A measure of knowledge
Entopia has developed a unique return-on-investment calculator for its flagship knowledge management software, Quantum.
What sets this tool apart from other ROI methodologies is its realistic approach to adoption rates, which, the company claims traditional ROI calculators traditionally assume to be 100%. Entopia recognizes the adoption rate of any new technology will start low but gradually increase over time. The company says that its bottom-up approach helps to overcome the cultural barrier and user resistance to KM adoption, adding that Quantum is typically embraced on a personal or individual level.
Entopia says its ROI calculator measures KM benefits in three key areas:
Cost savings. Enterprises deploying a knowledge management platform will save costs and increase the productivity of individual users by shaving hours off the following knowledge-oriented tasks: information organization, information search and retrieval, expert location, avoidance of work duplication, unnecessary face-to-face meetings (when digital collaboration is possible) and manual contributions to KM solutions (when automatic, background participation is possible).
Revenue enhancements. KM systems enable companies to quickly and effectively leverage the intellectual capital and digital assets throughout their organization helping them make better decisions, shorten time to market and close more deals.
Intrinsic KM value. Additional benefits come from the ability to capture the intellectual capital that is lost when employees leave, capture hidden explicit knowledge residing on employee hard drives, reduce knowledge lost in the transfer of information, add context and experience to the base of corporate intellectual capital, gather tacit knowledge by capturing the ideas, experiences and solutions residing in the minds of employees, and generate a competitive advantage through the optimization of knowledge transfer and the creation of intellectual capital.