Infonomics: How to Monetize, Manage, and Measure Information as an Asset for Competitive Advantage

Many senior executives talk about information as one of their most important assets, but few behave as if it is. They report to the board on the health of their workforce, their financials, their customers, and their partnerships, but rarely the health of their information assets. Corporations typically exhibit greater discipline in tracking and accounting for their office furniture than their data.

Infonomics is the theory, study, and discipline of asserting economic significance to information. It strives to apply both economic and asset management principles and practices to the valuation, handling, and deployment of information assets. This book specifically shows:

• CEOs and business leaders how to more fully wield information as a corporate asset
• CIOs how to improve the flow and accessibility of information
• CFOs how to help their organizations measure the actual and latent value in their information assets.

More directly, this book is for the burgeoning force of chief data officers (CDOs) and other information and analytics leaders in their valiant struggle to help their organizations become more infosavvy.

Author Douglas Laney has spent years researching and developing Infonomics and advising organizations on the infinite opportunities to monetize, manage, and measure information. This book delivers a set of new ideas, frameworks, evidence, and even approaches adapted from other disciplines on how to administer, wield, and understand the value of information. Infonomics can help organizations not only to better develop, sell, and market their offerings, but to transform their organizations altogether.

"Doug Laney masterfully weaves together a collection of great examples with a solid framework to guide readers on how to gain competitive advantage through what he labels "the unruly asset" - data. The framework is comprehensive, the advice practical and the success stories global and across industries and applications." Liz Rowe, Chief Data Officer, State of New Jersey

"A must read for anybody who wants to survive in a data centric world." Shaun Adams, Head of Data Science, Betterbathrooms.com

"Phenomenal! An absolute must read for data practitioners, business leaders and technology strategists. Doug's lucid style has a set a new standard in providing intelligible material in the field of information economics. His passion and knowledge on the subject exudes thru his literature and inspires individuals like me." Ruchi Rajasekhar, Principal Data Architect, MISO Energy

"I highly recommend Infonomics to all aspiring analytics leaders. Doug Laney's work gives readers a deeper understanding of how and why information should be monetized and managed as an enterprise asset. Laney's assertion that accounting should recognize information as a capital asset is quite convincing and one I agree with. Infonomics enjoyably echoes that sentiment!" Matt Green, independent business analytics consultant, Atlanta area

"If you care about the digital economy, and you should, read this book." Tanya Shuckhart, Analyst Relations Lead, IRI Worldwide

Doug Laney is vice president and distinguished analyst in the Chief Data Officer (CDO) research and advisory team at Gartner, Inc. Doug researches and advises clients on information monetization and valuation, open and syndicated data, analytics centers of excellence, data governance, and Big Data-based innovation. He is the author of Gartner's enterprise information management maturity model, has compiled several hundred real-world examples of the art of the possible with data and analytics, edited and co-authored an eBook on Big Data for the Financial Times, and is a two-time recipient of Gartner's annual thought leadership award.

Around the turn of the millennium, Doug originated the field of Infonomics, developing methods to quantify and harvest information's economic value, and positing how to apply traditional asset management practices to information assets. He lectures at leading business schools and conferences on the topic, and his articles have appeared in Forbes, Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times. Throughout his career Doug held leadership roles with global systems integrators and early-stage software companies, and has been a Gartner analyst for eleven years.

Doug lives outside Chicago with his wife and son where he bikes, cooks, plays competitive tennis and non-competitive golf, is a volunteer Junior Achievement instructor at a local grammar school, coaches area entrepreneurs, and sits on the University of Illinois Department of Accountancy advisory board.

You can follow Doug on Twitter at @doug_laney and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/douglaney.