Thanks to the advent of the cloud, unlimited data storage is no longer an expensive proposition. Added to that, there are numerous platforms that can help with the acquisition of data, be it customer related, business related or even industry related.
However, the challenge today is not the acquisition and subsequent storage of data, it is the organization of that data. With so much and so many types of data available at the click of a button, it has become crucial to organize that data in a logical, comprehensive and usable order. And this is where knowledge management software plays a crucial role.
What is Knowledge Management?
To understand what Knowledge Management software is, we first need to understand the concept of Knowledge Management itself a little better.
Simply put, Knowledge Management is a systematic approach to facilitate the flow of information as well as knowledge between the right set of people at an appropriate time, format and cost, so that greater value, efficiency and effectiveness is created for an organization.
Reasons for Investing in Knowledge Management
Information search studies show that there are a number of challenges that organizations attempting to harness knowledge face. According to the data:
A knowledge organization with 1,000 knowledge workers ends up losing $5.7 per year on looking for but not being able to find information.
A knowledge worker typically spends 36% of his day looking for as well as consolidating information across multiple systems.
Even after all that effort, that worker ends up finding information relevant to their jobs just about 56% of the time.
With so much of time and effort being wasted, it becomes critical for an organization to assess how information, as well as knowledge, is being handled internally, especially if that information is critical to the company's performance and reputation.
In today's fast-paced world, where competition is cutthroat, it becomes critical to create, preserve, disseminate and organize the knowledge pool in the organization, so that an organization can function optimally.
What is Knowledge Management Software?
Software that facilitates the identification, collation, creation, distribution, organization, as well as dissemination of an entity's pool of knowledge, is Knowledge Management Software. This software provides the company with a single pool of information that is readily accessible, discoverable as well as updated.
The KM software a company uses is meant to make all that information available so that the company becomes more efficient and profitable, while also being leaner.
Challenges that Knowledge Management Software Can Help Overcome
There are a number of challenges an organization faces when it comes to Knowledge Management.
Real-Time Accessibility of Information:
A large percentage of companies today are truly global, operating out of many countries all at the same time. And that percentage is constantly growing, thanks to the boundarilessness of the World Wide Web.
Because of the way businesses have evolved today, knowledge and information need to be accessible by all employees across the globe. Not only that, this data needs to be accessible in multiple languages and in real time.
Knowledge Management software can ensure that all knowledge and information within the company is available to all employees at any time, from any device, from anywhere in the world and in all relevant languages.
Easily Discoverable Information:
Data is useless if it is either undecipherable or undiscoverable. This means that the information should be found quickly and efficiently. However, with so much endless data available, this can be a challenge. Which is why Knowledge Management software today also uses smart filters, machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Information that Can be Easily Updated:
It is no use having information that is accessible and discoverable if it is not up-to-date. Knowledge Management software - to be truly effective - must be up-to-date at all times.
How to Select the Best Knowledge Management Software Solution
If you are looking at developing a comprehensive Knowledge Management solution for your company, then there are a few things you need to keep in mind.
The first thing you need to do if understand which problems you wish to solve using Knowledge Management. This is basically outlining your goals.
Once you have set your goals, you need to assess what capabilities you need from your Knowledge Management software.
You will also need to understand what your internal IT infrastructure is like - does it already have platforms that can be built upon, or will you need to invest even more to create a foundation for your Knowledge Management software infrastructure?
Another good idea would be to understand what your stakeholders need from the business, as well as what systems they already have in place, and what they expect from this Knowledge Management software from an integration as well as a functionality perspective.
So, for example, you need a knowledge management software for your resolution groups (service desks, IT helpdesk, etc.), then you need to assess what are your priorities first. If they are interacting with your end customer in a real-time situation, then they would need to find information as they are talking/chatting with the customer.
Then, these agents should also have access to information directly related to being able to resolve the customers' issues. However, what happens if these agents are faced with an unusual problem? Should the software have the ability to update the knowledge bank with the new information?
And then there is the question of permissions. Do these agents need access to all the information available in the organization, or just the portion that is needed for them to go their jobs well?
These are the types of questions that need to be answered before an investment in a Knowledge Management software is made. After all, the purpose of a Knowledge Management software is to make an organization leaner, more efficient as well as more profitable.
This can only be done if this tool solves your problem, integrates with existing processes and company culture and also is cost-effective and efficient. Whichever software you choose should support your overall Knowledge Management vision, not disrupt or derail it.
