How the Next Generation Enterprise is Different
From Knowledge Management to Content Collaboration and Collective Intelligence (part 7 of 10)
The concept of knowledge management has achieved limited success. Most efforts to leverage knowledge in organizations have failed or fizzled out, for the most part, because current approaches view knowledge as a finite resource captured in containers and then made available through depositories. The focus of many knowledge management efforts has also been to acquire and leverage knowledge within the company. Knowledge management tools and repositories, directories, elaborate company intranets/portals, and reward systems for information sharing typify many corporate knowledge management efforts.
However, a new approach is emerging where knowledge is understood as an infinite resource, often inside human brains, and generated and harnessed through effective collaboration both inside and outside organizations.
Today, powerful new collaboration tools such as wikis, blogs, social networks, search, tags, RSS feeds, jams, telepresence and content management enable what we call "knowledge collaboration." This approach is a key to unleashing and harnessing the knowledge contained within and external to an enterprise and in turn, accelerating innovation and increasing competitive advantage.
Collaboration also transforms Business Intelligence. In the past, business intelligence focused on internal information that supported tactical decisions aimed at cost avoidance. It informed a few select executives whose scope of analysis remained inside firm boundaries. Interfaces were complex and access was limited to sophisticated IT experts. The systems themselves were static, producing a series of standardized reports. BI supported sporadic strategy planning processes that were subject to rigid rules. Most important BI was seen as a tool to support individual decision makers, rather than to aid in collaboration and team activities.
The new approach extends business intelligence to virtually all employees, as well as external stake- holders. It enables and supports collaboration within and outside the enterprise. An articulated transparency strategy defines who receives what information, under what conditions, with what frequency and in what formats. Integrating internal and external information enables competitive advantage. Cost reduction is no longer the only focus: managers use data about customer behavior, supply chain performance and the market to drive revenue growth. Tools are visual and interactive, enabling non-specialized users to identify and act on opportunities and challenges. Information delivers predictive insights in addition to historic analysis, enabling a continuously evolving strategy plan guided by corporate performance management criteria.
In particular, the new approach builds "collective intelligence," enabling professionals and managers through a firs and business web to effective collaborate and act based on valid and reliable and information.
Companies that execute this new approach make better decisions, achieve agility and lower transaction and control costs. Moreover, decentralized and collaborative decision-making leverages the power of human capital.
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