Kanisa Enters KM Marketplace

A new competitor in the knowledge management marketplace has arrived, with the entry of Kanisa (Cupertino, CA). Kanisa, formerly Papyrus, offers technology that makes intelligent connections between enterprise applications and the knowledge of an organization to "knowledge-enable" business processes. Consulting firm

Ernst & Young (New York) is a major venture capital investor in Kanisa. Business partners include E&Y, KMPG (Boston) and Morgan Stanley. It's still very difficult for the end user to get at what they're looking for ­ distribution of knowledge," said Kanisa CEO Mark Angel. Kanisa's technology "provides companies with the ability to improve service and business performance ­ through the just-in-time delivery of knowledge ­ while empowering employees, customers and suppliers." The challenge facing most companies today, says Delphi Group (Boston) consultant Nathaniel Palmer, "is managing the tacit knowledge often lost through such problems as personnel turnover. Kanisa offers new hope for capturing the knowledge necessary for timely response to customer issues and problem resolution." Kanisa is expected to roll out its first product in the second quarter of 1998.