Chapter 12

Knowledge Managemant



IBM's Knowledge Management Strategy

Last week I created a weblog post where Tony Karrer actually commented further if I would have an opinion on how to help people adopt the different social software tools within the corporation and, specially, if we have figured it all out already. And, while I commented over there that I would actually be creating a follow up weblog post on this very same topic, I thought it would be a good exercise to start first with a warmup weblog post where I can share a little bit of history of where IBM is coming from as far as its Knowledge Management strategy is concerned. So here we go.

I guess I could get started with how things begun back in 1994 when IBM was already working for the first time on its KM strategy that has lasted for the vast majority up until today. However, instead of just doing that I am going to point you to a news article that very clearly articulates what IBM has been doing within the traditional KM space. It would make up for an interesting read and for those interested it will set up the right path of upcoming weblog posts on this very same subject.

The article itself is titled IBM's KM Strategy, over at KMWorld, and you can find it over here. In it you would be able to see how Karen Ughetta (Director, IBM Collaboration and Knowledge) states the very first beginnings of Knowledge Management inside IBM. How it has actually been really strong with the explicit knowledge exchange, i.e. asset management, through the existence of different Intellectual Capital repositories, being KnowledgeView (From Global Business Services) one of the most powerful and popular ones, but also she mentions other key areas of how KM has been envisioned all along. Such as:

Asset Management: A worldwide Asset Reuse program for Global Technology Services where knowledge workers can capture key assets and then make them able for reuse at a later time. The Extreme Leverage program within the IBM Software group, which basically introduced the concept of a community of knowledge workers sharing knowledge and collaborating within that Software group I just mentioned.

Notice as well how Karen also details some hard facts about the business value that all of these different KM programs have provided thus far. Worth while reading to say the least.

 Expertise Location: Yes, on the ever exciting program for expertise location (Something I have weblogged about extensively in the past) she mentions one of the most powerful applications that IBM has been promoting all along: BluePages -the universal employee directory that feeds everything else, like Fringe Contacts.

Collaboration: In this particular section Karen mentions how IBM has been making extensive use of different tools available, like Collaboration Central, Teamrooms (Lotus Notes based collaborative databases), Jams (Pretty much similar to the InnovationJam we had a few days ago), ThinkPlace (To share and collaborate on ideas across the timezones, geographies and business units), etc.

On-demand Learning: With the introduction of Learning@IBM as part of the On Demand WorkPlace, as a new way to help push and promote learning where the knowledge worker is in control of their own learning process, including courses, related resources, etc. etc.

Thus while nobody can certainly deny KM's impact on IBM (Karen actually provides plenty of information details with some good examples on this) I still feel that this set of KM programs have all been very much focused primarily on an explicit knowledge exchange as opposed to a more balanced approach between explicit and tacit knowledge, getting shared in a common environment. However, with the emergence of different community programs inside IBM things have started to change once more. People are more willing to share information and knowledge with one another, much more often, and with a whole lot more people, than whatever else they have actually managed through the years and all of that because they are seeing how Web 2.0 is taking the workplace by storm. It is actually allowing knowledge workers to bring forward a very much needed balance between both explicit and tacit knowledge, where tools that boosted explicit knowledge exchange are now taken over by the huge hyped selection of different social software tools. All in all while the knowledge workers are now in full control. Yes, what some folks out there have already identified as the next wave of KM programs within IBM: IBM 2.0And this is the background of where we are, folks, with regards to IBM's KM program. In upcoming weblog posts I will take this follow up further on board and add some more regarding what IBM is doing to support its communities, its knowledge workers, its adoption of social software tools by placing some more focus on that tacit knowledge exchange that I have just mentioned above. But that would be the subject for another post... Stay tuned !
http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/elsua/ibms-knowledge-management-strategy-10827