Central Knowledge Warehouse - Recommended Criteria for Selecting a Knowledge Warehouse Tool

1. The tool's ability to work on an independent managed repository (will serve for Controlled Documents such as procedures); the tool's ability to also work on the organization's "living files," located in their permanent places, without needing to copy them to include them in the knowledge repository (professional terminology: logical repository). The above solves the problem of information duplication that troubles us all.

2. Types of knowledge sources that the tool can recognize. Knowledge items are usually stored in one of four types of sources:

   1. Network documents (Word, Excel, Adobe Acrobat, PPT, etc.).

   2. Email messages.

   3. Internet sites (internal and external).

   4. Databases.

   It is, of course, possible to add knowledge items that exist on paper and in the mind, but it is unclear how many tools support these sources.

3. Search engine retrieval methods. The method accepted today in the world (one can get an impression from existing search engines on the internet) combines free search with search based on organizational taxonomy. Organizational taxonomy is a combination of attributes, some simple and some hierarchical, that serve as filters for search.

4. Tagging capabilities: The tool's options to decide independently on the attribute values of the taxonomy. These capabilities rely on a variety of mechanisms, including:

   1. Document location on the network.

   2. Field values in form documents and template documents.

   3. Initial understanding of item content (deciding on attribute value according to word combinations existing in it).

   4. Deep understanding of item content (Artificial Intelligence mechanisms).

5. Integration capabilities of Pull with Push for pushing notifications about updates in knowledge items in the repository.

6. Ability to manage knowledge communities and complementary knowledge management applications (such as FAQ) in the same system.

7. Hebrew support.

Several brands sold in Israel claim to offer solutions to these needs. Among these can be counted: MS Site Server, Barkat, Commugen, C-4-U, NBX, and others. Details about these brands are available from suppliers.

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