Abstract
Presents comments on the findings of the Business Information Resources Survey 2004 which suggest that few changes occurred in the business information profession in 2003; the major themes being consolidation rather than innovation, with budget cuts and static levels of staffing. Argues that the traditional, triangular relationship between vendor, information professional and end user will soon change, but the speed of change will depend on the ability of information professionals to determine what end users really want from their requests. In addition, vendors will need to work with both information professionals and end users if they are to deliver a new range of information products and services. Concludes that it is possible to identify three types of information that information professionals must recognise if they are to achieve their objectives: non value-added, but business-critical data; value-added information that appears difficult to interpret and requires expert assessment; and complex patterns of information that may be difficult to find and that only an expert can retrieve quickly. The strategy at ICC Information is to work in partnership with its clients to achieve the first two information types.