The agility imperative

It’s no mystery that 2009 isn’t getting off to a great start.

The global recession is hammering the IT sector hard. The spending forecasts of even three months ago have been significantly adjusted downward, and although in most cases very modest growth is expected, spending likely won’t even keep up with inflation.

While some sectors of the economy are metaphorically wringing their hands, we shouldn’t be. If there is a single group that should be prepared to ride out—and even triumph over—the economic mess, it should be those who practice and deploy sound, broad knowledge management strategies and tools. Ever since KMWorld was launched in 1997, we’ve been advocating the importance of agility, and it’s more important now than ever. All the tools and techniques that have gotten us this far aren’t going away, so it’s incumbent upon everyone to step up and innovate in all aspects of our businesses. Maintaining the status quo just won’t cut it anymore. Frankly, investing in KM-related goods and services makes even more sense in a down economy.

That agility imperative is our responsibility, too. And with that in mind, we’re making some changes in the pages of KMWorld. We know that readers turn to KMWorld for product information, so we’ll be further emphasizing innovative and efficient business solutions. In the months ahead, we’ll be debuting "Product Roundups" that focus on specific technologies to help readers discover vendor offerings that show legitimate promise in the current economic climate. And, in the spirit of one of the basic tenets of KM—collaboration—we’re asking for your help to accomplish our goals. We want and need your input. As usual, we especially appreciate hearing from customers and users.

We’ve always believed that KMWorld is your magazine, and with that in mind, we’ll be kicking off a series of reader polls on our site kmworld.com, the results from which we’ll develop into articles in conjunction with a number of analysts who have agreed to share their insights.

Regular readers of KMWorld might recall that our next issue, March 2009, features our annual 100 Companies That Matter in Knowledge Management. Compiling the list is a yearlong, informal endeavor with our regular group of judges, which consists of editorial colleagues, analysts, system integrators and selected users. We’ve all but wrapped up the list, and, as always, it’s very hard to narrow it down to simply 100 (but it’s a nice round number). The upcoming edition proved to be an especially difficult one because we have had to add ability to respond to—and provide special value in—the troubled economy.

We’re serious about needing your input as we, too, accept the agility imperative and encourage you to e-mail us at editor@kmworld.com.