Marko Arsjad – What is Knowledge Management?

Nokia Telecommunications has adopted a knowledge manaagement business strategy to move the organization from hierarchical structure to a network-based learning organization. The company believes that success in global terms will be derive from:

– Global Efficiency and Effectivenes

– Learning across organizationals boundaries

– Local flexibility and responsiveness

Ms. Kaisa Kautto-Kuivola was appointed a head of knowlegde management development in 1996. She is responsible for esthablishing the basic concepts and strategies and has initiated some of the first knowledge management solutions in Nokia.

She said that: ” The value of knowledge management to nokia was demonstrated by appointing me to the position of head knowledge management development”. Following her appointment, Nokia conducted a survey of knowledge management withn the business to discover areas of best practice. This was followed by workshops and creating a knowledge management map to aid senior manager in understanding the benefits of pursuing a KM strategy.

Nokia’s lessons learned include taking small steps and integrating them with other organizational activities and programs; not falling into the trap that knowledge management is an advanced form of information technology; and addressing the human aspects of change, work activities and reward and recognition.

Nokia has emphasized the role of knowledge management in global success. Ilkka Tuomi, the chief researcher of Nokia Research Center , states that knowledge creation, supply, and utilization are the most essential tasks in modern business world. Out of all information, Tuomi regards tacit (implicit) information as the most important one. In order to reach a global success. Nokia was forced to manage with the explosive increase of knowledge intensity. Thoose it was   extremely important to coordinate all the factors that are associated with knowledge management; that means personnel, information system, strategy, quality and process delevopers.

Furthermore, Tuomi says that the theory of knowledge management provides Nokia with new ideas about future organization and their nature of activities. This is very essential because successful new product development is base on strict prioritization of pilots projects, which are used to test future visions. In fact, Nokia does not predict the future but create knowledge that can be used to understand it when it is present.

Hewlett-Packard is a large, successful

company with over $38 billion in 1996

revenues. Its fast annual revenue

growth—approximately 30%—from such a large base

has astounded observers. The company competes in

many markets, including computers and peripheral

equipment, test and measurement devices, electronic

components, and medical devices. It has 112,000

employees and over 600 locations around the world.

HP is known for its relaxed, open culture. All

employees, including the CEO, work in open cubicles.

Many employees are technically-oriented engineers

who enjoy learning and sharing their knowledge. The

company is perceived as being somewhat benevolent

to its employees, and fast growth has obviated the

need for major layoffs. All employees participate in

a profit-sharing program.

The company is also known for its decentralized organizational

structure and mode of operations. Business

units that perform well have a very high degree of

autonomy. There is little organized sharing of information,

resources, or employees across units. HP

managers feel that the strong business-specific focus

brought by decentralization is a key factor in the

firm’s recent success. Although culturally open to

sharing, few business units are willing to invest time

or money in “leveraged” efforts that do not have an

obvious and immediate payback for the unit. It is common, however, for employees to move from

one business unit to another; this mobility makes

possible some degree of informal knowledge transfer

within HP.

In mid-1995 it became apparent that several

knowledge management initiatives were underway in

various HP business units. Some had been in place for

several years; others were just beginning. Noticing

this phenomenon, Bob Walker, HP’s CIO and Vice

President, and Chuck Sieloff, Manager of Information

Systems Services and Technology (ISST), decided to

attempt to facilitate knowledge management at HP

by holding a series of workshops on the topic. Their

idea was to bring together a diverse group of people

within the company who were already doing knowledge

management in some form, or who were interested

in getting started. The corporate ISST group had

previously sponsored similar workshop initiatives in

the areas of reengineering and organizational change

management. Key objectives for the workshops

included the facilitation of knowledge sharing

through informal networking, and the establishment

of common language and management frameworks

for knowledge management. Walker and Sieloff

appointed Joe Schneider, an ISST staff member who

also focused on Web-based systems, to organize

the workshops.

The first workshop was held in October of 1995. An

outside consultant facilitated the meeting, and presented

some proposed definitions and frameworks.

About 20 people attended the first session; 13 were

from corporate units, and the rest from various

business units. Joe Schneider asked participants at

the meeting if they were aware of other knowledge

management initiatives. From this discussion

Schneider compiled a list of more than 20 HP sites

where some form of proactive knowledge management

was underway. Several of the initiatives are

described below.

