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April 5, 1999

Knowledge Management:
Get Smart

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Scient has developed hooks from Site Server into its PeopleSoft human-resources and financial applications and into time and accounting applications based on Excel and Microsoft SQL Server. "PeopleSoft has its own data store and we can't change that," says Kalish, "but now we can read and write that data store and index the PeopleSoft data with our file system data and intranet data in a single repository. We can break down application boundaries, and that's essential."

The object framework also lets Scient append data that originates in other systems. "When a document is submitted to our knowledge-management system, we tag it with an employee object," Kalish says. "We can aggregate that with other information in the system and find out what other things that employee has contributed. We can find other characteristics, such as the clients they've worked with or what department or office they're in."

Scient is now working to add project-management functions to its knowledge-management system, so that its employees can learn from lessons discovered in completed projects as well as input new information on current projects. For instance, if an employee were assigned to do an evaluation of various Internet technologies, the system could tell that person how long the evaluation might take, based on previous experience. The system could also identify team members who worked on the earlier project in case the person wanted to contact those with previous experience in that subject area.

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Data Framework
Defining objects that tag or identify information about data--a twist on the metadata concept--is becoming increasingly popular in companies trying to leverage both the structured data in relational databases and unstructured data found on the Internet and in other sources. And it's where the up-and-coming Extensible Markup Language fits into the knowledge-management discussion.

XML is a set of rules for defining data structures. To date, nearly every software vendor has pledged support for XML, and a growing number of IT shops are using it to integrate disparate sources.

Platinum Technologies is using XML to build an index for a knowledge-management repository that holds documents on all the software vendor's products. Each piece of content gets an XML tag that identifies the source of the content. Other bits of information in the tag can identify who the product is sold to, which business unit within Platinum is responsible for the product, and which operating systems the product runs on.

The index is built using these XML tags. Scheduled scans of the repository look for any changes that have taken place in the documents that are managed there. If changes are found, a new index is created, says Glenn Shimkus, Platinum's director of worldwide knowledge management. The XML-based index can be easily searched and contains the most up-to-date information on Platinum's products, Shimkus says.

Platinum's foray into knowledge management began in the summer of 1997, chiefly because it had rapidly expanded through the acquisition of 74 companies in four years, boosting its product portfolio from about 40 products to 185. (Computer Associates last week agreed to acquire Platinum for $3.5 billion.)

The initial goal of Platinum's knowledge-management project was to give its global sales force of 1,500 people one place to go for information. Salespeople also wanted assurance the data was up-to-date.

The first system to come out of the project was Jaguar, a Web knowledge portal for sales and marketing that includes the XML-based index. Platinum has since built six portals around knowledge communities, or groups of individuals with common interests such as product development, sales and marketing, and business development.

The payoff, thus far, has been notable. Last year, Platinum saw a $6 million return on an investment of $750,000, says Shimkus. Much of the cost efficiencies came from the elimination of printing and mailing expenses.

More difficult to measure is what Shimkus refers to as "soft ROI." For example, using Jaguar, Platinum has increased its revenue per salesperson, or revenue productivity, by an estimated 4% year over year. "While there's no real way to measure that, we've based it on the idea that Jaguar saves a salesperson two hours per week in searching for information, and the average employee saves one hour per month," says Shimkus.

The success is spurring more knowledge-management projects. Platinum is now rolling out a knowledge portal for its consulting and education group so it can share best practices.