Industry News Shorts
IDC proposes the knowledge center
The premise behind a report from International Data Corporation IDC) is knowledge as strategic initiative. IDC states that a critical role for IT organizations of the future will be to connect individual knowledge management programs through electronic centers of knowledge or e-knowledge centers.
Tom Murphy, research manager for IDC's IT Advisor program, points out that while many companies have successfully initiated KM programs, "the critical issue they face is developing knowledge capital as a strategic initiative. Even companies with the most advanced knowledge management programs lack a formal approach to defining and achieving enterprise-level knowledge goals."
IDC's answer to the dilemma: Develop a definitive knowledge strategy by forming a team to identify the critical areas of organizational knowledge and their values as they relate to business goals. Include vertical industry partners, suppliers and experts with the knowledge initiative.
The key to success, according to Murphy, is a "highly evolved electronic network that links functions together fluidly for the transfer and management of knowledge."
"Developing the EKnowledge Center" is available from IDC.
An E-business solution is changing the way Nantucket Nectars Nantucket Nectars communicates with customers and analyses data. The juice company has selected a customer relationship management and ERP solution from Oracle Oracle to replace existing disparate systems.
Scheduled for a March installation, Oracle's E-Business Suite will be used to improve production order management, inventory allocation and marketing support for Nantucket Nectars' distributors.
The order management component will let distributors enter, track and adjust orders on the Web. More than 130 sales reps in the field will have access to the information via Nectar Net, the company's sales-focused corporate intranet. Reps can also view booked orders, purchased items and transaction data.
"Oracle is going to let us integrate all of the numbers," said Drew Farris, IT director. "We're going to have our depletion data tied into our financial data, which will be tied into our compensation data, which will be tied into our sales data. We'll be able to see all the pertinent information in one report and one depository, allowing us to more accurately analyze data and make more informed business decisions."
As the national service and training center for 1,400 member branches, the United Way of America United Way of America must offer access to its ever growing knowledgebase. Web-based software from CRM solution provider Worldtrak, Worldtrak allows UWA staff access to a central pool of information about members and constituents through a browser and Microsoft Outlook e-mail infrastructure. Data resides on a Microsoft SQL Server.
Users can track what services were used by members, navigate through the call cycle and create reports on fund-raising activities. The solution, according to Phillip Walker, manager of United Way Online, "has helped us turn individuals' knowledge into organizational knowledge."
Michael Pinck, project manager of UWA, said, "The Web-based solution allows UWA personnel to access current information, regardless of where they are. We can also link Worldtrak in with our extranet and use it to communicate directly with our 3,000 local United Way staff members on United Way Online."
An online customer analysis tool has been built using components of MicroStrategy's MicroStrategy Intelligent E-Business Platform embedded in the new version of Net Perceptions Net Perceptions for E-commerce 5.0. The resulting personalization recommendation engine offers several new analysis and merchandising features.
The reporting and analysis module--Net Perceptions Decision Support--allows retailers to track specific online promotions by using MicroStrategy Intelligence Server and MicroStrategy Web.
The module tracks what products are being recommended and bought, how often online shoppers actually make a purchase, and the average size and value of orders. That information is used to create personalized product and service recommendations for return customers.
Steve Larsen, Net Perceptions senior VP, said, "Our clients now have access to invaluable information for their businesses ... and have insight into how their personalization strategies can be fine-tuned for more profitable results."
Corporate portal company Glyphica Glyphica has announced a strategic partnership with SalesLogix SalesLogix to develop an Internet service for sales professionals. The new offering will deliver a wide range of online sales services for Web collaboration, lead generation and database management.
SalesLogix, a customer relationship management and e-commerce software company, pulled 17 companies together for a new site, called Interact.com, and incorporated their technologies into a single offering. Interact.com. launched in December, provides a mix of content, commerce and community services targeting salespeople at companies of all size. Incorporated in it will be a private-labeled version of Glyphica's InfoPortal product line, enabling sales professionals to create their own public Web sites, as well as private, secure Web sites for their customers.
In September, Glyphica teamed with SAP SAP to deliver Sales Online, an interactive selling solution, through mysap.com. In November, Glyphica and Adobe launched Team Online, an online document collaboration service distributed through Adobe.com.
Online customer support is at the center of a partnership between ServiceWare ServiceWare and Clarify Clarify. The integration of ServiceWare's knowledge management products with Clarify's EFrontOffice suite will provide a means for companies to capture, contribute, manage and use customer knowledge throughout an enterprise.
Rightanswers.com, a knowledge portal from ServiceWare that automates the problem-resolution process via the Internet, will give Clarify EFrontOffice users access to searchable multivendor content.
"Together, ServiceWare and Clarify furnish companies with the ability to easily deliver access to the right content with the right context at the right time," said Kirsten Berg-Painter, senior VP of worldwide marketing at Clarify.
The partners also intend to collaborate as educators to promote awareness about the role of knowledge management in the front office.
Datamax Technologies Datamax has aligned with a Xerox Document Solutions Xerox division to provide comprehensive workflow and document automation solutions to the public sector and education marketplaces.
Xerox Public Sector Practice, a services unit focusing specifically in those areas, will work with Datamax's VisiFlow Electronic Process Automation System, which integrates workflow, document management, COLD and forms recognition.
"Our partnership with Datamax Technologies further positions our team as leading consultant to and integrator for the government and education markets," said William Cobbs, VP and general manager for Worldwide Public Sector Practice with Xerox Professional Services. "As document management systems become increasingly necessary, it is essential that our client base be able to benefit from innovative and best-of-breed solutions such as VisiFlow."
"We anticipate that educational institutions and government agencies will greatly benefit from the merger," said Bix Kroener, general manager of Datamax. "The agreement also demonstrates that with the right mix of technology and sales acumen, we can affirm our commitment to deliver business process automation solutions that improve productivity, increase customer service and streamline communications."
Dakota Imaging Dakota Imaging, an automated data capture provider, has struck a deal with IBM IBM to team with its integrated document management products. Dakota's Transform automated data capture product joins IBM's integrated document management products ImagePlus VisualInfo and OnDemand. By combining the products' strengths, the companies are aiming at the forms processing and health insurance claim payer industries.
"We have long been a pioneer in automated data capture," said Sandeep Goel, president and CEO of Dakota Imaging. "By teaming with IBM, we extended the breadth of our solution to include full featured workflow."
Said Dan Russell, IBM's director of worldwide ISV software sales and marketing, "Our customers will benefit from Dakota Imaging leveraging the document management capabilities of ImagePlus VisualInfo and OnDemand."