K-Praxis - Topic: Unstructured Information Management - Information Classification Standards: An Introduction-Print

Information Classification Standards: An Introduction
January 5, 2004

Enforcing standards or benchmarking is a difficult process. Businesses usually look at standards as a Nice-to-Have feature, unless enforced by law or directly related to profit-margins. And this dictum holds true for maintaining standards for management and classification of information. Businesses never realize that information classification standardization could directly impact ROI. Information standardization processes help organizations in streamlining internal as well as external transactions. K-Praxis looks at various attempts in arriving at common information classification standards and how these attempts represent creating structured data out of otherwise unstructured information....read on...

Need for Common Information Classification Standards

As businesses interacting with businesses through electronic supply and procurement channels (and integrating them into their own internal processes) becomes a norm across the globe a need to maintain standard ways of information organization and use becomes a much sought-after necessity. There are emergent standards provided by non-profit organizations like XBRL and eBXML - these organizations are trying to create XML based standards to interpolate information across various business processes and applications - both internally as well externally.(XBRL and ebXML: Framing New Rules for Information Sharing).

But Electronic Business using eXtensible Markup Language (eBXML) and eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) represent only an attempt to build XML based wrappers around some of the globally well-established information classification codes and standards (e.g., UNSPSC). And in order to understand the "information space" of these standards and codes it is important to list the various classification systems available for use.

Important Information Classification Standards and Codes

Following is a list of some of the standard industry classification systems code and schemas that cover market sectors, products, services, and functions - linked to their respective sites (ordered alphabetically).

Judging by this long list, choosing a right information classification standard for your organization could become a daunting task. There seem to a huge number of standards and codes to specify various parts of your business - and this plethora of standards could be a cause of major worry for anybody who is looking for a solution that gives a wider coverage in terms of integration and interpolarity. Out of these, UNSPSC seems to be a meta-level standard-schema incorporating elements of many other standards and seems to be a safe bet for at least now.

Classification Standards : A New Paradigm to Classify Unstructured Data and create Structured Data

One major advantage in integrating information standards early on is that you will be able to leverage your supply chain, procurement and other business data by classifying and running analytics over this data. Besides, in future with information standards your business can create data which is structured in such a way that it seamlessly interpolates with the outside world and you will able reap the benefits of harvesting it internally. Businesses need to adopt a two pronged strategy to transition their organizations to information-standards-readiness"

You need to look out for a solution which will help you transform non-standard data (data related to market sectors, products, services, and functions) into a globally accepted information classification standards or schema.

From a long term perspective, you need to find a way of automatically generating data in standardized and structured format.

	Making sense of online textual information and information management technologies

	Information Classification Standards: An Introduction January 5, 2004 Enforcing standards or benchmarking is a difficult process. Businesses usually look at standards as a Nice-to-Have feature, unless enforced by law or directly related to profit-margins. And this dictum holds true for maintaining standards for management and classification of information. Businesses never realize that information classification standardization could directly impact ROI. Information standardization processes help organizations in streamlining internal as well as external transactions. K-Praxis looks at various attempts in arriving at common information classification standards and how these attempts represent creating structured data out of otherwise unstructured information....read on... Need for Common Information Classification Standards As businesses interacting with businesses through electronic supply and procurement channels (and integrating them into their own internal processes) becomes a norm across the globe a need to maintain standard ways of information organization and use becomes a much sought-after necessity. There are emergent standards provided by non-profit organizations like XBRL and eBXML - these organizations are trying to create XML based standards to interpolate information across various business processes and applications - both internally as well externally.(XBRL and ebXML: Framing New Rules for Information Sharing). But Electronic Business using eXtensible Markup Language (eBXML) and eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) represent only an attempt to build XML based wrappers around some of the globally well-established information classification codes and standards (e.g., UNSPSC). And in order to understand the "information space" of these standards and codes it is important to list the various classification systems available for use. Important Information Classification Standards and Codes Following is a list of some of the standard industry classification systems code and schemas that cover market sectors, products, services, and functions - linked to their respective sites (ordered alphabetically). BizCodes COFOG - Classifications of the Functions of Government CPC - Central Product Classification DAML-ONT Ontology EAN - European Article Number (Barcode standards) eBXML - Electronic Business using eXtensible Markup Language ECCMA - Electronic Commerce Code Management Association ISO - International Organization for Standardization NACE - Nomenclature générale des Activités Economiques dans les Communautés Européenes NIGP - National Institute of Govt Purchasing NISO- National Information Standards Organization PRODCOM - PRODucts of the European COMmunity SIC UK - Standard Industrial Classifications SIC US - Standard Industrial Classifications SOC - Standard Occupational Classification STEPml - product identification and classification SUO- IEEE Standard Upper Ontology Topic Maps - Topic Maps Published Subjects UCC Uniform Code Council UDEF - Universal Data Element Framework UN/EDIFACT - Directories and Code Lists UNSPSC - United Nations Standard Product and Services Classification Upper Cyc Ontology XBRL - eXtensible Business Reporting Language Judging by this long list, choosing a right information classification standard for your organization could become a daunting task. There seem to a huge number of standards and codes to specify various parts of your business - and this plethora of standards could be a cause of major worry for anybody who is looking for a solution that gives a wider coverage in terms of integration and interpolarity. Out of these, UNSPSC seems to be a meta-level standard-schema incorporating elements of many other standards and seems to be a safe bet for at least now. Classification Standards : A New Paradigm to Classify Unstructured Data and create Structured Data One major advantage in integrating information standards early on is that you will be able to leverage your supply chain, procurement and other business data by classifying and running analytics over this data. Besides, in future with information standards your business can create data which is structured in such a way that it seamlessly interpolates with the outside world and you will able reap the benefits of harvesting it internally. Businesses need to adopt a two pronged strategy to transition their organizations to information-standards-readiness" You need to look out for a solution which will help you transform non-standard data (data related to market sectors, products, services, and functions) into a globally accepted information classification standards or schema. From a long term perspective, you need to find a way of automatically generating data in standardized and structured format.