All FreePint Articles | Article Categories |

Attensa StreamServer - "attention management" for the enterprise
Monday, 13th August 2012

By Scott Brown

Abstract:

The Attensa StreamServer is an enterprise-scale content management and delivery system, with a focus on addressing "information abundance" and the amount of attention users pay to specific pieces of content in the system. Attensa’s customers are in the pharmaceutical and legal industries, with a smaller number of customers in the publishing industry. Attensa customers indicate that the product offers significant time savings for its users. The FreePint review of Attensa provides a look at Attensa’s StreamServer and Portal products.

Article:

When you think of the information landscape today, do you think of it in terms of “information scarcity” – trying to find the right and relevant information – or in terms of “information abundance” and curating the information available?

Our work has traditionally come from an information scarcity model. These days, our work is a combination of both – yet many of us struggle with information overload. Attensa approaches the development of their StreamServer product more from the perspective of curating information abundance. While neither of these perspectives is a new concept, the idea of developing a product from the ground up based on the idea of managing information abundance is relatively new.

StreamServer also focuses on the idea of information “attention”. Building on dynamics similar to “most shared” content in social tools like LinkedIn, StreamServer gathers information on what users are reading, commenting on, and sharing within the system to bring relevant information to the forefront. Attensa CEO Charlie Davidson characterises the combination of information, user “attention,” and sharing dynamics as “discernment and attention management” – delivering the most relevant information to users in the enterprise. One of the ways the Attensa StreamServer Portal does this is by delivering “More like This” recommendations for content outside of a particular user’s topic areas.

The Attensa StreamServer is an enterprise-scale content management and delivery system – built for enterprise usage, and focused on the corporate environment. The majority of Attensa’s customers are in the pharmaceutical and legal industries, with a smaller number of customers in the publishing industry. Attensa customers indicate that the product saves each employee who uses it an hour per day in information gathering and review. For information workers and knowledge managers – librarians and information professionals managing information - StreamServer reportedly saves five hours a week of research, editing and delivery. One pharma company info pro customer estimates approximately 50% time savings in curation activities. A global law firm customer estimates a 23% reduction in email traffic after deploying the product – a significant percentage in light of the amount of email that can circulate in a large enterprise.

The FreePint review of Attensa provides a look at Attensa’s StreamServer and Portal products. If you are a large enterprise looking at easier ways to manage your incoming information – and easier ways to distribute relevant content – StreamServer is worth a look.

By Scott Brown

Scott Brown is the content development editor for FreePint, responsible for working with the customer advisory board, authors and staff to identify areas of interest for articles, reports and webinars and develop those resources. He is also the owner of Social Information Group (http://www.socialinformationgroup.com), an independent information practice that focuses on the effective use of social networking tools for sharing and finding information. His forthcoming book, "Social Information: Gaining Competitive and Business Information Using Social Media Tools" will be published in late 2012. He has worked with libraries, Fortune 500 companies, startups, government organisations and individuals to help them understand and effectively use these tools for their clients, and to drive increased visibility and return on information resources. He has over 20 years of experience in library and information organisations, in public, academic and corporate settings. Scott is a regular speaker nationally on many areas of information work. He is also a professional coach.

You can reach him at scott.brown@freepint.com, connect with him on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/scottrbrown, or follow him on Twitter at @socialinfo.

More articles by Scott Brown »