Trainer’s Trading Post

One knowledge management initiative involves

HP educators. Bruce Karney is a member of the

infrastructure team for the Corporate Education organization,

part of HP’s Personnel function. Karney estimates

that there are more than 2,000 educators or

trainers distributed around HP, most of whom work

within small groups and find it difficult to share

knowledge. About two years ago, in response to complaints

by the education community that “we don’t

know what’s going on,” Karney began work on

approaches to knowledge sharing for HP educators.

He hoped to make the group more of a community;

until this effort, it had no shared history, process, or

tool set.

Using Lotus Notes as the technology vehicle, Karney

established three different “knowledge bases” for

educators to use:

T “Trainer’s Trading Post,” a discussion database on

training topics;

T “Training Library,” a collection of training

documents (e.g., course binders);

T “Training Review,” a “Consumer Reports”

collection of evaluations of training resources.

Training Review never took off; educators were

reluctant to opine online about the worth of course

materials or external providers, and there was no

reward structure for participating. It was therefore

merged with Trainer’s Trading Post. Training Library

did receive many contributions, but as participants

discovered that they could attach materials to submissions

to Trainer’s Trading Post, that knowledge

base became the dominant medium for educator use,

and Karney expects that it will be the sole offering in

the future.

Karney adopted innovative tactics to get submissions

to the knowledge bases. He gave out free Notes

licenses to prospective users. When a new knowledge

base was established, he gave out 3,000 free

airline miles for the first 50 readers and another 500

miles for anyone who posted a submission. Later

promotions involved miles for contributions, for

questions, and for responses to questions. By early

1996, more than two-thirds of the identified educator community had read at least one posting, and more

than a third had submitted a posting or comment

themselves. Still, Karney was frustrated. Despite his

countless attempts with free miles and e-mail and

voice mail exhortations, he still felt the need to

continually scare up fresh contributions. “The participation

numbers are still creeping up,” he notes, “but

this would have failed without an evangelist. Even at

this advanced stage, if I got run over by a beer truck,

this database would be in trouble.”

Building a Network of Experts

Another knowledge project was initiated by the

library function within HP Laboratories, the

company’s research arm. The goal of this project is

to provide a guide to human knowledge resources

within the Labs and, eventually, to other parts of

Hewlett-Packard. If successful, the guide will help to

address a problem identified by a previous director

of the Labs: “If only HP knew what HP knows.”

The directory of HP experts, called Connex, is being

developed by Tony Carrozza, an “Information

Technical Engineer.” He has been working part-time

on the project for almost a year; the system is

scheduled to go into its pilot phase soon. It uses a

Web browser as an interface to a relational database.

The primary content of the database is a set of expert

“profiles,” or guides to the backgrounds and expertise

of individuals who are knowledgeable on particular

topics. By browsing or searching Connex, it will be

easy to find, for example, someone in HP who speaks

German, knows ISDN technology, and has a master’s or PhD in a technical field. Upon finding someone,

the searcher can quickly link to the individual’s home

page if it exists.

One concern Carrozza has is how to create a manageable

list of knowledge categories in the database that

will be widely understood and will accurately reflect

the Labs’ broad universe of knowledge. Carrozza

plans to rely on the experts themselves to furnish

their original knowledge profiles and to maintain

them over time. He expects that this will be a

challenge, and speculated that experts might be given

incentives—for example, Carrozza suggested, “a Dove

Bar for each profile”—to submit and maintain profiles.

As a back-up, a “nag” feature is built into the system

to remind people to update their profiles. Carrozza

also anticipates that there may be problems with the

term “expert”; he is trying to identify less politically

laden terms.

Connex will be implemented initially for the Labs,

but Carrozza hopes that the expert network will eventually

expand throughout all of HP. He knows that

other parts of the company will be developing their

own databases, but he hopes that they will use the

Connex structure. He is already working with the

Corporate Education group described above to create

a network of educators using Connex. He adds, “I

know other people are building expert databases.

I just don’t know who they are.”

Knowledge Management on Product Processes

HP’s Product Processes Organization (PPO) is a corporate

group with the mission of advancing product

development and introduction. It includes such

diverse functions as Corporate Quality, Procurement,

Product Marketing, Safety and Environmental, and

Organizational Change. The Product Generation

Information Systems (PGIS) group serves each of

these functions. Bill Kay, the PPO director, put PGIS

at the center of the PPO organization chart because

he felt that information management needed to

become a core competence of PPO.

