Content as Lubricant

The reason any institution using data and content must become more formal about managing these assets has to do with the changing role of information. During the 1950s, data and information were used as a lubricant. We removed friction from processes, like oil does for a car engine. We used data to speedup processes, eliminate some back-office jobs, and drive a few easy dollars to the bottom line through efficiencies. The first large-scale IT systems (back then they were called Data Processing Systems) were dedicated to the back office; e.g., payroll and general ledger. Afterward came back-office support for sales and inventory, but the applications still greased processes.

This created an arrangement where business drove requirements for IT, or IT became the “enabler” for business. The relationship has always been a linear one. But this practical need for separation has evolved into a “we” and “they” view of business use of technology. When I play cards with my father, he makes two columns to keep score. They are labeled “we” and “they.” The first time you see this, it is amusing. However, there is a simple, diplomatic, but adversarial implication in this. There was “we”—our side, the good guys, and “they”—the other team. The competition.