A simple solution: women-owned business helps clients manage information.

• Author: Lavrakas, Dimitra
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: TOP WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

It's a problem that plagues the 21st century: how to manage all of the information that now bombards us on all sides. According to an International Data Corp. (IDC) prediction, by 2010 we'll all be producing 1,000 exabytes of digital information per year--that's 1 billion gigabytes! Simplify, an Anchorage-based technical-communication company owned by partners Pam Birch and Annette Funk, helps clients manage this complex problem.

"We are brought in to provide expertise on information management," said Funk.

For information technology (IT) projects, we provide the bridge between the technology, the business, and the people who use that technology."

Funk said the approach for their services has changed 180 degrees since they started in the industry.

"We used to write user guides when the software was nearly complete but often discovered that the system had not been developed with the end user in mind," Funk said.

"Ten to 15 years ago, we came in at the end of the technology project, but it's evolved to where now we come at the beginning of the project to make sure they get it right from the get-go," Birch said. Clients often buy basic software and configure it to suit their companies' needs. For example, Documentum, Stellent and SharePoint are commonly used for document and information management.

The company also assesses Web sites for ease of use. Simplify applies their user-centered design expertise to produce usability assessments that enable businesses to update their Web sites to meet the needs of their users and achieve the company's business goals. Benefits of applying user-centered design methods on Web projects are proven, Birch indicated. Businesses have come to recognize that providing a quality user experience is an essential, sustainable competitive advantage.

Simplify's clients are large, small, global and local organizations. The pair has worked on projects in oil and gas, information technology, transportation, health care and the telecom industries, as well as government and the nonprofit sectors.

What businesses have really responded to, Birch said, is Simplify's development of business process maps.

"People love these, because they provide a snapshot of what's going on in their business; roles, responsibilities, systems and...