In KM, Content is King - Northern Light

Any knowledge management system worthy of the name is, at its core, a “content factory”.

A “content factory” is a system that automatically ingests and then consistently tags and indexes documents from authorized internal and external sources into a single integrated, readily searchable content database. The factory operates continuously, adding content from all authorized sources on a regularly scheduled basis.

Operating a content factory entails a complex series of tasks:

1. Aggregating the content by a variety of means from all authorized internal and external content suppliers.

2. QA the content delivery to ensure what’s supposed to be delivered by outside vendors is in fact properly delivered.

3. Filtering the content to capture and normalize metadata.

4. Indexing the content so all content from external vendors is indexed and classified to a single consistent standard with metadata consistently applied.

5. Tagging the content with use-case-specific taxonomies to support navigation and visualization of the content.

6. Applying Natural Language Processing (NLP) to the content to support machine learning applications such as recommendation engines.

7. Storing or discarding the content from third-party publishers to remain in compliance with vendor agreements.

8. Operating the search application optimized for discovering and mining the types of content contained in the KM system.

9. Authenticating the end users for content access to ensure compliance with licenses and internal restrictions.

10. Staging the content for rapid delivery to GenAI RAG applications increasingly common to KM systems.

Make sure your knowledge management system fulfills all these requirements for effective content processing so that users (and your organization) reap maximum benefits from your KM investment.