INPUT I Routeto: Bulletin AP4 Data, Information and Kmmti0sifidm thjp Downsizing Revolution tWhheen3IRNsPUoTfsDtaorwtendstihezriensegarchfor whiiineftroharermvactheiynoomnf.indo^rminmnoMva^ti&on0sfin®if 'MethodologiesforITDownsizing,thecompany publishedaResearchBulletinthatincludedthe ResearchamongISroyalty,anditsappointed "ABCsofDownsizing". Nowwewilldescribe vendors,becomesdistortedbya"letthemeat the3Rsofdownsizingbecauseithasbecome i^ii^mentality,whichseemstobebasedmi» necessaryto"rethinkresearchduringthe animperialandpatronizingviewofwhatf revolution." Whatthismeansisthatresearch goingonoutsidethecastlewalls.Thisis focuswillshiftfromtheISdepartmenttoward perhapsbestsummedupbyaleadingfigure endusers. Whilethisshiftseemssimpleand inthedevelopmentofpersonalcomputer obvious,theramificationsareprofoundandfar- softwarewhoshallremainanonymous. In reaching.Itwillrequireamajorchangeof themid-1980s,hestated:"Allofthesmart mind-setamongeveryoneassociatedwiththe peoplealreadyownpersonalcomputers, traditionalinfonnationtechnologyandservices usersnowarereallydumb(sic)."Thisis fedustriesf'* -^-w ' jffeciselythetypeofthinkingthathasledto concernsabout"computerliteracy"andthe Letstakeacloserlookatthe3Rsbyusingthe desiretotransferthecultureofthecastle — (alongwithitsdiscipline)tolS8tiffiil€ss. Revolutionsarenotorderly especiallywhen Rethinkingbasicassumptionsaboutthe viewedfromtheparapetsofthecastlebuilt downsizingrevolution(andthe ' bytheISdepartmentwiththesupportofIT revolutionaries)isnecessarybecausethose vendors. Itisdifficultfortheresident withinthecastleandthosewhoare^^301^^ aristocracyofthecastletounderstandthe (orhavebreached)thewalls,don't chaoscreatedbytherabbleassaultingthe ctHnmimicateverywell,fi-equentlyresulting walls. Thewholestructureoflifewithinthe inconflictingobjectivesms^iSlif^tiiasol castleispredicatedon"top-downdesign"and thedivinerightsoflogicandlengthy analysis. "Quickanddirty"solutionsoffend Infact,eventherevolutionariesarehavinga thesensibilitiesofthoseaccustomedtothe difficulttimecommunicatingeffectively. courtlyproceduresandprotocolsassociated Thoughtheyshareincommontheintentto Imagdown 1 e1993byINPUT. RESEARCHBULLETIN islittleagreementamongthemastothe evenoutrightliesallfallconvenientlyunderthe "methodology"thatwillbeemployed,or, generaldefinitionof"beingtold."Thereceiver moreimportantly,whattypeoforderthey oftheinformationhastheresponsibilityto expecttoariseafterthechaos. evaluatetheinformationtodeterminewhether Whatthisallmeansisthat"researching"the bitasceo,ntarnibduttheisstioshaehr/ihgihslypepresrosncamlalkinzoewdlperdogceess. downsizingrevolutionrequiresadifferent Givescientistsorexecutivestheexactsameset EapvpernotahcohutghhancohrapsorcautsetoImSareixelcyubteievenstoafken. odiffffaecrtesntorcoinncfloursmiaotnisono,radnedciysioounsc.angetentire^: fleadingedge"firmsremainavaluablesource ofinformation,itwillbecomeincreasingly Scientistscan'tseemtoagreeamong necessarytobroadenourresearchbaseto themselvesabouteitherthenatureofthe includeuserdepartmentsaswellastodevelop universeorwhatis,orisnot,goodforones anaccuratepicture. JustasITvendorshave health;executivescanfinddatatosupportany beenforcedtoadoptnewdistributionchannels decision,andreceivemoreinformationthan duetothedownsizingrevolution,somust theyhavetimeto"process." However,itis marketresearchandconsultingorganizations unportanttonotethatinformationis — channels." increasinglybeingtransformedintodata it IweNPhUavTeheaxsplaenadrendedotuhrer3eRsesaorcfhdaopwpnrsoiazcihn.g,and ofaarvciatgisilnaaabntldeeskfoanrnodpwrliosecdsegtsoserieandrge.inbTechionemgppulrotosebtrlasemmwohinesgrtehtahitetis "noise"beinggeneratedbytheenormous