Information overload is an increasing issue not just among information professionals, but among an increasingly large percentage of workers. Organizations will need to continue to work to reduce this stress upon their workforce. The LX Designer blog addresses one way to alleviate the issue in the entry, “Study: Enterprise Microblogging Reduces Information Overload.”

The entry begins:

According to Stocker, Richter, and Riemer (2012), who analyzed case studies at three large corporations, the benefits of enterprise microblogging include:  improved problem-solving, reduction of information over-load, improved awareness of tasks and work coordination.  The benefit I found most interesting is the reduction of information overload. This seems counterintuitive. It is difficult to believe that by adding a communication channel to people’s workflow (in addition to email) there would be less information that people have to deal with.

Another technique for reducing information overload is to provide employees with an enterprise solution with a user experience that meets their needs efficiently and intuitively. Sinequa bases their enterprise infrastructure on Unified Information Access, ensuring that relevant information is displayed simply, rapidly, and securely. Sinequa’s customers are able to save time and money with an efficient solution that maintains security while performing beyond expectations.

Emily London, May 22, 2013

Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search

The blog The Knowledge Economy warns that many organizations fail to consider the value of their workers when gathering and analyzing business information in “Enterprise Architecture and the Human Element.” The post acknowledges the importance of choosing a good enterprise architecture, but asserts that a focus on human knowledge is just as important:

Much of the content will need to be sourced from people. Even where documentary input is available it will need to be assessed for both its relevance and accuracy. People will be needed in order to undertake this task. Over time, in maturing the Business Knowledge Repository some of the tacit knowledge held by individuals can be codified and consequently be explicitly included within the Enterprise Architecture. The Enterprise Architecture can however only really be regarded as an Information repository as it will always require people to access, interpret and respond to its contents. The Enterprise Architecture itself cannot apply the patterns that have been embedded within its design. There will never be a time when the human element will not be required.

We agree that there is no substitute for people (thank goodness!). We would add that it is much easier to leverage worker knowledge with efficient and easy-to-use analysis software at the intersection of humans and data. One good example we have found is the Unified Information Access platform from Sinequa.

Cynthia Murrell, May 13, 2013

Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search