Michael D. Moberly June 12, 2009
The business transaction landscape is no longer shaped solely by the flow of physical-tangible goods and services rather by the flow of information and intangible assets! Corporate and institutional value has literally shifted away from collections of physical (tangible) assets to collections of information and know how-based intangible assets, e.g., intellectual capital which, in itself, has become quantifiably valuable and a stand alone commodity for which sustaining control, use, ownership, and consistently monitoring value are paramount and integral to business’ near-long term success, profitability, and sustainability.
The rules of engagement have changed! The predatorial elements (impact, consequences, losses) attributed to the globally persistent business intelligence and data mining industry’s are unfortunately routinely omitted from most business information asset protection and management equations. Initiatives (programs) to effectively safeguard and manage business information (intangible) assets must include practices to mitigate these technologically sophisticated, predatorial, and global phenomena.
Think differently about past practices and conventions! The laws associated with intellectual property enforcements are largely reactive, not proactive, and typically apply after, and if, an information loss has occured and acknowledged by its’ rightful owner (holder). IP holders are almost solely dependant on their respective levels’ of awareness and alertness to the assets’ vulnerability, probability, and criticality to loss and/or compromise and their willingness and resources to aggressively pursue suspected wrong doers. Business information asset protection and management therefore, must be much more proactive in order to reflect and accommodate the nanosecond nature of information flows and transactions, i.e., practices, procedures, and policies must be in place, on the front end, to sustain control, use, ownership, and monitor value.
