Speed to Knowledge Roger K. Mizumori

Agenda Business Background Realities of Knowledge Management Enabling Changes Summary

Business Background Business cycles are shorter and opportunities surface quicker. To survive, businesses must be quick to respond to these opportunities and challenges. To be competitive, these responses must be focused on the customer needs and leverage all of the knowledge assets of the business.

Every business has different sources of Competitive Advantage R Tracking skills within an organization, skills inventory Gathering & acting on the high volume of information collected from customers Reducing time to market, learning from the past, meeting customer needs Reacting quickly to new competitors, new products, & new ways of doing business

Knowledge Management Information in information stores (Explicit Knowledge). Information in people’s heads (Tacit Knowledge) Application to context (Creating/Sharing Knowledge)

Reality #1 “The rate of information growth is so rapid, it is impossible for any single person to know everything about anything.” ___ Craig Dupler (1994) Conclusion: It is impossible to organize all Explicit Knowledge unless it is categorized upon creation.

Reality #2 The pace of innovation is so rapid that much of the knowledge that is in people’s heads does not directly apply to the opportunity /challenge before us. Conclusion #2: Tacit knowledge does not always apply even when it is accessible.

The REAL value of Knowledge Explicit Knowledge only solves the same problem should it recur Tacit Knowledge provides limited subject matter expertise to the extent humanly possible Is to provide references for CREATING solutions quickly to the problem(s) at hand. – Explicit Knowledge provides validating references for new applications of old solutions – Tacit Knowledge enables recognition of similar problems

The REAL Business Value Is an environment that fosters creation of knowledge which is applicable. – Knowledge assets are readily available – A climate of diversity where everyone is a contributor – No fear of failure – Everyone understands the opportunity/problem

KM Stages of Business Evolution Wandering in the woods Getting arms around Information Assets Making smarter decisions Finding innovative opportunities Long Term Survival

How to Speed Application of Knowledge Buy time up front – Predict the problem/opportunity Recognize arrival of the opportunity immediately – Monitor the market & your processes Apply your assets immediately – SWAT teams at the ready

Major Cultural Changes Required Information & Knowledge Sharing Personal Networking Anytime, Anywhere

Information & Knowledge Sharing Holding Knowledge is no longer power Knowledge conduits are the modern gurus Knowledge recipients determine value

Personal Networking “None of us is as smart as all of us.” Ideas can come from anywhere 6 degrees of separation – Connectors – Mavens Networking for new perspectives – Find innovative partners, board members – Recruit a diverse workforce – Encourage a wide range of personal interests

Anytime, Anywhere In order to leverage knowledge assets to competitive advantage for a business, they must be available whenever an opportunity or challenge presents itself, wherever those assets may be. – Access to mobile people – Access to information while mobile

Businesses Need Solutions optimized by KM strategies They need to integrate the systems they have They need active inclusion of all their people They need creative solutions to business problems – Global, Information-based economy – Dynamic, flexible, and adaptive enterprise processes and resources

Knowledge Management Strategies for Enterprises Maximizing value of IT investments – Network everything – Link all captured knowledge Involve all employees – All employees are Knowledge Assets & KM Users – Good ideas must come from everywhere Expand to Extended Enterprise – Partners have vested interests in your success – Greater awareness of the outside world

Support Systems Issues Collaborative Systems – Systems must collaborate – Systems must support human collaboration Common Directory – Too many directories, not enough masters Mobile Communications – Pervasive coverage is not a reasonable expectation in the near term. – Usage will often consist of traversing from network hot spot to network hot spot (regardless of underlying technology).

Emerging Trends – Mobile Communications Technology – Wi-Fi (aka IEEE b) Wireless LANs adopted by leading edge companies Hotspots are proliferating – GSM / Wi-Fi dual band kits emerging Business – Many companies have failed – New companies emerging

Mobility Technical Issues Transport security Session Management while roaming Authentication/Authorization Robust Integration of MobileIP or Handoff Technology for Mobile Networks Many proprietary solutions emerging which do not interoperate Directory Enabled Network integration (authentication, authorization, encryption, location, privacy, certificates, etc) Bridging directories and PKIs Different schema taxonomies Multiple User Profiles Redundant Profiles Insufficient Profiles

Mobility Business Issues How to make money? Content – Must have value – Value derived from Timing and Quality

In Summary Knowledge Management needs mobile access Mobile applications need Knowledge Management

Thank You! Roger Mizumori (425)