The Push for Productivity: Provenance, Governance, and the Management of Content Assets

IDC's "The Push for Productivity: Provenance, Governance, and the Management of Content Assets" represents a landmark research study within the Canadian enterprise market.

To prepare the research, IDC Canada interviewed nearly 400 large and medium-sized public and private-sector organizations. Through the interview process, IDC was able to identify a "lead user" population, comprised of organizations that currently sell content. By comparing lead users to the general population, IDC Canada is able to identify the trends that will shape content management in Canada over the near and medium term.

The lead users also provide a useful benchmark to other Canadian firms. In the "Essential Guidance" section of the report, IDC Canada illustrates how lead user findings can help IT managers to identify investment/activities targets and priorities. This section includes extensive observations on the approaches of both lead users and the general population, and detailed questions that assist managers responsible for content-related strategies in building and articulating comprehensive business strategies.

To provide an appropriate context for the research findings, IDC Canada has also used findings from its annual Senior Executive survey. The analysis contained in this report illustrates how content management strategies support the higher-level objectives of Canada's business leaders.

According to Michael O'Neil, IDC Canada's Managing Director, this last point illustrates a vital principal underlying the content management research. "It is essential to execute on content management objectives within an appropriate framework'" he says. "In the end, the senior management requirement isn't for content management per se; it is for increased productivity."