EInvfeorrymwahteirone,,IannfdorUmnastuiopnportedby vinodliusmcreiomifnpautbelliysbheeidnigntfroarnmsaftoironmetdhaitntiosdata. AnalyticalData Udiftfhereemnitida-t1e9b8e0tsw,eIeNnPdaUtTa,fionufnodrmitatnieocnesasnadryto TDaitmae,TDoatTahiEnvkerywhereandHardly knowledge. Ess^)^]3|j^1^^pi|i8|padopted InINPUT'Searlierdownsizingresearch,we w•erDea:taareanythingstoredinacomputer—text, caosskte-dbeanbeofuittatlniaelayssseusmopftidoonwsnstihzaitnagr.egOonienginto graphics,programs,fullmotionvideo,etc. intervieweestatedthatexecutivesbasedtheir assumptionson"whattheyreadinthe • Informationisoneper—son"telling"another newspaper," Withallduerespecttothe (orothers)something ^inperson,inwriting, computerindustrytradepress,INPUTfoimd bytelephone,bybroadcastor tfiatfrightening. Everyonewithapersonal teleconferencingmedia,etc. computerseemstobeturningoutarticleson .• Krraeecnascoleeiwaptrltyceehodd,rgaetetnxipaitesnhr.ytihKgmeneisnvottewoanlrteepiodooigfnnetha-unmidman-ayttnhibomeeuexgpgaheestrn—bieeerniiatclneilgs,y oiupnunffbftolohrinetsnuhoaneptadiit.noeinlNoytn,oestcobohnoeneiomnlcagoangenyyxkptoerhfeeepssteshueedpdmaywbasiyr;teh"eb(xerpieenargdt)s"all Kfceptedamonggroups,oritmaybehighly whoseonlycomputerexperiencehasbeenwith jjersonal,basedonone'sownunique awordprocessorandgraphical-userinterface. enperience. Itmayberecordedonthewalls However,asthispublishedinformation ofcavesorinlibraries,butmostofitremains becomesdata,theverytechnologythatcreated intibeheadsofhumans. theinformaticHioverloadprobleminthefirst Tihmpelrieesisinnoftohrimnagtiionnthhaesseadceefritnaiitnioqnusaltihtaytor pCloamcpeuhtaesrtSheelpeocttendtaitaalboafsemiotnigCatDinRgOit.MThhaes value, tofact,adyf|tis^^^jr9^^ida,and 613,630,977bytesofdata(9/92),representinga substantialportionoftherecentlypublished 01993byINPUT.ReprodUGtenptohibitMl. INPUT^ — RESEARCHBULLETIN articlesoncomputertechnology.Thisisthe ExtractingMeaningfromData lpelqaiupaietvraisolevdneotrwon5fs1iofzveieenrtgh3oi0ig0fj,li0i—0fa0^lilpMaoigneisaMIsoliriiaijs^t<ac^k^.of piAtonipysuoplnoaserislcufabenjleedclet&t^beiryimgriMeniaefdytihntaghtattdhopewotnprusalidazeriipntrgyesiossv,aearnd tMsismoreinformationthantheaverage timebymakingafewsimplequeriestoperform personreadsinalifetime. However,beciwe^ a"contentanalysis"ofthecomputerperiodicals thesedataareinmachineableform,itis database(Exhibit1). Theinformationinthe possibleforthecomputerto"read"themforus. exhibitcomesfix>mZiffCcsmnunicatiQiis hiseconds,peopleareabletodeterminethat "ComputerSelect,"utilizingthebuilt-inS&m^ **©nly"912ofover75,000documentsmakemj laiisfcoYidedbyLxmsDeyc^sfment. mentionofdownsizing. Evenreadingand understandingtheabstractsofover912articles Exhibit1 ianbeaformidabletask,andanalysisofover IncreaseinDocuments 900articlesismoredeskresearchthancanbe justifiedforanysingleresearchproject. More importantly,evenpreliminaryanalysiswill discloset—hescientist'sandexecutive's D@iN!^izing dilemma tharearedatatosupportany conclusionthatonemightliketoreachon eithertechnologicalororganizational dov««sizini. Minis Theinformationcontentofthesedatavaries considerablyintermsofitsquality. Someof PCLAN thedocumentsarefromrespectedprofessional journals,andsomearethinlydisguisedpuff piecessponsoredbyvendors. Therearedata, dataeverywhereandhardlytimetothink especiallyifonestartswanderingthroughthe 0 200 400 600 8001000 massofinformationinsearchofknowledge. Percent Itisnotsurprisingthatexecutivesandlatterday "experts"seldomunderstandthatdataarenot ffeocutrsc,et,haatndintfhoartmkantoiwonleisdgoenliysahsargdotoodiadsenittisfy tAafkteertoUotilUoznigngto"CdoetmeprumtienreStehlaetctt,h'e*lntudmobcesrnootf