As part of that competence, Kay asked Garry Gray,

the manager of PGIS, and Judy Lewis, another PGIS

manager, to begin a knowledge management

initiative. As a “proof of concept” the PPO knowledge

management group developed Knowledge Links, a

Web-based collection of product development knowledge

from the various PPO functions. Consistent with

the philosophy of the knowledge management group,

Knowledge Links contained knowledge contributed

by “knowledge reporters and editors,” who obtained

it through interviews with experts. The system

prototype has been used many times to demonstrate

the concept of knowledge management with PPO

“customers,” but the goal of summarizing knowledge

across PPO proved overly ambitious, and the system

was never built.

The PPO knowledge management group is currently

working on three projects. One involves competitor

information for HP’s Components group. The goal

of the second project is to create a Web-based

interface to primary and secondary research

information. The third system manages international

marketing intelligence. Each of these projects is

being developed in a collaboration between PGIS

and other PPO groups, e.g., Product Marketing and

Change Management. The goal is not for PGIS to manage

knowledge by itself, but rather to facilitate the

process of structuring and disseminating knowledge

through the use of information technology.

Managing Knowledge for the Computer

Dealer Channel

Perhaps one of the earliest initiatives to explicitly

manage knowledge at HP was an effort to capture and

leverage HP product knowledge for the Computer

Products Organization (CPO) dealer channel. It began

in 1985. Technical support for the dealer channel had

previously involved answering phone calls; the business

unit was growing at 40% annually, and calls from

dealers were growing at the same rate. Eventually,

answering all the phone calls would require all the

people in Northern California. HP workers began to

put frequently-asked questions on a dial-up database,

and the number of dealer support calls began to

decline. According to David Akers, who managed the

project, the development group views each support

call as an error.

The system came to be called HP Network News.

It was converted to Lotus Notes and has been

remarkably successful in reducing the number of

calls. One key reason for the system’s effectiveness is

the developers’ close attention to the actual problems

faced by dealers—not their own ideas about what

knowledge is important. Another important factor is

the constant effort by developers to add value to the

knowledge. For example, lists are constantly made of

the most frequently asked questions, frequently

encountered problems, and most popular products.

These lists are publicized and dealers are encouraged

to download the information from the Notes database.

Less valuable information is pruned away. HP

Network News is still going after 10 years, and it has

been a significant factor in the high support ratings

HP receives from its dealers.

Summary

Chuck Sieloff and Joe Schneider are committed to

advancing the state of knowledge management, but in

a decentralized company like Hewlett-Packard, it is

not clear what steps should be taken. They discuss

whether there are actions they could take beyond

facilitating the Knowledge Management Workshop.

They feel that knowledge is already exchanged well

within work groups and even business units, but

there is little support in the culture for sharing across

units. However, for ISST to try to change the culture

just for the purpose of knowledge management seems

like the tail wagging the dog.

Schneider and Sieloff also wonder just how different

managing “knowledge” is from managing information.

Many of the HP initiatives are arguably a mixture of

knowledge and information, and drawing the line

between the two is difficult. Sieloff feels that the

same fact could be either data, information, or

knowledge for different people. Of course, the

various information systems groups at HP have a

great deal of experience at managing data and information.

How relevant is the experience gained in

these areas to problems of knowledge management?

Schneider believes that facilitating knowledge

management at HP can be viewed as a knowledge

management problem. The company has both

internal expertise and external sources of knowledge

on knowledge management. At the corporate level,

Schneider is using the workshops as one mechanism

to understand who needs this knowledge and how

best to transfer it. He also wants to get the workshop

participants involved in an ongoing knowledge

management network that shares best practices and

transfers emerging knowledge.

However, neither Chuck Sieloff nor Joe Schneider has

knowledge management as the only component (or in

Sieloff’s case, even a major component) of his job.

They know that other firms are establishing permanent,

full-time positions overseeing knowledge management

issues at the corporate level—a “Chief

Knowledge Officer,” for example. When Sieloff and

Schneider discuss the concept with regard to HP, they

question whether a corporate knowledge executive

would make sense in such a decentralized company.

