An information strategy describes the overall direction and general framework in which the organization’s information resources and processes should be managed so that the organization would achieve its most important goals. An Information Strategy typically consists of the following: IM goals and objectives that are well aligned with the organization’s mission and vision IM principles that articulate desirable outcomes and form the foundation for developing information policies One or more areas of strategic focus: this could be some critical information content; common information to be shared; some information-intensive process; or new information-based products or services.
The purpose of an information strategy is to highlight the extent to which a modern, complex organization depends on information, in all of its guises, and to consider how this strategic asset should be managed.
This dependency has always been present and nowhere more so than in universities, whose very purpose is built around information and its conversion into useful knowledge. But it has been felt with ever greater keenness since the advent of the IT revolution thirty years ago and with the catalytic force of the World Wide Web since 1993. During this time, as the complexity of the landscape has increased and the opportunities for sharing information have multiplied, the notion of information management has emerged as both a discipline and an important tool of modern management. This notion should lie at the heart of a university’s information strategy.
