Answer Maven

Yesterday, here in Louisville KY windstorms resulting from Hurricane Ike aftermath came through the area.  I truly hope that everyone is safe and has the support they need to recover.  I also send my thoughts to all affected by Ike.

If any of my readers are in the LOU area and you need any assistance that I can offer please don’t hesitate to contact me.  I am very lucky that I have power when just down the block my neighbors are without power.

Good luck and best wishes.

In working on a few variety of projects lately I’ve become more informed about enterprise search, e-discovery, and the use of content in businesses.

It makes me wonder how manageable is one’s approach to electronic data?  Are law firms just keeping the beast at bay day-by-day when dealing with a specific case or do they truly have a handle on how to approach data with a process that will deliver good results in a timely manner to the benefit of the client?

Or, is the reality that firms take it case-by-case and hope that the process they used is complete enough to meet their needs without fear and minimal risk?

Do you have a team or do you have individuals who govern e-discovery practices within your firm?  Is management able to understand the full implications or are decisons made in the dark with hopes for the best?

Can the vendors you already do business with truly deliver the product you need to save time in processing the gigabytes and terabytes of data that lay before you?

How do you travel this labyrinth successfully?  Is there a trusted information professional within your organization that truly understands the broader scope of this very important and ever-changing landscape?  Do you just have a competent gardener who tears out the weeds as they pop up or do you have a strategic thinker who plans the companion planting to minimize the risk of infestation and keep the garden green and clean?

The Answer Maven doesn’t have answers for these general questions but is willing to help individual firms find their own solutions to the e-discovery puzzle.

Thanks to ResourceShelf for bringing this source to my attention.  I haven’t had time to explore it in-depth yet but it looks like a good new index to various available electronic public records by state.  What I have noticed off the bat, is that each domain of public records has a bit of explanation provided.  So when you go to Kentucky and look for trial level court records, you’ll find a bit of discussion about the jurisdiction and coverage and good summary chart that makes it easy to see where you need to look for information.  Unfortunately, Kentucky offers very limited on-line resources to the public at this point in time.

Don’t be discouraged, understanding where to look is a great starting point for any research project including hard to find public records.

In this CNN article A-space is introduced.  This is a social networking site similar to Facebook and MySpace for the agencies responsible for federal intelligence, you know, NSA, CIA, FBI.

The article discusses how intelligence information pre 9/11 wasn’t shared well and how important pieces of information known but not connected.  A-Space has the goal of allowing analysts to connect the dots and further secure the nation.

Intelligence gathering meets social networks.  More info to manage and find, and use.

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Today’s businesses need an information solution that supports federated search using a single query to find both internal and external data. Why, presumably, to make good business decisions to improve the bottom line.

The above is a simple statement but it is the crux of business matters today in complex environments. The solutions available are myriad. To keep up with the solutions I recommend Beyond Search.

To find the right solution for your company, I recommend careful thought and strategic planning. Having someone involved in your knowledge management solutions that understands how your organization needs to use information, how your information is created and someone who understands the available solutions is essential.

Those are simple recommendations. However, the process is incredibly complex. In fact, it is as complex as your organization. Decisions about hierarchy, security, user roles and more must be made to find your organization’s optimal information solution.

Long and short-term business goals must be taken into account when searching for your solution. Understanding the limitations of the available solutions will allow you to select the right option.

So when you are seeking a way to affect your bottom line positively, I have a valuable proposition to suggest. Invest in an information professional. As BunheadKY reminds us, librarians organize information, find information and teach. If you invest on the front end your information professional will optimize your solutions by organizing your data, finding the hard-to find information, and teaching your employees to find the answers themselves.