Best Practices: Technology and Systems - Approaches for Developing Enabling Technology
Organizations have used a variety of strategies to technically enable KM operations. These operations vary according to an organization's technological sophistication and the resources available for IT investments. The Federal CIO's Council has categorized these strategies into four groups (Wenger 2000):
Limited Investment Strategies: Communities of practice can exist with minimal technology enablement. The basic communication technologies that most organizations already have can be enough (e.g., email, files, telecommunications).
Targeted Investment Strategies: Use limited targeted investments to jumpstart the KM technology process. As the initiative matures, the initiative is then expanded to other areas. This approach allows organizations to test a technology without investing too heavily. Particular pilot projects include:
Outsourced Strategies: A number of firms provide outsourced, facilitated communities. These firms put together a coordinated suite of affordable community support technologies.
Enterprise Collaboration Strategies: The most elaborate approaches use customized collaboration products that are implemented for the whole organization. These systems often do not have the kind of specialized communal space that community-oriented systems can create.
