Knowledge management news and trends
28.4.05
Innovative Arabic Language Translation Software Now Available to U.S. Government
Innovative Arabic Language Translation Software Now Available to U.S. Government
: "Information
Manufacturing Corporation (IMC) has entered into a strategic agreement with
Sakhr Software USA, Inc. to help solve an urgent language problem for U.S.
government agencies. IMC is a West Virginia-based knowledge service
integrator. Sakhr Software USA is headquartered in Washington, DC.
Government agencies must sift through and organize millions of documents
in diverse formats to understand the nature of threats against the United
States. In countering terrorism, the government has had to rely almost
entirely on human translators to render Arabic language information into
English before it could be analyzed and mined for critical data. Human
translation is a long and arduous process. More recently, translation
software has helped to speed up the process, but translation errors and
inaccurate phraseology were inherent in software produced in the U.S. and
other non-Arabic language nations. With this strategic agreement Sakhr
Software USA and IMC are changing that. Sakhr Software USA is the U.S.
subsidiary of the Egyptian-based Sakhr Software, the leading information
technology software producer in the Arab world. Their Arabic-to-English
translation software, known as Sakhr, presents a unique advantage over other
translation software because it was designed linguistically with the Arabic
language at its core, allowing it to translate not only words but entire
phrases with far greater accuracy than has been possible in the past.
Through its partnership with Sakhr Software USA, Inc., IMC becomes the
exclusive U.S. producer and distributor of certified, trusted Sakhr Arabic
translation and information management software for U.S. government agencies.
Through a joint agreement, the Sakhr source codes will be deposited with IMC
and will be examined to ensure their integrity for broader use by the U.S.
government and then certified by IMC for 'trusted' distribution to key U.S.
government customers." ¶ 07:16 0 comments
: "Information
Manufacturing Corporation (IMC) has entered into a strategic agreement with
Sakhr Software USA, Inc. to help solve an urgent language problem for U.S.
government agencies. IMC is a West Virginia-based knowledge service
integrator. Sakhr Software USA is headquartered in Washington, DC.
Government agencies must sift through and organize millions of documents
in diverse formats to understand the nature of threats against the United
States. In countering terrorism, the government has had to rely almost
entirely on human translators to render Arabic language information into
English before it could be analyzed and mined for critical data. Human
translation is a long and arduous process. More recently, translation
software has helped to speed up the process, but translation errors and
inaccurate phraseology were inherent in software produced in the U.S. and
other non-Arabic language nations. With this strategic agreement Sakhr
Software USA and IMC are changing that. Sakhr Software USA is the U.S.
subsidiary of the Egyptian-based Sakhr Software, the leading information
technology software producer in the Arab world. Their Arabic-to-English
translation software, known as Sakhr, presents a unique advantage over other
translation software because it was designed linguistically with the Arabic
language at its core, allowing it to translate not only words but entire
phrases with far greater accuracy than has been possible in the past.
Through its partnership with Sakhr Software USA, Inc., IMC becomes the
exclusive U.S. producer and distributor of certified, trusted Sakhr Arabic
translation and information management software for U.S. government agencies.
Through a joint agreement, the Sakhr source codes will be deposited with IMC
and will be examined to ensure their integrity for broader use by the U.S.
government and then certified by IMC for 'trusted' distribution to key U.S.
government customers." ¶ 07:16 0 comments
27.4.05
The Vitamin Shoppe Announces Strategic Learning Initiative: Enhances Training With ePath Learning ASAP
The Vitamin Shoppe Announces Strategic Learning Initiative: Enhances Training With ePath Learning ASAP : "In an effort to create the
most knowledgeable associates in the industry, The Vitamin Shoppe, the leading
retailer and premiere authority of quality vitamins and nutritional
supplements, today announced that it has selected ePath Learning�, a leader
in the creation of browser-based learning technologies, as its universal
learning partner. Developed and delivered through ePath Learning ASAP SM,
this strategic learning initiative will result in the creation of Vitamin
Shoppe University, a web based, 'blended' learning environment for The Vitamin
Shoppe's product and customer interaction training, and will ensure that the
associates in all 250 existing stores, and 60 new locations are educated on
products that promote a healthy lifestyle and overall wellness." ¶ 20:04 0 comments
most knowledgeable associates in the industry, The Vitamin Shoppe, the leading
retailer and premiere authority of quality vitamins and nutritional
supplements, today announced that it has selected ePath Learning�, a leader
in the creation of browser-based learning technologies, as its universal
learning partner. Developed and delivered through ePath Learning ASAP SM,
this strategic learning initiative will result in the creation of Vitamin
Shoppe University, a web based, 'blended' learning environment for The Vitamin
Shoppe's product and customer interaction training, and will ensure that the
associates in all 250 existing stores, and 60 new locations are educated on
products that promote a healthy lifestyle and overall wellness." ¶ 20:04 0 comments
Inxight Software and A.I. Tech Software Partner to Provide a Powerful, Intelligent CRM Experience
Inxight Software and A.I. Tech Software Partner to Provide a Powerful, Intelligent CRM Experience: " A.I.
