KM applications augments revenue streams

Padmaja Krishnan

The fact that information is a valuable competitive tool and a valuable asset

is well accepted. The value of a company’s information asset no longer lies in

the ability to store and retrieve them, but in the management of its usage in a

dynamic information age for competitive advantage. Corporations are measuring

their information assets by their ability to leverage available and accessible

information to react to market demands more effectively than their competition.

This environment has led to an increasing demand for effective knowledge

management(KM), particularly in knowledge-based industries.

With organizational focus shifting from the capital and physical assets to

the capabilities, competencies, information and knowledge base of the human

capital, more and more information now resides beyond the physical domains of

organizations.

With increasing competition, and the growing recognition of

cumulative organizational experiences and the human intellectual assets,

organizations need systems that would enable efficient methods of harnessing,

sharing and transferring knowledge, experience and expertise.

These systems should be able to gather knowledge from the internal and

external world of an enterprise, and present the necessary perspectives to the

concerned members of the organization, that would assist in more informed and

intelligent decision-making. Knowledge management applications aim to provide a

single window user interface to different levels of users in an organization,

based on their user privileges, and thus enable efficient information and

knowledge dissemination.

Knowledge management provides the perspectives, approaches and the vision to

put investments made in data, information, best practices, proven processes and

a wealth of experiences to better use, where it is needed the most. It directs

decisions on where, how and when to build, create, accumulate, update and

account for new knowledge. It allows an organization to best leverage its key

assets, be it material resources, natural reserves or people.

KM caters to the critical issues of organizational adaptation, survival and

competence in the face of increasingly difficult and competitive business

environment globally. Essentially, it embodies organizational processes that

combine the data and information processing capacity of information

technologies, and the creative, innovative and analytical capacity of human

intellect.

The major advantage of a KM application is that it leverages the information

to improve organizational innovation, productivity, responsiveness and

competency. Again, KM is an evolving business process that proactively manages

all internal and external information to create competitive advantages that are

linked to core business objectives and goals.

With an appropriate KM model an organizations can….

• Harness their knowledge assets through accumulated information and
  
  expertise.
• Augment their revenue streams by leveraging the corporate knowledge for
  
  advantage.
• Save time through fast and easy access to available knowledge.
• Gain competitive advantage through proper use of corporate knowledge.
• Discover and explore information linkages and additional knowledge.
• Protect key knowledge assets by securing proprietary knowledge.
• Increase responsiveness by constantly managing, updating and integrating
  
  new knowledge.
• Improve teamwork through appropriate sharing and dissemination of
  
  knowledge.

Organizations realize the significance of the KM and put in place various

processes and procedures that help evolve a system to leverage benefits of the

same. Some of the initiatives typically worked on include:

• A repository of the best practices maintains and records the evolutions
  
  of processes, methodologies and practices of different functions across
  
  departments in the organization, leading to maturing of the individual
  
  processes, thus optimizing them for the appropriate results. Such a
  
  regularly updated and maintained repository also helps identify best
  
  practices for performing the basic activities, which can be leveraged for
  
  company-wide process improvements.
• The internal cadre development program is a significant part of KM
  
  policy. Such a program aims to progress the intellectual capital build-up,
  
  both at the individual and at the organizational level, through a
  
  structured approach. By applying a mature process of skill analysis,
  
  technology development analysis and a gap analysis derived from the above,
  
  the program provides for a complete training and competence development
  
  plan, in all spheres of professional and personal growth.
• An organization’s focused and concerted approach towards garnering
  
  expertise in certain niches or specific domains helps in developing a
  
  system of maintaining and continuously updating the knowledge base in
  
  those domains. The focus on certain industry vertical segments ensures
  
  that the information and knowledge on these verticals is preserved, in the
  
  form of experiences, case studies, documents, and actual accounts of
  
  solving practical difficulties.
• Information and data from the customers form an important element of the
  
  KM chain. Regular client surveys can be done with regard to all the
  
  significant parameters of customer satisfaction, and the information hence
  
  collected can be collated and analyzed. The cumulative data bank and
  
  reports then help in formulating further follow-ups through internal
  
  audits, root-cause analysis etc. The system also facilitates the sharing
  
  of experiences based on success story models as well as lessons learnt.
• The SEPG (Software Engineering Process Group) and various other process
  
  improvement groups (such as Defect Prevention Group, Tools Group, Process
  
  Work Group) facilitate the collection and dissemination of the knowledge
  
  base gathered in the typical IT organization in different work groups and
  
  projects. Such groups are responsible for coordinating process
  
  improvement, defect prevention and technology forecasting activities.
  
  These process improvements identified are then inculcated into the system
  
  and absorbed into regular operating procedures.
• The knowledge repository forms the backbone of the company’s KM
  
  system. This repository is the cumulative of all the work, experiences and
  
  reports that have been prepared in the organization, since its inception,
  
  and covers all its projects, initiatives and activities. Such an organized
  
  and methodical system of archiving past data and learnings ensures that
  
  there is an extensive library of information for Corporate re-use.
• These knowledge components help form the basic building blocks and high
  
  level frame-works for the new assignments that the company takes up The
  
  organization can plan its knowledge repository in a design most pertinent
  
  to its systems, methods and processes, and thus customized, the KM system
  
  can enable the organization-wide management, application and re-use of
  
  valuable tacit and explicit knowledge.
• A structured process of technology change management provides for
  
  technological evolution roadmap and growth path for the different
  
  technologies that are still evolving. Such technology progressions are
  
  tracked by technology competency groups and detailed out to make sure that
  
  the organization does not lose out on any of its significant technology
  
  development efforts. It also ensures that the new plans that are built
  
  because of knowledge base available in the company. The move from one
  
  technology paradigm to another is, therefore, smooth, seamless and
  
  integrated.
• KM practices help the organization reach consistently higher standards
  
  of excellence. Groups such as centers of excellence, competency centers
  
  and the technology cells add to the company’s knowledge base, through
  
  research and development efforts in the technology learnings and
  
  development areas. At the same time, these groups also base their
  
  activities on the lessons and experiences acquired by them collectively.
  
  The best practices and knowledge evolved in the process are available to
  
  the rest of the company for re-use.
• Organizations can develop relationships with other "k" based
  
  companies, to leverage their technology research, product knowledge and
  
  domain knowledge, thus strengthening their knowledge base. Such
  
  partnerships provide the advantage of a relatively faster learning cycles
  
  and a more cemented relationship with those who are influencing the future
  
  paradigms of a knowledge industry.

Needless to say, an organization is in a position to leverage the benefits

of such a methodical and structured KM system across its entire value chain.

Vendor, supplier and customer organizations that form the basic supply chain

cycle for the company, can transfer their individual KM benefits to each

other, and share the extensive gains that arise from the KM best practices.

Similarly, other partners could also be benefited, given the fact that the KM

system encompasses the knowledge base across all interdependent entities.