2017-18 KMWorld Survey Looks at the Changing State of Knowledge Management
With the rise of cloud, the ground is shifting for knowledge management. Solutions can be accessed from the cloud, which can also serve as the ultimate repository for KM content. In addition, enterprises and their users are finding that many of the tools and platforms that support KM are also employed for the new generation of data management, which focuses on much of the same unstructured data. As a result, the KM function within enterprises is gaining ground and converts, and cloud is making KM cost-effective. Along with these changes, the challenge for enterprises now is how KM and big data can be leveraged to boost innovation and growth at a strategic level.
These are among the key findings of a new survey of 264 executives and managers who are readers of the KMWorld magazine and website, published by Information Today, Inc. The results of “The State of Knowledge Management: 2017-18 KMWorld Survey” are presented in the Fall 2017 KMWorld Buyers’ Guide, a new 13-page resource available for download.
The research covers the impact of cloud, the growing use of AI, the main drivers of KM deployments the pace of KM, and the pace of KM advancement in the enterprise.
KM function within enterprises is gaining ground and converts, and cloud is helping to make it cost-effective.
Cloud is becoming an increasingly dominant platform for hosting knowledge management systems, and a total of
43% of respondents say they run their systems in the cloud, either in whole or partially in hybrid fashion, according to research analyst Joe McKendrick, who authored the report.
KM adoption is up. More than one-third of respondents, 36%, also indicate that they are in the installation or implementation stages of KM initiatives, defined as the formal process of capturing, distributing, and effectively using enterprise information assets. This is up from 26% two years ago, notes McKendrick, although the levels of fully realized implementations have remained relatively steady.
Collaboration and information-sharing is the most main driver for KM implementations. Close to two-thirds of respondents, 62%, give the highest ratings to boosting collaboration and information sharing between their employees. Another 61% say their systems’ highest purpose is to enhance individual employee productivity/output, and the same percentage see facilitating organizational learning as their most pressing mission.
The executive summary of the “The State of Knowledge Management: 2017-18 KMWorld Survey” are included in the 2017-2018 KMWorld Buyers’ Guide along with 21 charts detailing the results and comparing the 2017 data with 2016 and 2015.
To access the 2017-2018 KMWorld Buyers’ Guide, go to www.kmworld.com/BuyersGuide.