Middle East enterprises turn to Knowledge Management (KM) to optimise business performance

Emirates Computers, Oracle and Opentext sponsor KM Summit to spotlight new strategies on information management systems

Dubai December 30, 2003 In today's competitive business environment with the rapid growth in information technology, managing and optimizing personal and organizational information will be a company's greatest challenge. This was highlighted at a recent Knowledge Management Summit, sponsored by Emirates Computers, the leading UAE based technology company, Opentext and Oracle, Emirates Computers' long standing technology partners in the region. The summit was addressed by leading international Knowledge Management (KM) experts Opentext and Autonomy Systems Ltd.

Hani Harik, President of Emirates Computers said, "With the globalization of business, no organization is immune to the pressure to create knowledge capital. Organizations that excel at leveraging their know-how in a systematic way will create and sustain a competitive advantage that will exceed the current and future demands they will face. Effective knowledge management, collectively achieved in market scenarios, can prove to be a powerful motor for growth. The Knowledge Management Summit sought to create awareness about this important concept among business in the Middle East, and also covered the latest international trends in Knowledge Management systems.

"By focusing on the strategies and technology to optimise KM, Emirates Computers, in partnership with our partners Opentext and Oracle Middle East would like to be the engine of change in traditional business environments in the region", he added.

The KM summit was spread over six sessions, with each session detailing a different aspect of KM strategies and tools. The first session addressed by Karl M Wiig, the chairman and chief executive of Knowledge Research Institute, USA, who highlighted the need for relating KM goals to business goals. The expert pointed out that without specific business objectives, KM initiatives would be a directionless exercise that will not provide any returns on the investments made.
"Knowledge Management is not a single program or series of programs or projects. In order for KM to be really successful, it should be established as one of the core business processes that will trickle down into every aspect of an organization's operation. For that, it is important to businesses to first establish what they want to achieve from KM", added Harik.

The second session, addressed by Ross Dawson, the founder and chief executive officer of Advanced Human Technologies, addressed the issue of establishing knowledge based customer relationships in enterprises where customer-centric knowledge is the key to success. The third session highlighted the importance of putting into place a competent methodology for knowledge management. The session was addressed by Pat Mooney, the Co-founder and Executive Director of FSTC. Mooney has extensive experience in the UK in the field of training and competency.

The KM summit also put the spotlight on specific technologies in the field of knowledge management. The fourth session of the summit focused on Oracle's Collaboration Suite, an integrated suite of applications that include email, voicemail, file management and calendar applications. The session detailed the benefits of integrating knowledge sharing tools such as messaging, file sharing and real-time communications on to a single secure platform. Addressed by Jean Claude Bejjani, Collaboration Suite Product Manager, Oracle Middle East, the session aimed at aiding Collaboration Suite users to optimize the potential of the application.

Simon Black, Business Development Manager, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Autonomy Systems Ltd., described at the event how technology can be used in a knowledge management environment and detailed ways of automating business operations.

The summit ended with a presentation by Sriram Narayanan, Major Accounts Director, S.E. Europe, MENA & S .W. Asia region, Open Text Corporation, the world's foremost provider of KM technology. Detailing the strategies of competent knowledge management, Narayanan stressed on the correct choice of technologies and their competent applications in information systems. "The value of most corporations today resides largely in their knowledge assets. Corporate success depends on the ability to manage, preserve, and leverage knowledge assets. Conversely, it is inefficient to depend on uncontrolled e-mail systems and shared network drives as a storehouse for your corporate knowledge," said Narayanan.

Knowledge has value only when it is accessible. By establishing an efficient communications such a standard organizational vocabulary, electronic mail synchronous and asynchronous discussion tools, video conferencing, desktop video conferencing companies can effectively share information, in an effort to share and devise best practices.

"However it is also important to remember that not all information is valuable and need to be shared as companies need to be on the lookout for information overload. Therefore, it is essential that companies determine what information qualifies as intellectual and knowledge-based assets. Quantity rarely equals quality, and KM is no exception. Indeed, the point of a KM program is to identify and disseminate relevant knowledge from a sea of information. A creative approach to KM can result in improved efficiency, higher productivity and increased revenues in practically any business function", added Narayanan. (keralamonitor.com)