Study details best practices in information and content management
Source: eyeforpharma.com

"Information is power." We've all heard it said and it's certainly true when it comes to the pharmaceutical industry. Research and discovery, development, sales, marketing - the whole organization is driven by a reliance on information. (5/11/2004)

Providing the right information at the right time and making it readily accessible, easy to navigate and contextually relevant has become one of the most significant responsibilities and challenges in today's pharma organizations. And that has propelled the information function to center stage, according to a new report from Outsell, a research and advisory firm focused on the information content (IC) industry.

Pharmaceutical Information Services 2003 examines benchmarks and best practices among information functions at 12 of the top 30 global pharmaceutical companies. Through Web surveys and qualitative interviews, the study focused on the current and future role of the information function, as well as reporting organizations and structures, budgets, processes, management and marketing of the function.

The changing information management function
It's clear that the information management (IM) function is breaking out of its traditional "library" role, interacting more strategically with the rest of the organization and impacting the business of drug development in new and significant ways. Study respondents, Outsell said, indicate an emerging understanding that IM's role is not managing information for its own sake, but for the sake of improving the company's business by using IM as a tool.

"Solving problems and enhancing processes is the emerging call to arms for information operations in global pharmaceutical companies," said Joanne Lustig, Director and Lead Analyst at Outsell. "Increasingly, IM acts as an integral partner in applying the flow of information and knowledge into business process - for an impact on results. We saw over half of the study's respondents embedding content directly into users' work applications, and 64 percent integrating content directly into other functions' or teams' web sites or portals."

Furthermore, according to Lustig, many firms are transferring or adding information management staff within other functions, such as R&D, to increase the effective use of information in strategic decision-making throughout the drug development lifecycle. In fact, several companies reported moving information scientists directly onto therapeutic teams through co-location, project assignments and full-time staff "lending."

Seamless information for users
According to Outsell, information - particularly for pharmaceuticals - needs to be in one place - the user's desktop. And this has driven a convergence of oversight of the various types of information collected and utilized through the organization.

Portals are being organized by lifecycle stages rather than content types and information is being mapped by the stage of the business process it can be utilized in rather than by which document repository it resides in.

Best practices are emerging, particularly around compliance. To accelerate the submissions process and shorten time-to-market, companies are building easy-to-use systems for creating and accessing internal documents across the globe, and some respondents are creating cross-functional teams to "un-silo" the information offerings managed by the different units.

However, according to Outsell, integrated access to blended information services is still "embryonic," with typically only a gateway portal describing and linking to various services available.

"Knowledge workers need information, and they are agnostic to source or type," explained Lustig. "IM functions recognize this change and are moving in new directions to deliver the right information at the right time, in the right context."

Shift in focus and funding
Published information managers predict their emphasis in user support will shift farther down the pipeline. User support directed toward discovery, research and development is forecasted to decrease over the next 12 months, while marketing and strategic planning support is expected to increase.

"Global organizations require fast access and a broad information reach," Lustig said, "and information functions are primarily meeting that challenge through virtual delivery of content, and a de-emphasis or outright elimination of physical libraries. Five of the 12 companies participating in the study were focusing on a transition to a digital environment as a top initiative in 2004."

As R&D-based IM groups expand content delivery across the organization and deploy information through virtual means, funding support becomes more complicated, highlighting the need for ongoing stakeholder management as a critical activity. Some respondents indicated stakeholder management, especially with upper-level constituents presented a new challenge. But it is clear information groups are coming to realize the importance of making their function's impact on and critical significance to the company readily apparent through relationship management, marketing outreach, training and education.

Accountability will become increasingly more important and in response, 83% of respondents (up from 19% in 2001) are utilizing performance metrics to help manage customer and stakeholder relationships.

Information gaining importance
As the demand for information increases throughout the pharmaceutical organization, the information management function has become a mission-critical component to each pharma company's success. Innovative and efficient collection, aggregation and delivery of the broad range of information needed for effective decision-making throughout the organization will be an ongoing challenge for information groups across the industry.

"After many years of challenging and sometimes painful change - as their companies have gone through mergers, acquisitions, downsizings and restructuring - pharmaceutical IM functions are breaking new ground and recreating themselves," Lustig said. "With their expertise and skill in all facets of information management, their value proposition is stronger than ever."

To learn more about the report, contact Outsell at info@outsellinc.com or visit the company's Web site at www.outsellinc.com.