InformationWeek
Defining The Business Value Of Technology
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August 7, 2000 |
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Knowledge Management
Harnessing Corporate Knowledge
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Verbal or communication-centered knowledge is information that passes between people for urgent or tactical purposes, such as conveying the answer to the question: "How many generators do we have in overstock?"
Without IT intervention, you could transmit that knowledge through a conversation or by leaving a note or voice message. Historically, IT hasn't been able to do much about this kind of knowledge.
Storage-centered knowledge, on the other hand, is filed away somewhere, perhaps as a physical or electronic document, in a file system, in an E-mail, or buried with thousands of other entries in a data warehouse. It sits in structured files, such as forms and database reports, and in unstructured ones, such as word-processing files. Most IT knowledge efforts have been aimed at making use of storage-centered information.
Both kinds of knowledge are quite necessary in most companies, and Microsoft and Lotus are addressing both areas.
Microsoft has accomplished a design change for knowledge storage that's both revolutionary and valuable. Its Web Storage System collects data from file systems, the Web, E-mail, and other collaborative systems into a single logical repository. This simplifies the organization and retrieval of data for users.
Developers will use the same tools for interfacing with the Web store as they do in dealing with SQL databases. This should make it more likely that applications will get the advantage of integrating information from both repositories.
Exchange users can access Web storage as a device from their Outlook client. Because Office application files are objects, you'll be able to open and save from your browser; this will make it easier to create and deploy collaborative applications.
Many users, especially those familiar with the Windows environment, are going to find striking similarities between the browser-based Outlook client and the full-client Outlook. To use the program, double-click as you would in Windows, or single-click as you would inside a browser. Some users might even wonder if they're in a browser or a browser-based Outlook client. I think, over time, the advantages of the consistent interface will strongly outweigh the time required to get adjusted to the change.
Microsoft is also delivering some strong advances on communication-based knowledge management. While Microsoft's individual technologies may seem like check marks on a feature list, the combination and integration of these technologies should change the common perception of Exchange as a messaging server with a bit of knowledge management thrown in as window dressing.
Microsoft's instant-messaging services support real-time, low-bandwidth chat, a kind of interactive Post-it Notes. While the technology has been around for 15 years , this form of communication is new to most users and can make working across distances much more effective. Users can squeeze more time from many processes because they can see if someone is in, ask them a question, and get an answer quickly.
Exchange 2000 users also have access to data conferencing through NetMeeting, which offers real-time data collaboration. It also supports real-time voice-or videoconferencing, which has somewhat higher bandwidth and better readings of the subtleties of human speech.
Lotus is staying abreast of Microsoft in the instant-messaging arena with the June beta release of Sametime 2.0. The commercial offering will come out in the fall. Sametime 2.0 supports real-time messaging of data, video, and audio. It will also support chat dialogues between its own client and America Online's Instant Messaging service.
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