The current HP approach, which emphasizes awareness-

building and the development of common

vocabulary and frameworks through workshops,

is a subtle one. The two managers feel it is

appropriate for HP’s culture, but they are always

looking for other techniques and methods that

might be introduced.

Sharing the Wealth

How Siemens is using knowledge management to pool the expertise of all its workers

In July, 1999, about 60 managers in Siemens’ telecommunications division (SMAWY ) were deposited on the shores of Lake Starnberger, 12 miles south of Munich, and told to build rafts. All they had to work with were steel drums, logs, pontoons, and some rope. Another catch: No talking. The managers, who gathered from offices around the world, could only scribble messages and diagrams on a flip chart. For the better part of a day, it was knowledge-sharing at its most basic. Yet the group managed to put together a small fleet of rafts, which they paddled about triumphantly on the placid waters of the lake. Okay, Survivor it ain’t. But the exercise has its own can-do lessons for companies trying to find a competitive edge in a slowing economy. The raft confab showed managers just how vital sharing information can be. It was organized by Joachim Döring, a Siemens vice-president in charge of creating a high-tech solution to the age-old problem of getting employees to stop hoarding their knowhow. His grand plan: Use the Internet to spread the knowledge of 461,000 co-workers around the globe so that people could build off one another’s expertise. “People who give up knowhow get knowhow back,” says Döring, a hyperactive 31-year-old who likes to spend his free time skydiving. At the heart of his vision is a Web site called ShareNet. The site combines elements of a chat room, a database, and a search engine. An online entry form lets employees store information they think might be useful to colleagues–anything from a description of a successful project to a PowerPoint presentation. Other Siemens workers can search or browse by topic, then contact the authors via e-mail for more information. So far, the payoff has been a dandy: Since its inception in April, 1999, ShareNet has been put to the test by nearly 12,000 salespeople in Siemens’ $10.5 billion Information & Communications Networks Group, which provides telecom equipment and services. The tool, which cost only $7.8 million, has added $122 million in sales. For example, it was crucial to landing a $3 million contract to build a pilot broadband network for Telekom Malaysia. The local salespeople did not have enough expertise to put together a proposal, but through ShareNet they discovered a team in Denmark that had done a nearly identical project. Using the Denmark group’s expertise, the Malaysia team won the job. Better yet, the system lets staffers post an alert when they need help fast. In Switzerland, Siemens won a $460,000 contract to build a telecommunications network for two hospitals even though its bid was 30% higher than a competitor’s. The clincher: Via ShareNet, colleagues in the Netherlands provided technical data to help the sales rep prove that Siemens’ system would be substantially more reliable. ShareNet is a case study in knowledge-management systems, which are gaining a foothold in corporations around the world. Advocates preach that the collective expertise of workers is a company’s most precious resource, so executives need to tear down the walls between departments and individuals. By using the Net, companies can quickly and easily unlock the profit potential of the knowledge tucked away in the brains of their best employees. While only 6% of global corporations now have company-wide, knowledge-management programs, that will surge to 60% in five years, according to a 2000 survey by the Conference Board. Among the early birds: Chevron (CHV ), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ ), Royal Dutch/Shell (RD ), Ford Motor (F ), and Whirlpool (WHR ).