tS3A?Y&tyephemeralintheinformation documentsconcerningdownsizingincreased technologyindustry. Accesstoextensivedata morethan8fold(from110toover900) m basesandenormousprocessingpowerdoesnot between1990and1992,whilethereferences Wtomaticallymeanthatresearchandanalysis majorplatformsremainedessentiallystableand df#esedatawillyieldaqualityresult.Th^is thenumberofdocumentsaboutminicomputers pevuibdleinsthebdyatbhoeuqtuianliftoyrmoaftwiohnatteicshbneoilnoggyi^lf. dacMtouamlzlyidnegclhiansedl.inT^ehieBrieiistn'MtaMny^qiueast^ioinKtih^at However,itisstillINPUT'Sbeliefthat twoy&m. informationtechnologyistheonlyhope^ solvingtheproblemsthatinformation Itisalsopossibletoidentifythetrends ctoemcphuntoelro,gycoisupcrleeadtiwnigt.hUatCiUDziRngOaMpaernsdodml referencestoIBM'sSAAindownsizing applyingsomeknowledgeofthesubjectarea,it documentsaredecreasingandreferencesto i$|MMKeftd,&toidentifyspaiekeytrends. opensystemsaresharplyincreasing 'fttairiar-MKir. 3 RESEARCHBULLETIN Exhibit2 Referencesin o"fhoexmpeewroireknc"eadnadnacloynssttsanatnldyciomnpsrulotvainntgs,ouwrestaff Documents recognizethatourknowledgebasehasbeen developedprimarilybyexperienceandresearch 20 intheITindustryitself. Whileitisonlynatural thatweseekknowledgeaboutinformaticHi technologyamongthosefamiliarwithit,the ; downsizingrevolutionischangingallofthat. The"rabble"outsidethecastlewallsincludes professionalandmanagementpersonnelwho havetheknowledgenecessarytomakeeffective useofpersonalcomputers,andtheyare questioningthecomplexityofthesystemsthat theyhavebeen"given"bytheISdepartment. Notonlyaretheysayingthattheremustbea betterway,theyaretakingtheinitiativein SAA Open Open acquiring(andevendeveloping)thetoolsand 1990 1992 c 1992 aarpepltihceatoinolnysstohautrcteheoyfwkannotwlaenddgneeefodr.tEhendusers productsandservicesthattheITindustry(and TthsaitkSsMAMAfwaiclelvsaoluoen,htahvisewnoourlodlesienedmotwonsiindziicnagt,e dISowdnespiazretmdewnOtT)lsdhoofultdhebe19p9r0osviadnidngbeinyotnhde. npeaOxernntcidlremyastachsertaaxytvrpayroeleprtuseioaeenbarnlrescecfyehisananctenaealtdmnyhstkepisnracerooaevwlsilibddemeaepdctlgtaoehemfeqirbuenoaexgmsrpeieatderhtsrioeisaanslneidty. MIpienrNftiPohmroUamdrTaoytlwriioeolgsnlieptealesraccfchhoenraoimFlnToocgrnDyeogawssenteansdrditeziuminsgnpeghrw.asistoihfson massivedatabaseofpublishedinformation. DuringarecentCOMDEX,itwasdeploredthat Dtsv9IueFdHohseyeoon0Niwertsrwo0PnnyeteuUogesdrevgsftTximomehea'cizwt"rr—mSonoin,mpmemnsdrltupgeii"ewehsu,fvzpohe,fttoiepwaereknnpeirbttregalen.ea-sylnidMattsswsbotieyemrrpoecdtseaaeeeuhatvlstorldmaoeehpttllmedleah"yeuseroncfoan,c"gltiobfhoroosnamlsuigtatienemnnegintdaangiadeholntinsonyotcmfsuftyanoaoariontdrcrakrtoei"maelisuefealIyrmtfxtstTeeeedpiihtarsxaaeshodettt"ernntea.rttottneihihss,eseitnvheoet ohhwhwbubtaaesuhfoaasalleespkdndtirlieethhessnnadsevoeonao(esitdtmtnisfnisoonedtdctwthpetiehwhnmlehepvealhisarlaetsisiarptIlgptezStkceochediaenpioccttsntsaraethegsrqndiehfteuvdycarolnceeersoetevwsv,nbaIietootsrlryTnilchiluluoadcgpeymttnobuhrxeisrruatsooprrssiydandaset,ubrhn)oudacoaaadfnwtuphbtidrdsintaienodohvcugawmlanoeasnhympeofutdna.euaosrhotdsreeosnt.IemtfgcltrbhNuoohvateIeftevPiutehyNecrUyeenierPnTssaUtdgsTe kXK^wledgesourcebehindit. revolutionaries. BeyondInformationtoKnowledge Therealknowledgeandopportunitiesaretobe foundoutsideofthecastlewalls! ThoughwebelievethatINPUThasbuilta knowledgebasebydoingour ThisResearchBulletinisissuedaspartofINPUT'SDownsizingInformationSystemsProgram. Ifyouhavequesti1^onsINorPUcTo,mm1e2n8t0sVoilnlathSitsrbeueltl.eMtionu,nptlaeianseVciaellw,yoCuArl9oc4a0l4I1-N1P1U9T4o(r4g1a5ni)z9a6t1io-n33o0r0 e1993byINPUT.Reproductionptohibittd. Mi INPUT'