Tech Software, Inc., the leader in powerful intelligent relationship
management solutions made user-friendly via the integration of an innovative
and precise natural language (NLP) interface, and Inxight%uFFFD Software(TM),
Inc., the leading provider of enterprise software solutions for information
discovery, today announced that they have partnered to create a revolutionary
set of solutions designed to improve and enhance existing CRM, service and
support products." ¶ 20:04 0 comments
Tech Software, Inc., the leader in powerful intelligent relationship
management solutions made user-friendly via the integration of an innovative
and precise natural language (NLP) interface, and Inxight%uFFFD Software(TM),
Inc., the leading provider of enterprise software solutions for information
discovery, today announced that they have partnered to create a revolutionary
set of solutions designed to improve and enhance existing CRM, service and
support products." ¶ 20:04 0 comments
19.4.05
DHS military spur IT growth
DHS military spur IT growth: "The Homeland Security Department and the Pentagon are the main drivers behind federal IT spending growth, but systems integrators can still expect to see the Office of Management and Budget exerting pressure to control spending.
From 2005 to 2010, the federal IT budget will grow at an annual rate of 5.3 percent to $91.4 billion in fiscal 2010 from $70.7 billion in fiscal 2005, according to the market research firm Input Inc. of Reston, Va.
Of the $91.4 billion in 2010, $78.6 billion will go to contractors, compared to $59 billion in 2005, Input said. The contracted portion will grow at an annual clip of 5.9 percent.
The civilian IT budget will grow by 5.5 percent annually to $33.1 billion in fiscal 2010 from $25.4 billion in 2005. The defense IT budget will grow by 6.1 percent annually to $28.3 billion in 2010 from $21.1 billion.
DHS has been a primary recipient of budget increases since it's creation in 2003. The department will have $4.4 billion in contracted IT spending in fiscal 2005 and is projected to have $6.4 billion in 2010, although department spending will level off in fiscal 2007, Input said.
" ¶ 17:23 0 comments
From 2005 to 2010, the federal IT budget will grow at an annual rate of 5.3 percent to $91.4 billion in fiscal 2010 from $70.7 billion in fiscal 2005, according to the market research firm Input Inc. of Reston, Va.
Of the $91.4 billion in 2010, $78.6 billion will go to contractors, compared to $59 billion in 2005, Input said. The contracted portion will grow at an annual clip of 5.9 percent.
The civilian IT budget will grow by 5.5 percent annually to $33.1 billion in fiscal 2010 from $25.4 billion in 2005. The defense IT budget will grow by 6.1 percent annually to $28.3 billion in 2010 from $21.1 billion.
DHS has been a primary recipient of budget increases since it's creation in 2003. The department will have $4.4 billion in contracted IT spending in fiscal 2005 and is projected to have $6.4 billion in 2010, although department spending will level off in fiscal 2007, Input said.
" ¶ 17:23 0 comments
16.4.05
Benford’s Law—Information Analysis and Business Performance Management
Benford’s Law—Information Analysis and Business Performance Management: "Sometimes what people perceive to be the truth is less than consistent with reality. In the business intelligence world, situations like these often present opportunities for discovery that lead directly to actionable knowledge. One example is a curious observation (in the 1920s) by a General Electric physicist named Frank Benford that led to his description of a counter-intuitive law of logarithmic sizes associated with numeric distributions. This law, which is now referred to as “Benford’s Law,” states that in data value sets with certain properties, there is a predictable, albeit, uneven distribution of the initial digits of numbers within the set. In other words, in some number distributions, if you analyzed the frequency of the leftmost digit of all the numbers, you are much more likely to find the digit ‘1’ than any other digit, followed by ‘2,’ then ‘3’,’ etc.
" ¶ 12:00 0 comments
" ¶ 12:00 0 comments
15.4.05
BioITWorld Events - Drug Safety Knowledge Management (US InterAction Meeting) - Events
BioITWorld Events - Drug Safety Knowledge Management (US InterAction Meeting) - Events: "The focus program theme of Building the Drug Safety Body of Knowledge identifies strategies and methods required to meet the clinical, regulatory, legal, and commercial needs of pharmaceutical companies and healthcare organisations in the years to come."
