A decade ago pioneers from fields like logistics and purchasing realized that their companies were actually connected along a chain, and that success or failure often depended on how well things were going up- or downstream. They called their new discipline supply chain management. In the past year the information technology community has experienced a similar epiphany. IT researchers and practitioners began to see that supply chains operate in the information realm as well as the physical. Ajay Vinze, professor of information systems and director of the Center for Advancing Business through Information Technology, proposes this definition of the information supply chain: a collection of information and communication technologies to provide a secure integrated decisional environment that enables business partners to collectively sense and respond to opportunities and challenges in a networked eco-system.  Recently, CABIT hosted "Cultivating and Securing the Information Supply Chain," where IT thinkers, practitioners and policy makers discussed the new paradigm.  

Thin client technology and the Java card have enabled business to create a data-centric world with a mobile workforce. The creative possibilities in this environment are boundless, but freedom from the office comes with increased risk. The CIO is in charge of creating and securing that new workspace, and organizations have no choice but to deal with this new reality. Maybe a new title is in order, too: chief of the information supply chain.

Information Flow Crucial to Effective Disaster Response

Hurricane Katrina delivered an excruciating lesson on "information integration in action, not theory," according to Steve Cooper, chief information officer at the American Red Cross. The nation's largest natural disaster highlighted the value of information and the crucial role played in any organization -- government, non-profit or private sector -- of the information supply chain, he noted. Speaking at a symposium sponsored by the W. P. Carey School's Center for the Advancement of Business through Information Technology, Cooper warned that "not having the right information at the right time leads to bad decisions."

Like a physical supply chain, an information supply chain (ISC) is comprised of the organizations that connect with each other to produce a desired end -- product or service -- for a user. But where other supply chains may be roughly linear, the information supply chain is more reminiscent of a web, according to Ed Kamins, senior vice president and chief operational excellence officer at Avnet, Inc. Kamins moderated a panel at the recent "Cultivating and Securing the Information Supply Chain" symposium sponsored by CABIT. Enmeshed in this web, Kamins said, are four key players: the manufacturer, the distributor, the value-added reseller and the end user.

Few companies operate independently in the Electronic Age, which means that the security vulnerability of every business partner -- outsourcer, client, whatever -- whose computer system has access to yours is a potential portal to your most sensitive data. In a presentation during the "Cultivating and Securing the Information Supply Chain" symposium sponsored by the W. P. Carey School's Center for Advancing Business through Information Technology, researchers described a Department of Defense-funded study on investing in IT security.

As chief information officer for the state of Arizona, Chris Cummiskey directs computer operations for 114 agencies ranging from the Acupuncture Board of Examiners to the Weights and Measures Department. In a presentation during the "Cultivating and Securing the Information Supply Chain" symposium sponsored by the W. P. Carey School's Center for Advancing Business through Information Technology, Cummiskey described the partnerships and collaboration that make it work.

Trust has always been the cornerstone of a successful business relationship. But in a global marketplace, your business partners may include a myriad of companies spread across the globe, linked by information gateways. Issues of trust, privacy, security and validation -- integral components to maintaining an effective information supply chain -- were the subject of a panel discussion at the recent "Cultivating and Securing the Information Supply Chain" symposium sponsored by the W. P. Carey School's Center for Advancing Business through Information Technology (CABIT).