4 Top Knowledge Management Trends in the Digital Age
Published July 10, 2023.
When running a business, being ill-informed is equivalent to being ill-prepared. Breakdowns in the flow of information can affect the smooth functioning of an organization. Stored knowledge is useless unless it can be accessed whenever it is needed. That’s why companies need an efficient system of Knowledge Management (KM).
What is Knowledge Management?
Knowledge Management refers to the systems and processes which enable a business to collect, organize, and utilize important information. This includes databases, internal emails, announcements, and important assets. Any information needed for the smooth running of the business’s operations should come under the KM system.
Having an efficient KM system allows companies to function with greater efficiency. That’s why it has been a priority for businesses even before the digital age. Today, as technology revolutionizes how we record and consume data, KM has also adapted for a new future. In a special report from April 2023 by the magazine KM World, the author says, “…most businesses are keeping up the investment in knowledge management or even increasing it this year—a wise move in today’s uncertain economy since knowledge management can help reduce operational costs.”
Digital Innovations in Knowledge Management
Technology is responsible for completely reimagining how KM works. What was earlier an esoteric practice that only management was concerned with is now accessible to every department, thanks to technology. Here are the top digital trends that will shake up the world of KM in the coming months:
- AI and Knowledge Management
- Knowledge Management and Machine Learning
- Knowledge Management and Social Media
- Knowledge Management and Search
Let's take a closer look at each of these upcoming trends in KM.
1. AI and Knowledge Management
Artificial intelligence, the poster child of commercial tech innovation, is making waves in the KM domain. The introduction of AI-powered chatbots into KM systems enables expedited searches through databases, extracting pertinent results with ease. AI also automates components of the KM process, like data entry, mining, and user profiling, enhancing efficiency.
With AI capturing the popular imagination this year, thanks to products like Chat-GPT, it will surely play a greater role in KM in the coming months as well.
✶ Learn more about knowledge management processes
2. Knowledge Management and Machine Learning
As a company grows, so does its body of organizational knowledge. As more data is added to the KM system, it can become unwieldy for human operators to sift through it efficiently. But machine learning turns this weakness into a strength.
ML requires large data sets for training, making it the ideal technology to navigate dense, extensive libraries of organizational knowledge. It makes knowledge discovery much easier by analyzing past queries to provide more accurate responses to future ones. ML can also be used to make predictions about internal systems since it trains on historical data.
3. Knowledge Management and Social Media
Social media changed the way we interact with the internet. Now, it’s also changing the way professionals interact with KM systems. Technologies from social media, such as quick notifications, mobile-friendly platforms, and content aggregation, are being adopted into KM systems to improve their functioning and user experience. Also, as social media graduates from its Instagram and Tik-Tok-themed adolescence to its working years with platforms like Slack and Jira, KM systems that integrate with professional social media platforms allow for better functionality.
As KM evolves, the imprint of social media on its growth will be plain to see.
4. Knowledge Management and Search
Valuable information never simply presents itself. It has to be discovered. The only way to do that is through a search, which is why enterprise search engines have always been the backbone of any good KM system. The future of knowledge management will involve enterprise search engines with more features and capabilities than ever before. The increased adoption of AI, ML, and other path-breaking technologies is going to set the stage for search engines that turn KM from a passive process to an active one.
✶ Explore the key features and benefits of enterprise search engines
Enhancing Knowledge Management With Enterprise Search Engines
The purpose of an enterprise search engine is to secure important knowledge and keep it ready for employees as soon as they need it. The ability to get relevant results simply from entering keywords or employee names streamlines KM and boosts productivity across your organization.
Unleash is an AI-powered enterprise search engine with the semantic processing ability to respond to even the most vague prompts. It searches every folder and directory within a knowledge base and is easy to use for every department in your company. Use Unleash and unlock the full potential of knowledge management technologies.
