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At a Glance
Offering CIOs and other IT professionals a repository of 50,000
whitepapers in a single screen, the Accenture Information Source helps address
the challenge of information overload.
Shortcut to:
At your fingertips
Saving time and aggravation for CIOs
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Posted: May 2004
Shortening time constraints coupled with "information overload" have made
it more difficult than ever for business executives to find the information
they need, when they need it.
With many of their clients facing this challenge, researchers at
Accenture Technology Labs set about developing the Information Source, a
"hyperviewer," dense with materials, but almost effortless to navigate. It was
developed using the ITpapers.com database (CNET Networks), which offers CIOs
and other IT professionals a repository of 50,000 information technology
whitepapers.
At your fingertips
Here's how it works. For example, you
want to find information on RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). You move
your cursor across the screen to discrete "islands" of information on the
various topics related to RFID. A search produces something akin to a Christmas
tree, with lights directing the user to the most relevant documents. Each
island has many rectangles that may light up, indicating a match. The
rectangles are color-coded, with the most popular and relevant documents in red
and the least popular in blue. The search is further refined by marking the
most recent papers with a yellow triangle inside the red boxes. (A user can
also do a keyword search).
Saving time and aggravation
"The biggest attraction for CIOs is the
speed with which you can search, filter and review results." according to
Ed Gottsman, a senior researcher at Accenture Technology Labs. "This can really help save time and aggravation."
"The Information Source has applicability to any industry that deals with
large repositories," added Gottsman. "Consider retail and B-toB catalog sales
for example. Research shows that many consumers give up searching through
online catalogs because it often takes too long for them to find what they
want. Using the Information Source, shoppers could drill down to the exact
product they want within seconds. As the tool continues to offer visibility of
the broadest categories at all times, the user is exposed to more items than
they would be with a conventional search engine. This exposure, in turn, could
generate additional sales or interest in other categories."
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