interviews aimed at some companies to learn about their testimony on how they are managing change.