The news today that Google intends to buy Motorola Mobility is interesting for us in the Land of Information Management because it cements the former as a significant player in two of the three areas that are central to managing information (see chart, clockwise from bottom):
• Organizational content,
• The software used to control and secure that content, and
• The hardware platforms needed to manage, deliver, and interact with that content
Google, of course, has been a player in software and management platform spaces for quite a long time (with Google Docs being perhaps the best example of both in one offering). By acquiring Motorola, the company instantly establishes itself as a force in the delivery platform arena as well, for it now will be able to exert direct control over how, and how well, Motorola’s Android smartphones can accept, display, and manipulate incoming information.
For now, Google appears to have little direct play in the content sphere, since the information it manages – at least for the time being – is yours, and mine, and the other guys’, especially in contexts where “google” is a verb. But even this cursory look at the company’s new high-visibility move serves as the perfect reminder that your organization is part of this three-way dance as well, albeit it on a smaller and (hopefully!) more private scale.
You see, you, too, need to have a solid story about the integrity and security of your content, the efficacy of your content control software, and the reliability and flexibility of your content management and delivery platforms. Weakness in any one of these arenas will detract from your ability to receive Maximum Total Value from your organization’s information – and if you’ve been paying any attention here at all, you’ll know that this, to me, is what Information Management is all about.
It’s a Trifecta…This seemed to be where Microsoft never got their feet firmly planted. A couple of attempts but no real success other than gaming systems. As a content specialist, I find the Google tools and vision to be sometimes ominous and sometimes just common sense as the next step to deliver unstructured information to the masses. I agree, as long as Google continues to be used as a verb, we are benefiting from ingenuity at its best.