Enterprise information management is a method of organizing and processing information generated by a business. EIM involves data storage, optimization, and governance across all areas of the organization. Enterprise information management is used to create data transparency and ensure security throughout the data lifecycle. EIM allows enterprise information to be accessed by the right business units and processes at the right time. This access allows the organization to move more efficiently, instead of waiting for the information to be discovered from disparate systems.
Central to enterprise information management is increasing access to relevant information no matter what system it originates from. This is essential for gaining insight from historical and newly gathered information. With EIM software, businesses have access to all their information in one place. This unified view of structured and unstructured information gathered from multiple systems allows faster market response and more effective collaboration. Enterprise data can more easily be accessed through business intelligence tools that help surface actionable insights.
Enterprise information management allows businesses to have a more complete view of the organization’s information, across business units and data formats. Businesses that have an information management strategy that includes this complete view of all their information can better govern what can be done with it. In some industries, data governance is a requirement for regulatory compliance. For example, data collected from European Union residents requires special handling to comply with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). GDPR requires specific governance of data collected from EU residents, no matter where the organization itself is located.