Krueger Communications: Knowledge Management an Emerging Business Model

Knowledge management can be applied to business administration, information systems, management, and other contexts. It is important that business professionals understand that KM because it is quickly becoming an integral partner with CRM Customer Relationship Management. KM like CRM, is important because it enhances an organization's ability to deal with what are known as Mike Davidson's four areas of organizational concern[1]:

Mission: What are we trying to accomplish?
Competition: How do we gain a competitive edge?
Performance: How do we deliver the results?
Change: How do we cope with change?

Let's consider the concept of KM. What is Knowledge Management? According to Rudy Ruggles, a leading KM thinker/practitioner, [2] the following items are integral components of KM:

Generating new knowledge
Accessing valuable knowledge from outside sources
Using accessible knowledge in decision making
Embedding knowledge in processes, products, and/or services
Representing knowledge in documents, databases, and software
Facilitating knowledge growth through culture and incentives
Transferring existing knowledge into other parts of the organization
Measuring the value of knowledge assets and/or impact of knowledge management

How can businesses apply KM? Dr. Yogesh Malhotra, Founding Chairman and CKO of Global Risk Management Network helps answer this. He explains what the most important thing business can do regarding KM. [3]

The most important issue for companies is to ensure that they focus on the synergy of data and information processing capacity of information technologies, and the creative and innovative capacity of their human members. Advanced information technologies can increasingly accomplish 'programmable' tasks traditionally done by humans. If a procedure can be programmed, it can be delegated to information technology in one form or another. The information and control systems in organizations are intended to achieve the 'programming' for optimization and efficiency. However, checks and balances need to be built into the organizational processes to ensure that such 'programs' are continuously updated in alignment with the dynamically changing external environment.

CRM and KM once considered two disciplines, now must In the technology and work toward the same goal which is to provide continuous improvement within business environments, Each must work together, so to speaking the same language. Several industry leaders are taking leaps in this direction.

On July 28, 2011, Oracle announced that it has agreed to acquire InQuira, a provider of best-in-class knowledge management solutions that support web self-service, agent-assisted service, and customer communities. The proposed transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, and is expected to close in the fall of 2011. Until the transaction closes, each company will continue to operate independently and continue to conduct their respective business as usual.

The combination of Oracle and InQuira is expected to further extend Oracle's leadership CRM with web self-service, customer communities and knowledge management capabilities. Together, Oracle and InQuira plan to provide customers with advanced search and a scalable knowledge management platform as a part of a comprehensive CRM solution. By adding InQuira's capabilities to Oracle's products, Oracle expects to provide customers with a complete and integrated knowledge management solution that enables companies to improve and personalize their customers' experience. [4]

On August 20, 2008 -Salesforce.com announced the acquisition of InStranet, the leading provider of knowledge management technology for business to consumer (B2C) call centers. The acquisition brings powerful knowledge base Dimensions technology to Salesforce CRM Customer Service & Support, enabling customers and call center agents around the world to quickly find the answer they need, the first time. [5]

It will be interesting to see how integrating KM and CRM will help businesses navigate complex support problems more easily and build bridges between sales, marketing, service, and the internal content.