Strategic Planning Needs the Right Information

Abstract

There is a need to undertake a considerable research and analysis project to search out and gather the requisite information required for business development. A prerequisite is the need to better understand what is meant by the terms data and information, as they are often used interchangeably. What kind of information is required for business development, and where and how it can be found? There is the ‘hard' transaction data from software applications that help manage operations. This data is provided by the information system and can give strategic performance information. A review of the staff competencies can indicate the potential for business advantage. It is helpful to discover the dependencies between business activities. The complexity and volume of data to be searched and analysed indicates a need for a special information management project. It is imperative to store the information appropriately with a clear architectural structure for easy retrieval.