Siemens’ project has become something of a poster child. For the past two years, it has been voted “best practice” by members of the American Productivity & Quality Center, a Houston-based industry group with more than 400 member organizations. “They’ve accomplished a whole lot more as compared to any other organization,” says Farida Hasanali, a project leader for the center. Companies, including Intel (INTC ), Philips, and Volkswagen (VLKAY ) studied ShareNet before setting up their own knowledge systems. Siemens has had little choice but to lead the parade. The $73 billion conglomerate, which makes everything from X-ray machines to high-speed trains, is under intense pressure because of uncertainty about the global economy and shrinking profit margins. Some analysts believe it may have to sell off chunks of its empire, perhaps divesting slower-growing industrial units such as power plants and focusing on tech businesses like telecom and medical technology. Boot Camp. That’s a path Chief Executive Heinrich von Pierer rejects. He is trying to prove big can work–and might even be an advantage in the Information Age. The CEO wants to take the ShareNet approach beyond the telecom unit to every nook and cranny of the Siemens empire. Next up: people who service telecom equipment and scientists in research and development. Siemens already has staged a ShareNet boot camp for telecom service people and started rolling out the system. So far, a few hundred of the staff of 10,000 are online. “The only rationale for these businesses staying together is if they share their knowledge,” says Thomas Davenport, director of the Institute for Strategic Change at Accenture, formerly Andersen Consulting. Davenport has worked as a consultant to Siemens and is co-author of an in-house textbook on the company’s knowledge-management programs. Siemens may even set up specially tailored ShareNets to give customers direct access to its knowledge storehouse. Döring and his team plan to start small in a few months with an experimental ShareNet involving a few select customers. The puzzle, which Siemens is working on, is how to protect customers’ confidential information. If the system works, customers should get quicker access to technical info, and Siemens hopes the online dialogue will lead to the development of better products. Even though the advantages are clear, getting employees to change their ways and share is the toughest obstacle to overcome. “You have to go in and change processes around. It takes a lot of time,” says Greg Dyer, a senior research analyst of knowledge management services at IDC. Siemens has tackled this problem through a three-pronged effort. It has anointed 100 internal evangelists drawn from all its country units, who are responsible for training, answering questions, and monitoring the system. Siemens’ top management has shown that it’s behind the projects. And the company is providing incentives to overcome employees’ resistance to change. Delicate balance. Siemens uses the carrot and the stick. Managers get bonuses if they use ShareNet and generate additional sales. But CEOs and CFOs of the company’s country business units can’t collect all their performance-linked bonuses unless they demonstrate that they either gave information over ShareNet or borrowed information from it to build sales. Employees get prizes such as trips to professional conferences if they contribute knowledge that proves valuable to someone else. That may not sound like much, unless you’re a salesperson in Bombay and the conference is in New York. But the real incentive is much more basic. Commission-driven salespeople have learned that drawing on the expertise of their far-flung colleagues can be crucial in winning lucrative contracts. “They realize very soon that people using ShareNet have an advantage, and that convinces them to join the club,” says Roland Koch, CEO of Siemens’ telecom unit.

Now comes the hard part. What’s the incentive for someone in R&D or marketing to use the system? They’ll contribute as long as ShareNet provides useful information in a convenient way. But that depends on a delicate balance between giving and getting, says Döring. People need to believe that if they reveal precious secrets, others will too. “As it gets bigger and bigger, there’s a danger you’ll lose that trust,” acknowledges Döring. Servicepeople will continue to log on if they learn new tricks of the trade. R&D people will join if the system helps them develop new products faster. One challenge is spreading the ShareNet idea around the company without creating an unwieldy monster. Siemens is loath to restrict access or exert too much control over how employees use it. But some restrictions are necessary to keep ShareNets from getting so overloaded with information they become useless. Siemens employs teams of people that keep an eye on ShareNet content and weed out the trivial or irrelevant. It’s not enough to create groovy software. The system has to serve up the best ideas in digestible bites that help people do their jobs better.

The Client

As the leading supplier of high-performance internetworking

products, Cisco provides the infrastructure for the Internet. With

over 40,000 employees and record growth, the need for quick and

easy access to information is vital to Cisco’s ongoing success

To manage costs and practice what they preach, Cisco runs a

significant amount of internal operations on their corporate intranet.

While this technology is very useful in many areas, its role in customer

support is critical.

The Challenge

Exemplary customer service ranks high in the minds of Cisco

employees—starting at the top. John Chambers, CEO, spends up to

40% of his time listening to customers and personally reviewing all

critical accounts every night.

Cisco created the Service & Support Manager (SSM) role to provide a

single point-of-contact for large clients. This one-to-one relationship

gives customers a resource that understands and even anticipates

their needs—a role that benefits both Cisco and the customer.

With the goal of hiring 250 Service & Support Managers in a period of

18 months, Cisco needed to minimize their time-to-proficiency by

providing new SSMs immediate access to critical information as well as

orientation and reference information. Cisco also needed to leverage

the expertise of their more experienced SSMs by capturing and

sharing their knowledge. Finally, vital to their success was fast and

easy access to all of this information.

The Business Objectives

Minimize time-to-proficiency. Orient new SSMs within 90 days of

hire date by providing just enough of the right information about Cisco,

the Customer Advocacy organization, and the SSM role in order for

SSMs to become productive as soon as possible.

