PLANO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--William McKnight, an internationally recognized consultant, analyst, author, and noted authority on information management, has published a new book, Information Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage with Data. In the book, McKnight develops the value proposition for information in the enterprise and making smart decisions to enable organizations to make the most of company information.
McKnight, whose consulting work and strategies form the information management plan for many of the Global 2000, explains in the book that there has been a vast disintermediation of Information Technology (IT) functions. “Technology supporting information drives all aspects of the business. No longer is a single IT organization in charge of everything technical. That’s why this book is not just for those working in a formal IT organization, it’s for everyone in the company pursuing their goals through technology,” writes McKnight, who previously authored 90 Days to Success in Consulting.
“Users of information are increasingly getting involved in information architecture. They are contributing to weighing the tradeoffs, assessing their workloads in deep ways, selecting methods of data movement and levels of redundancy, determining what constitutes data quality and selecting tools,” McKnight added. “If IT is supporting an initiative – as clearly it will do for many – this book provides guideposts for that interaction. This book has to do with the crown jewels, the modern-day gold of the organization – information. It’s how your organization will compete.”
The practical, hands-on guidance in McKnight’s new book includes:
- The importance of information management and analytics to business, and how data warehouses are used
- The technologies and data that advance an organization, and extend data warehouses and related functionality
- Big Data and NoSQL, and how technologies like Hadoop enable management of new forms of data
- Pulls all of the above together, while addressing topics of agile development, modern business intelligence, and organizational change management
The following industry luminaries have offered their opinions of McKnight’s new book:
"William McKnight has delivered a very clear and concise explanation about how to get the most from your organization's data. He steps the reader through an assortment of data processing technologies and approaches and show which deliver the best ROI for which types of workloads. This is a desperately needed mapping that many users will find invaluable!"
Wayne Eckerson, President, Eckerson Group
"A blueprint and action plan for a corporate information management strategy, this book is a useful guide for anyone who wishes to improve business success with technology. Author William McKnight provides the foundation and tools for information managers to set policies and programs for the improved management of information, while addressing advances in architecture and technology principles."
Julie Langenkamp-Muenkel, Editorial Director, Information-Management.com
"I always enjoy William's writing, especially his balance between inspiring foresight and pragmatic advice rooted in real-world experience. He has skillfully shown that poise again: with his guidance you'll find Information Management transforms what can be a burdensome responsibility into an insightful practice."
Donald Farmer, VP Product Management, QlikTech
"Many claim we're in the golden age of data management; every traditional paradigm and approach seems to have a newer, better, and faster alternative. This book provides a terrific overview of the new class of technologies that must be integrated into every CIO's technology plan."
Evan Levy, Co-Author, Customer Data Integration: Reaching a Single Version of the Truth
"Big data is no longer just an IT topic. It's one that's now top-of-mind for executives, too. William McKnight takes the increasingly knotty hairball of information management-its practices, technologies, and skills-and unravels it in this timely and relevant book. A must-read for business and IT pros alike."
Jill Dyché, SAS Vice President and author of The New IT
"I challenge any Information Management professional to not get value from this book. William covers a range of topics, and has so much knowledge he is able to offer usable insights across them all. The book is unique in the way it provides such a solid grounding for anyone making architectural or process decisions in the field of information management, and should be required reading for organizations looking to understand how newer approaches and technologies can be used to enable better decision making."
Michael Whitehead, CEO and Co-Founder, WhereScape Software
To purchase “Information Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage with Data”, please visit Amazon.com.
About William McKnight
William McKnight is president of McKnight Consulting Group and an internationally recognized authority in information management. McKnight is a very popular speaker worldwide and a prolific writer with hundreds of articles and white papers published. He provides clients with strategies, architectures, platform and tool selection, and complete programs to manage information.