Compaq Computer is the latest player to ride the knowledge management wave, touting it as means to help customers leverage the power of technology to enable a more effective and productive workforce.
The vendor has unleashed a new initiative for the Microsoft platform to help customers plan and implement knowledge management applications in an integrated IT environment.
The initiative is a follow-up announcement to its eBusiness strategy that it unveiled at Innovate ‘99 in April this year, according to Lee Eng Thay, director of enterprise standard solutions & strategic alliances, enterprise computing group, Compaq Asia-Pacific.
Compaq sees knowledge management as "the ability to collect, organize and easily make available information which knowledge-workers can use to effectively do their jobs", explained Lee.
Once fully deployed, Compaq's knowledge management-enabled networks will empower users to share applications for product, partner, customer, or training information, the company said.
"Compaq and Microsoft are currently providing SAS (Institute Inc.) with a knowledge management solution to create an enterprise repository of intellectual capital for our employees, customers and business partners to share knowledge assets," said Jose Antonio Cobena Fernandez, administrative general manager, SAS.
As the only company endorsed by Microsoft as worldwide "prime integrator" for Windows NT, Compaq claimed it is in an "unique position to help customers dramatically accelerate the adoption and implementation of knowledge management."
But apart from Microsoft, Compaq will also be working with a pool of other partners including Novell Inc. and Lotus Development Corp., a pioneer advocator of knowledge management.
The new knowledge management strategy encompasses products and services in the Knowledge Management IT Services program which includes a business intelligence applications framework and intranet assessment, and the Compaq Work Expeditor version 1.2, a collaboration and work management application for users of Microsoft Exchange and SQL Server.
In addition, Compaq has opened six new Architecture Services Labs across the globe, designed to aid in building knowledge management applications.
Compaq is currently preparing to roll out the same initiative in Asia-Pacific, Lee concluded.