What’s the next big thing we should be considering?

We get that question a lot. With all that’s changing in the marketplace, it isn’t an easy question to answer—particularly in the context of one individual enterprise. But when I look across the many areas where we are working with clients today, there are two issues at the forefront more often than not: data and regulation.

As many companies grapple with significant transformation of their businesses and their industries, data is the common thread among the elements essential to future competitiveness and success. Businesses are creating data at an absolutely dizzying pace; most of us, in fact, produce substantially more data than we really need. Developing good and timely insight from this mountain of data requires a sound strategy for managing it.

We all know the phrase “follow the money.” Acquisition activity can many times be an indicator as to how others are looking at macro market trends.  Looking at recent acquisitions by Hewlett-Packard, IBM, EMC, Oracle and Google, it is apparent that the software vendor marketplace is beginning to recognize the importance of data management. If you don’t have (or are thinking about) defined and coordinated strategies for capturing data, storing it, securing it, encrypting it, replicating it, backing it up, integrating it among systems, sharing it internally and with business partners, reporting it, analyzing it, and then acting on it, then you may be missing the boat.

Another area of importance for many of our clients is the landmark legislation that is fundamentally changing some of our most important industries. Whether we like it or not, we all must deal with it. The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, which played a key role in expediting the movement toward a smarter electric grid, together with Healthcare reform and the Dodd-Frank financial services reform legislation, will have an impact on both organizations and consumers at large for years to come.

In this newsletter, we take a brief look at the Dodd-Frank Bill, which carries changes to regulatory structure, financial oversight, and financial instruments.

We also have included several other articles that may have broad applicability to organizations like yours:

• Microsoft SharePoint: One of the most widely adopted technologies of the past few years also may be one of your most effective productivity tools.
• Do you know whether your organization is really running on all cylinders? A labor management solution may be the key to doing so.

On a final note, many of our clients—like our own organization—are in the midst of developing budgets and plans for 2011. Budgeting is challenging in any environment, but current dynamics—including extreme cost constraints, rapid transformation, and the need to respond quickly—make it particularly challenging to plan ahead and ensure funding for the programs that will have greatest impact. West Monroe Partners has been working with a number of clients to estimate program requirements and prepare budgets for 2011. If there is anything we can do to help you, even if it is just a quick discussion to focus your efforts, please don’t hesitate to reach out.