Businesses are facing their greatest ever challenge and a descent into ‘information chaos’, information management analyst group AIIM has warned in a new ebook.

With IDC analysts predicting that we’ll produce a colossal 40 zettabytes (40 trillion GB) of information by 2020, AIIM believes managing and deploying that content is one of the most pressing issues for business leaders in 2014 and that a failure to do so will have a major impact on many organisations’ ability to thrive and survive in the future.

The ebook Information Chaos V Information Opportunity by independent information management analysts AIIM, looks at three key disruptors that have contributed to the chaos:

– How cloud and mobile have created an expectation of anywhere, anytime access to information in work and play

– How consumerisation has transformed what users expect from applications and how enterprises deliver them

– How the changing nature of work is forcing organisations to think fast and flat, not hierarchical and slow

John Mancini, AIIM president, said: "The reality is that many organisations feel as if they are simply drowning in content and how they address this issue is one of the greatest challenges they will face.

"They are constantly told what an opportunity all this information is for them, yet are struggling to manage and structure it all effectively and efficiently, let alone deploy it to gain competitive advantage."

Despite the looming threat of information chaos, AIIM president John Mancini believes there is hope for businesses that are struggling to cope, saying: "There is light at the end of the information tunnel and there are tools and strategies that can help you address information chaos. To do so, you must first understand the challenge before you can come to grips with it."