Information is everywhere, but knowledge is hard to come by. Two-thirds of businesses in the United States struggle to turnin information received they can act on due to not properly annotating. Too much information, and the fact that a lot of it isn’t accurate or reliable, are cited as two major impediments to effective decision-making by businesses. businesses. An even bigger problem, according to 55% of executives, is that information is not adequately prioritized. Consolidating information and providing consistent performance indicators are regarded as the most important steps businesses can take to improve the speed and quality of decision-making.
Knowledge will enable companies to compete for customers. Knowledge about customers, their preferences and their behavior is the overwhelming focus for improving the quality of information in large organizations over the next three years. CRM is the area where most IT innovation will take place, with the focus shifting from automation of basic customer processes to more sophisticated analysis of customer behavior. Companies like Tesco and Wanadoo have demonstrated how customer analytics can support initiatives to increase customer loyalty and expand markets share, much to the chagrin of their competitors.
Technology can help unlock knowledge, but corporate culture is more important. Understanding who knows what, and how people use different types of information as part of their work, is just as important a part of good knowledge management as having the latest business intelligence technology. Indeed, one reason why knowledge-management solutions have disappointed in the past is that firms have invested in technology without fully understanding the needs of the end-user. Having a corporate culture that encourages employees to volunteer ideas and share important information is ultimately more important than any