¶ 07:23 0 comments
6.4.05
Knowledge Management Solutions, Inc. Announces a Special Offer for THINQ Training Server(R) Clients
PRESS RELEASE Knowledge Management Solutions, Inc. Announces a Special Offer for THINQ Training Server(R) Clients: "Knowledge Management Solutions, Inc. (KMSI), a leader in Web-Based Training and E-Learning Solutions, today announced its 'Corporate University - Today Program for THINQ Training Server� clients' special offer. This special offer lets corporations and Government agencies that have procured hosted learning management system services from THINQ Learning Solutions, Inc. migrate to KMx for as low as $6,330 per year!
Through July 31st, 2005, organizations that have procured hosted learning management services from THINQ Learning Solutions, Inc. can migrate to KMx and receive a significant discount. Other competitive products may also apply. Contact KMSI's sales office at (866) 501-5674 to confirm service qualification or to learn more about this special offer." ¶ 07:10 0 comments
Through July 31st, 2005, organizations that have procured hosted learning management services from THINQ Learning Solutions, Inc. can migrate to KMx and receive a significant discount. Other competitive products may also apply. Contact KMSI's sales office at (866) 501-5674 to confirm service qualification or to learn more about this special offer." ¶ 07:10 0 comments
5.4.05
ATG Announces Significant Enhancements to Service Resolution Suite; ATG Forum, Updates to Customer Service and Support Solutions Further Augment Knowl
ATG Announces Significant Enhancements to Service Resolution Suite; ATG Forum, Updates to Customer Service and Support Solutions Further Augment Knowledge-Based Service Resolution Capabilities: "ATG (Art Technology Group, Inc., NASDAQ: ARTG) the software provider behind the most consistent and relevant marketing, commerce, and service experiences, today announced continued enhancements to its service resolution capabilities including the addition of ATG Forum, a peer-to-peer support application designed to create and manage online communities. With ATG Forum, companies empower their customers to share answers, insights, and ideas; and in turn they are able to gain valuable insight regarding the interests, needs, and behaviors of their customers for use in future marketing and service campaigns. "
¶ 07:15 0 comments
MIS | Magazine > Busting knowledge management myths
MIS | Magazine > Busting knowledge management myths: "Knowledge management (KM) is not a new concept. It took shape as early as the 1980s, when companies developed mechanisms to gather feedback from customers and channel the information back to their marketing, sales and development units.
Still, few today understand the term. Josef Hofer-Alfeis, senior consultant at Siemens, debunks some common KM misundertandings.
Myth No 1: It's extremely hard to make people share
Knowledge is power. In the business world, it's often assumed that people don't want to give away valuable information. The truth is, people are willing to share if given good reasons.
'There must be an implicit understanding and explicit communication that KM will bring increased productivity for the individual involved and the organisation,' says Hofer-Alfeis. Incentives can also give the extra push.
At Siemens, employees are given points for sharing ideas and mentoring junior staff. The points can be exchanged for rewards such as sponsored trips to conferences and personal digital assistants (PDAs).
Employees whose ideas are adopted by others will also be recognised by their peers and upper management. 'Turf protection is not common at Siemens. Employees understand that the ability to execute is far more important than having a set of data,' he adds.
Myth No 2: Everything should be documented
Some people believe that KM is about filling up a central repository with expertise sucked from employees' heads. There will be no brain drain even if employees leave. 'This thinking is too one dimensional,' says Hofer-Alfeis. More advanced KM strategies recognise the limitations of documentation.
Tacit knowledge, for instance, can't be meaningfully captured. 'There are valuable things like networking and relationship building that can't be articulated in writing,' he notes.
Instead of betting every dollar on state-of-the-art systems to capture and archive static data that quickly become obsolete, Hofer-Alfeis suggests allocating some investments to foster networking within the organisation.
This will allow individual knowledge to be 'diffused' to a bigger pool of people. At Siemens, knowledge workers are organised into about 1,600 communities based on topics from contract management to Java programming.
Myth No 3: KM is the same as content management
Blame it on the vendors for sticking the KM label on every product from document management to e-mail systems. Content management is a big part of KM.
But having an intranet portal with pages of data is not all there is to it-especially when people are still calling on the human resource manager for the most basic information like leave entitlement.
The key is how the content is used. 'Confusion is the greatest barrier to KM,' says Hofer-Alfeis. 'In our case, we define KM as the capability for effective action by the individual or the organisation.'
