Right now, we're in this wild race where everyone's readying for AI. But here's the key part - we're not ready to go and deploy Microsoft Copilot or other agents at scale yet. Why? Because everybody's data is a mess. It's not as organized as it should be. And this is where information governance professionals come in.
The Rising Importance of Information Governance
Information governance professionals - their role is increasing in importance. It's becoming a top agenda item to make sure our data estate is clean. We need to know what we have, where it lives, who has access to it, and we need to put the right permissions and boundaries in place.
I'm seeing this role become more important than ever. We are seeing our clients, such as large banks and financial institutions, promoting information governance leads. They're getting direct lines to CIOs, and CIOs are getting involved in these conversations as well. It's coming from the top.
Preparing for the AI Future
The focus now is on figuring out what information we have and what's going to show up if we plug in one of these copilots in the future. We need to tag our information, make sure it's structured right and ready to be used. We want it to be actually effective when people go to use it.
The Strategic Shift
The role of information management professionals is transitioning from a management role to more of a strategic one. They're influencing policy now. Maybe things that were once nice to have, like tagging emails as they're filed, are now becoming necessary for every department. They might be using tools like Microsoft SharePoint Premium to tag existing content that's been in SharePoint for years.
We're seeing the elevation of importance of the role. Information management professionals are having a seat at the table, working with the digital team and IT, bringing those roles together. They're also working closely with legal and compliance. All these parts of the organization are coming together to figure out a modern strategy, whereas before it might have been a lot more siloed.
The Convergence of Information and Data Governance
What's interesting to me, and I don't have a firm read on this yet, is that information governance and data governance are still often separate roles, even though they're so intertwined. Information is data, right? I'm still seeing a lot of organizations where those are two different individuals or two different roles. I would have thought they would have collapsed into one by now, and maybe at many organizations they have, but quite a few I've spoken to still keep them separate. It'll be very interesting to see how that plays out and comes together in the future.
Looking Ahead
As we look to the future, I see the role of information management professionals just increasing in importance over the next few years. They're going to be crucial in preparing organizations for the AI revolution, ensuring that our data is clean, organized, and ready for whatever the future brings.
The future information management professional isn't just managing data - they're strategizing how to leverage it, influencing company-wide policies, and playing a key role in preparing for AI integration. It's an exciting time to be in this field, and the opportunities are only going to grow.
Join a group of passionate, forward-thinking information management practitioners and become a member of of AIIM today.
This blog post is based on an original AIIM OnAir podcast. When recording podcasts, AIIM uses AI-enabled transcription in Zoom. We then use that transcription as part of a prompt with Claude Pro, Anthropic’s AI assistant. AIIM staff (aka humans) then edit the output from Claude for accuracy, completeness, and tone. In this way, we use AI to increase the accessibility of our podcast and extend the value of great content.
