Surviving The Era of Big Data

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Surviving the Era of Big Data

Data management questions that everyone must address in the Digital Age.

BARBARA HEMPHILL

According to Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Inc., by 2020 the world will generate 35 times as much data annually as it did in 2010. Indeed, you can't read the news without hearing about "big data," a term for the increasingly large amounts of information we process daily. Unfortunately, many people never learned to manage paper correctly, and most are not doing any better with electronic documents. With a surplus of information and multiple ways to store it, there are a number of questions you must address about the data you process daily.

What form should I keep my information in? The rapid growth of digital technology has taken us from newspaper to iPad and from hardcover to eReader, and the same trends are permeating our offices. Most information today is already in digital form, and as the quantity of information received and generated by increases, electronic storage options become essential. It is simply not cost-effective to use paper for long-term storage of business information. But with whatever system you use, consistency is key. Avoid storing data across multiple platforms and services. Less is more from an organizational standpoint.

For how long should I store information?
The advantages of electronic storage can become disadvantages as many of us have painfully learned when called to account for e-mail messages sent years previously. Regardless of the reasons for unorganized data, the results are the same—whether they are in the form of overstuffed filing cabinets or hard drives. Hold file clean-out days, and create the methodology, mechanics and maintenance to enable and empower yourself to make the decisions required to eliminate unnecessary information.

Who is responsible for filing It? 
While many large companies today have a staff in charge of records retention, small businesses often ignore the issue entirely. Designate a staff member or team that makes and implements decisions about current information, and create a solid procedure so that one person's absence doesn't jeopardize the functionality of the system. Be sure to include and document the three components of an effective filing system:

1. File methodology: What documents are to be filed.

2. File mechanics: How documents are filed.

3. File maintenance: When documents are eliminated.

Think of clutter—whether digital or tangible—as postponed decisions. While there is no quick fix for years of postponed decisions, avoiding the problem in the future is easy. Today’s mail is tomorrow’s pile, so to get results, ignore the mistakes of the past. Create a system today to enable employees to make good decisions about the information they receive.

Barbara Hemphill is the Founder of Productive Environment Institute, in Raleigh, N.C., and author of Less Clutter More Life. As one of the country’s leading organizational experts she has helped many corporations, such as Staples, Hallmark and 3M increase their productivity and efficiency. For information about her speaking services, visitwww.BarbaraHemphill.com.