"Knowledge management is on the one hand very ethereal, or academic," says Riaan Horn, Engineering Informatics knowledge management consultant. "And then on the other hand, it is a very technical issue. On the practical side we are seeking technology to pull knowledge out from wherever it resides, and then to provide an accessible framework that fosters knowledge sharing within the company. This is not a simple task - we are dealing with very human, and therefore often intangible, elements of business." The conflict that emerges when businesses try to implement an academic ideal is clear, and already many businesses enjoy the services of full knowledge management systems - that no one uses.

"Only a small percentage (from 15-20%) of knowledge is stored within an ERP system," says Horn. "The knowledge management challenge therefore, lies in quantifying the nature of the other 80% - in reducing this large chunk into manageable, identifiable portions, and then instituting systems to deal with each portion. This is a strong challenge, particularly when it comes to making the systems relevant and user friendly for staff. When it comes to servicing clearly identifiable knowledge, such as unstructured documents, movies, power point slides, word documents and so forth, the sector is definitely able to deliver results," Horn continues.

"Ultimately, however, I think it is safe to assume that the conflict between ideals and practicality will drive the evolution of knowledge management - offering increasing value to the market." Knowledge management is already delivering useful business benefits. A focus on collaboration, in particular, now allows companies to build a knowledge framework that facilitates active, collaborative knowledge processes. Upon user request, automated and customisable 'crawlers' are able to scour a knowledge database for relevant information. The crawler 'learns' how to classify documents through each use, and is ultimately able to engage in knowledge archiving and searches on its own accord.

Current knowledge management systems also allow users to rate the knowledge they are interacting with, ultimately building a hierarchy of relevant information that becomes increasingly valuable for future users - with the highest ranked, most relevant information presented first. This feature has an important reverse function as well - regular cleanouts of 'bottom ranking' information can keep the company knowledge database as up to date and relevant as possible.

"There is a big drive towards establishing knowledge management standards in Europe at the moment," says Horn. "This is a good indicator that knowledge management is growing rapidly and has become a serious business issue. Businesses want to be able to broach all these islands of knowledge - which is why there is such a strong drive for interoperability standards to be established. Knowledge management is also rapidly becoming a natural part of working with a system like SAP. And with SAP portals you now have a knowledge management module included. This cracks the whole market open because it means you do not have to have SAP to run the knowledge management module. I guess you could say that the push towards knowledge management is already in full swing. It is managing the process that will be the real challenge," concludes Horn.

For more information: Engineering Informatics, 011 791 1028.