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Is Knowledge Management Really New?

The media and our politicians use terms such as knowledge economy and the information age to signify the transition of our economy to something new and radically different. But we've always had knowledge, information and data. We've always had to create, read, update, delete (CRUD) and manage our data, information and knowledge. The acronym CRUD will be familiar to anyone working in the IT industry. Without good management your data and information will be CRUD (aka useless).

What Does Knowledge Mean to Business?

Now that we have a computer on every desk it is simple for anyone to create, read, update and delete data and information. What's lacking in this scenario is the careful management of our data and information so that we realise useful knowledge.

Some of the symptoms of the ease of creating, reading, updating and deleting information are:

  • spending too much time searching for information but never finding it
  • searching for the same information you've needed previously but not remembering how to find it
  • realising you've deleted a piece of information you need later
  • recreating data or information you know exists but is too difficult to find
  • being presented with information that has been created but has poor traceability to the source data
  • using keyword search as your primary means of finding information

How Consult4you Can Assist Your Organisation

We've seen this problem time and time again. Some of our core business requirements relate to the issue of data, information and knowledge management. They include:

  • Any employee must be able to find the information they require in 2 minutes or less. If not then that information is not appropriately managed
  • Data exists in one place only. Reuse of data and information is always better than making a copy. Copying information you know exists is unprofessional and erodes the profitability of the business.
  • A reliance on keyword search is a sign of data, information and knowledge management immaturity
  • Data, information, knowledge and wisdom are valuable. Treat them appropriately