Myth No 4: There's only one flavour of KM
One extreme is traditional leaders who hoard all information and monopolise decision-making. The other is a new management paradigm that forgoes ranks for communal, peer-based corporate leadership.
The greatest proponent of the latter approach is business consultant Jeff Nielsen, who wrote in his book The Myth of Leadership: 'Genuine communication will only occur among peers.'
Nielsen wrote that in a hierarchy, 'people will tell their superiors what they think they want to know.' Hofer-Alfeis, however, feels that there is no single solution to promote knowledge sharing within an organisation.
'It's not necessary to get rid of ranks. KM can still exist in various forms in different organisations. What KM does is provide a systematic approach to optimise knowledge flow.'
" ¶ 07:15 0 comments
Still, few today understand the term. Josef Hofer-Alfeis, senior consultant at Siemens, debunks some common KM misundertandings.
Myth No 1: It's extremely hard to make people share
Knowledge is power. In the business world, it's often assumed that people don't want to give away valuable information. The truth is, people are willing to share if given good reasons.
'There must be an implicit understanding and explicit communication that KM will bring increased productivity for the individual involved and the organisation,' says Hofer-Alfeis. Incentives can also give the extra push.
At Siemens, employees are given points for sharing ideas and mentoring junior staff. The points can be exchanged for rewards such as sponsored trips to conferences and personal digital assistants (PDAs).
Employees whose ideas are adopted by others will also be recognised by their peers and upper management. 'Turf protection is not common at Siemens. Employees understand that the ability to execute is far more important than having a set of data,' he adds.
Myth No 2: Everything should be documented
Some people believe that KM is about filling up a central repository with expertise sucked from employees' heads. There will be no brain drain even if employees leave. 'This thinking is too one dimensional,' says Hofer-Alfeis. More advanced KM strategies recognise the limitations of documentation.
Tacit knowledge, for instance, can't be meaningfully captured. 'There are valuable things like networking and relationship building that can't be articulated in writing,' he notes.
Instead of betting every dollar on state-of-the-art systems to capture and archive static data that quickly become obsolete, Hofer-Alfeis suggests allocating some investments to foster networking within the organisation.
This will allow individual knowledge to be 'diffused' to a bigger pool of people. At Siemens, knowledge workers are organised into about 1,600 communities based on topics from contract management to Java programming.
Myth No 3: KM is the same as content management
Blame it on the vendors for sticking the KM label on every product from document management to e-mail systems. Content management is a big part of KM.
But having an intranet portal with pages of data is not all there is to it-especially when people are still calling on the human resource manager for the most basic information like leave entitlement.
The key is how the content is used. 'Confusion is the greatest barrier to KM,' says Hofer-Alfeis. 'In our case, we define KM as the capability for effective action by the individual or the organisation.'
Myth No 4: There's only one flavour of KM
One extreme is traditional leaders who hoard all information and monopolise decision-making. The other is a new management paradigm that forgoes ranks for communal, peer-based corporate leadership.
The greatest proponent of the latter approach is business consultant Jeff Nielsen, who wrote in his book The Myth of Leadership: 'Genuine communication will only occur among peers.'
Nielsen wrote that in a hierarchy, 'people will tell their superiors what they think they want to know.' Hofer-Alfeis, however, feels that there is no single solution to promote knowledge sharing within an organisation.
'It's not necessary to get rid of ranks. KM can still exist in various forms in different organisations. What KM does is provide a systematic approach to optimise knowledge flow.'
" ¶ 07:15 0 comments
1.4.05
PRESS RELEASE Industry Leaders Showcase Best Practices for Knowledge Management and Self-Service Resolution at Kaidara Knowledge Management Forum
PRESS RELEASE Industry Leaders Showcase Best Practices for Knowledge Management and Self-Service Resolution at Kaidara Knowledge Management Forum: "Kaidara Software, Inc. today announced the Kaidara Knowledge Management Forum, a case study showcase and unique opportunity to gain and share practical experience in deploying knowledge management solutions in technical support centers. This year's event takes place April 5-6, 2005, in Raleigh, North Carolina, and will showcase best practices and technical insights from customer support and service professionals at global leading organizations such as 3M, Cisco, DaimlerChrysler, Federal Express, Honda, Toro and many other North American and European companies. Michael Maoz, Vice President and Research Director for CRM and eBusiness at the Gartner Group, will present an overview on industry trends in the CRM and knowledge management markets, and Allen Bonde, president of the ABG Group, will moderate discussions."
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