All businesses have information assets , but few are able to realize their full value.
Or, it may consist of a set of rules for coordinating business activities across an enterprise. It might even involve subsets of functionality from a number of cooperating applications. However you define your information assets, converting them into software components adds business value by reducing the cost of accessing and using that information within your organization. Because the same information asset can be reused many times - often in ways not originally envisioned. Depending upon the type of information, it may have value to other businesses as well, thereby unlocking hidden revenue potential either through repackaging as a shrink-wrapped software component or through leasing as a web service via the Internet.