When correlated data is stored in a structured way, it becomes information. And when this information is applied and processed it transforms into knowledge. It can be people, money, learning, flexibility and even competitive advantage. Ensuring knowledge within a corporate system and making this available to stakeholders for effective decision making is critical to all companies in a knowledge based economy. Knowledge is more relevant to sustained business than capital or labor. However, not many really understand, or use all the knowledge existing in their organization; some would not even know how to reuse it. It remains the most neglected asset. An understanding of the concept of knowledge is essential to enable one to appreciate this.

Knowledge Sharing & Reuse

Communication or knowledge is a tool and an organization’s most critical resource in today’s business environment. Managing information is one thing however, creating/ unlocking existing knowledge is quite another. Situations of deliberate (inter-functional) knowledge transfer through interpersonal communication or group conversations can be found in many business constellations, as the following typical examples illustrate:

	Technology experts present their evaluation of a new technology to management to jointly devise a new production strategy.
	Engineers who have discovered how to master a difficult manufacturing process need to convey their methods to engineers in other business units.
	Experts from various domains need to share their views and insights regarding a common goal in order to agree on a common rating of risks, requirements, industries or clients.
	Project leaders need to present their results to the upper management and share their experiences of past projects in order to assess the potential of new project candidates.
	Scientists, who work as drug developers, present new avenues for future products, which must be assessed by business unit managers.
	Market researchers present their statistical analyses of recent consumer surveys to the head of marketing.
	Strategy consultants present the findings of their strategic company assessment to the Board of Directors in order to devise adequate measures.

Some of the delivery mechanisms for Technical Knowledge Publishing include the following:

Information Portals: The publishing industry leverages latest technology by making information available via portals. News portals, for example, can be customized to address and attract a specific audience. This advantage creates a valuable publishing medium at low costs. Additionally, portal developers and providers allow users to update content dynamically or on request. The flexibility in using information and news portals becomes extremely beneficial to companies in the areas of advertising, marketing and promotions.

Online Newsletters:Companies now use this method to periodically update customers and business partners. Newsletters are customized to accommodate company logos, themes with dynamic links to their Web sites.

Web Content:A company’s Web site is one of the key mediums of projecting the history, services and solutions and management group to the intended customer. Developing content for a company’s Web site involves consistent interaction with SMEs, Management and key persons to reflect the correct image in a simple and clearly understandable form.

Forums and Blogs: Another fast growing trend in making your company known on the Internet. Besides thoughts and ideas being shared, knowledge and interactive discussions take place on forums.