Knowledge management software focuses on the ways how information is compiled, organized, stored and accessed by every individual within the company. It is more than just a set of numbers and facts. It is a way to preserve expertise and knowledge of your employees, though today, most of the companies just ignore it. Such companies put faith and trust in traditional knowledge sharing, however, it all comes down to reaching out to a colleague sitting next to you, after wasting a few hours on making heads and tails of the problem. Moreover, we shouldn’t forget about personnel turnover.
In other words, software for knowledge management involves retaining, sharing and applying corporate expertise to establish business processes, improve staff performance and so enhance company efficiency. Investing in knowledge management software development and strategy can help startups and small businesses remain competitive today and this is how:
Timely distribution of knowledge across departments
Within large enterprises people usually have specialized roles with a set of well-defined responsibilities, while startups mainly involve generalists, requiring easy access to documents from various departments. KM tools provide executives, project managers, developers, marketers, and other employees with best resources and make them work more efficiently.
Helen and Alex share knowledge at DA-14 Software Development LLC
Compensate for labor turnover
Currently, on the average people change jobs ten to fifteen times during their careers, spending about four-five years in every position. However, for startups employee turnover is a genuine concern as their knowledge is more dependable on each particular employee. Knowledge management system software helps to smooth down such changings and arrange their resources in the way that all the workers enjoy access to the necessary documents.
Reduce time and resources required for training
Usually, training and new-hire orientation take time and inputs, as well as work resources that startups can hardly afford. With custom knowledge management software, small businesses don’t have to allocate resources and go round in circles whenever a new employee comes. Training materials and introduction documents can be created from the collected information and own experience over the years, so in a result, newcomers can be referred to the particular section in the company’s knowledgebase.
Business growth prospects
One of the top reasons to opt for the best software for knowledge management is the claim of small companies on further expansion and the ability to stay competitive in the future. With KM systems all the information will be well organized and structured, so it will be easily available to support the growth when the time is due.
Best knowledge management systems to try should seamlessly integrate with your existing platform and include essential features to improve knowledge sharing process within your company.
The list of top tools for startups includes:
Photo credit: Confluence
Confluence by Atlassian is one of the best collaborative software solutions for all teams irrespective of the company size. This tool helps businesses to create, structure, share, and discuss all the tasks that should be done with their teams. Moreover, with Atlassian Confluence data is much easier to find, update and use.
Key features:
- Convenient file collaboration
- Ability to insert inline comments
- Content / Document / Project management
- Rich content editor
- Version control
- Advanced search
- Organized collaborative workspace
- Task tracking
- JIRA integration
- Vast plugin ecosystem
Starting cost: free 7-day trial, then $10/month and up
Photo credit: KBPublisher
KBPublisher is a web-based KM software that enables easy sharing of information with employees, partners, and customers. This open source tool can enhance personnel efficiency, shorten search time and mitigate the need for customer support.
Key features:
- Content / Data / Document management
- LDAP / Remote users’ authentication
- Full-text search
- Convenient control over user privileges and roles
- Categorization / Cataloging
- Easy access from any browser and any location
- Prompt switch between administration / public views
- Bulk loads of files
Starting cost: 21 days for free, then $19/month and up
Photo credit: ProProfs Knowledge Base
ProProfs is a powerful online platform designed to effectively organize and distribute employees’ knowledge, enrich the collective experience and improve accessibility and searchability of information. It ensures centralized access to all files and documents, facilitates the onboarding process of new hires, improves productivity and increases the output.
Key features:
- Cloud-based platform with easy access from anywhere and anytime
- Support of word docs, PDFs, e-books, excel sheets, images, videos, etc.
- Management of roles and permissions
- Seamless integration with SaaS tools
- Brand with your own logo and corporate colors
- Prompt import and export of files
- Version history
- Efficient Google-like search
Starting cost: 40 pages for free, then $18/month and up
Photo credit: Capterra
ComAround Knowledge is a cloud-based KM software and self-service solution that focuses on collecting, managing and dispensing knowledge across the entire organization. It seamlessly integrates with existing processes and ITSM applications and tools for more efficient support.
Key features:
- Automatic translation of articles
- Video recording
- Customizable appearance to match your visual identity
- Gamification support to encourage creation of quality knowledgebase
- Smartphone / Tablet friendly
Starting cost: free 30-day trial
Photo credit: iMeetCentral
iMeet Central by PGI is a cloud-based collaboration and project management software that makes file sharing easy, centralizes communication across teams making them more organized and productive. This solution allows you to implement projects and set tasks, assign reminders, track the workflow, automate mundane tasks and boost ongoing business processes.
Key features:
- Project / Task management
- Synchronous editing
- Content / Document management
- Version control
- Advanced reports on project status and productivity
- Group calendars
- Easy integration with 3rd party tools
Starting cost: 15-day free trial, then $25/month and up
Nevertheless, among the top knowledge management tools available out there, these are some of the best options for leveraging productivity, employees’ engagement, client satisfaction and enterprise value.
However, today more and more companies opt for custom development and decide to build a knowledge management software solution to perfectly meet their specific requirements and goals. Such tailored web apps rely on existing company’s management and organization structure. They ensure prompt integration into business workflow, full control over the system, and great scalability as your company grows. If you decide to develop a knowledge management software, you increase your business value and attain the distinct competitive advantage.