Flexibility Is Key to Information Systems.

• Position: Brief Article

While information management systems have become tightly interwoven with business operations, realizing a solid return on the data stored in them remains a challenge. No off-the-shelf database management package meets every need, according to Carlos Cuadra, president of Cuadra Associates, Los Angeles, an information and text retrieval systems development firm. Worse, he says, the software often cannot be adapted to changing needs without incurring the cost of expensive vendor services.

"Many firms buy on the basis of buzzwords or a set of dazzling bells and whistles, but find within the first week of implementation that their new system has some weaknesses. Inevitably, there will be a new function or a different search option needed. If their software cannot be easily customized, customers will be stuck with something that becomes more inadequate over time."

That problem, Cuadra maintains, is exacerbated as the information age pushes organizations to ask more and more of their information systems. "Searchable online databases are a favorite tool for attracting visitors to a web site, providing the site a means for both distributing and gathering information. Nearly every firm is in a rush to establish an informative web site that lures viewers and brings them back, so online searches are becoming more widespread every day. These search...