Editing Information management (section)

===Positioning information management in the bigger picture===
In the transitional period leading up to the strategic view of information management, Venkatraman, a strong advocate of this transition and transformation,<ref name="Venkat2">Venkatraman, N., 1994. IT-enabled business transformation: from automation to business scope redefinition. ''Sloan Management Review'', 35(2), pp.73–87.</ref> proffered a simple arrangement of ideas that succinctly brought together the [[Data management|management of data]], information, and [[knowledge management|knowledge]] (see the figure) argued that:

* Data that is maintained in IT infrastructure has to be ''interpreted'' in order to render information.
* The information in our information systems has to be ''understood'' in order to emerge as knowledge.
* Knowledge allows managers to ''take effective decisions''.
* Effective decisions have to lead to ''appropriate actions''. 
* Appropriate actions are expected to deliver ''meaningful results''.

[[File:DIKAR model.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|This simple model summarises a presentation by Venkatraman in 1996, as reported by Ward and Peppard (2002, page 207).<ref name="Ward and Peppard"/>]]
This is often referred to as the DIKAR model: Data, Information, Knowledge, Action and Result,<ref name="Venkat1">Venkatraman, N., 1996. Managing IT resources as a value center, ''IS Executive Seminar Series, Cranfield School of Management''</ref> it gives a strong clue as to the layers involved in aligning technology and organisational strategies, and it can be seen as a pivotal moment in changing attitudes to information management.  The recognition that information management is an investment that must deliver meaningful results is important to all modern organisations that depend on information and good decision-making for their success.<ref name="Bytheway">Bytheway, A., 2015. [https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319119083 Investing in Information: the Information Management Body of Knowledge], Geneva: Springer</ref>