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Be a Metadata Hero

Not long ago, the only people who cared about metadata were geeks like me. IT and business users didn’t think about how data was organized, where it was located or how pieces of information were related; they simply wanted reports. And for that, information analysts were the go-to people and, therefore, the underappreciated metadata gatekeepers.

Today, IT and business users don’t seem to need intermediary gurus to get information. The modern knowledge worker deals directly with many types of information from many sources. In most cases, whether it’s reformatting, searching, recreating, publishing, moving or acquiring content, you don’t need a middleman. But now you need something else: relief from information overload. Case in point: try searching for “information overload” on Google; you’ll get somewhere around 2.8 million returns in 0.12 seconds.

How can we possibly manage, or make sense of, this overwhelming flood of information? According to Xerox Corporation, more than 50 percent of people think less than half of the information they receive at work is valuable. (http://www.xerox.com/information-overload/enus.html) Is this an accurate impression, or do we simply lack an efficient way of identifying data that it is useful and relevant to us?

Metadata describes and classifies data, providing context that enables data to become useful. Through effective metadata management, we can find the information we want, make critical decisions and take immediate action. Without it, we’re left to wrestle with a mass of information that grows faster each year.

While the thought of tackling this escalating problem may be overwhelming, the simple fact is no one can afford to get queasy about working with digital assets. You must to get a grip on them, control them and, most importantly, exploit them to create strategic advantage. Effective metadata management is the key to doing all of this, but it’s not for the faint of heart. It takes time and buy in from both an IT and business perspective. It also requires a team of leaders, committed to rescuing information from obscurity. To truly conquer information overload, you need nothing less than a formidable crew of metadata heroes.

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