The Information Analyst?

Our world is built on a network of database driven systems that provide a huge repository of readily accessible knowledge; but can you extract anything of value from it? Could this be a job for the Information Analyst?

In the UK, this title appears to be most frequently used in the public sector, for which the data presented on ITJobsWatch indicates there’s a small, but growing demand. Whilst these vacancies cite SQL and information security as desirable skills, I feel that it’s too tightly focused on specific platforms and established techniques.

Making full use of all the information out there, not just specific corporate databases, requires developments in the application of query languages. A distributed nature places emphasis on capturing and maintaining data source references, and version control to provide traceability.

Corporate data must move away from the monumental central store, with a schema unchanged since the dawn of time, to a series of smaller repositories that can be easily maintained, extended and indexed as the business need arises.

The key message is that if business moves quickly, as does information upon which it’s based, so must the approach to interpreting that information. As for the Information Analyst, this job is too big for any individual professional. It’s an exciting multi-disciplinary field that will grow in importance as key step in the future of information.