Maximize performance and sharing of knowledge assets.

Provide information specific to the SSM role, such as how other SSMs

handled certain customer situations, goal setting, and advice on when

and how to engage other departments within Cisco.

Foster ongoing learning and communication. Provide a

communication vehicle within Cisco’s geographically diverse work

environment for sharing information and experiences with other team

members.

Why VisionCor

For Cisco, an Internet-centered company, a web-based resource was essential. Todd Griffin, SSA Senior Manager,

wanted a partner with experience researching, analyzing, and organizing complex environments.

“There are plenty of Internet consulting firms out there today, but we needed a partner with real knowledge

management expertise and a proven methodology,” says Griffin. “VisionCor understands how to determine what

information to gather or build and how to organize the information so it is truly useful. They did it more quickly

than we thought possible. Rapid solution development is vital to a company like Cisco—we need resources that can

help us continue to grow at a rapid pace. This solution does just that, and we could not have done it without

VisionCor.”

The Integrated Knowledge ArchitectureTM

The Integrated Knowledge ArchitectureTM (IKA) is VisionCor’s

innovative approach to creating highly accessible and usable

information resources to support business operations. The IKA is a

proven, object-oriented approach to organizing content based on how

the content is used. The IKA provides a guide for organizing

information, learning, and knowledge into smaller pieces called

knowledge objects and building meaningful relationships between these

objects. As a result, the end user can more quickly and easily locate the

critical information needed to improve productivity and performance.

The IKA is technology-neutral and can be used to leverage the

capabilities of any portal or web-based KM application.

The Solution

VisionCor assigned a team of consultants that included expert content developers, information architects, and a

project manager. The team used VisionCor’s project management methodology to develop a project plan. Status

reports, project schedules, and conference calls kept the VisionCor team in Charlotte in synch with the Cisco

teams in San Jose, Chicago, New York, and Research Triangle Park.

After a complete project and role analysis, the project was divided into three distinct phases:

Quick Hits. With new hires already in place and looking for direction, there was an immediate need for a 90-day

new hire roadmap. Through interviews with existing SSMs and managers, the VisionCor team gathered, analyzed

and organized the events and tasks required for a new SSM. Within 30 days, the most important new hire information

was made available.

Initial Development. Because the SSM role was a new and highly strategic one within Cisco, the VisionCor team

conducted numerous interviews to assist in building consensus within the company on some of the aspects of the

SSM role.

As a result of this consensus, VisionCor built an overall site map and detailed content plan. The site look and feel

was designed based on content, audience analysis, and the existing intranet. Information was then converted into

web format.

With site navigation, graphics, and an initial content in place, VisionCor conducted usability tests to ensure intuitive

site structure and meaningful content. Experienced SSMs tested specific scenarios to ensure maximized usability.

Core Development. With the initial content in place and tested, development and coding of the site content

began. To confirm the team was still on target, the SSM role was reanalyzed and content categorization was

checked based on lessons learned to date. The remaining content was gathered, developed, and coded, with additional

interviews conducted as necessary.

The site was again retested. In addition to providing feedback, the usability tests also assisted in user acceptance of

the site. User acceptance is vital to the success of any knowledge management initiative.

The Results

The Service & Support Advocacy intranet site was very well received within the SSM organization. “This web site is

such a great resource,” says Mike Pusich, SSM for Boeing. “Everything I need is in one place. I can find what I need

when I need it without having to wait on an e-mail reply, walk around looking for someone, or search through gigs

of information on the intranet. Plus, after working through difficult situations, I can post my lessons learned on the

site so my colleagues can learn from my experiences.”

“I’m a new SSM, and this web site is a gold mine of information,”

says Rob Dacey, SSM for GM. “It guided me through

my first 90 days, helped me build a support team, and introduced

me to other SSMs. Now I’m using it to define my objectives.

Basically, this site just makes my job easier and gives me

more time to focus on servicing my customer.”

Today, Cisco is working with VisionCor to leverage the

knowledge and benefits gained from the SSM project into

other areas of their organization. Record-breaking growth and

razor-sharp focus on customer satisfaction could be chaotic,

but the focus of VisionCor’s knowledge management

expertise coupled with Cisco’s commitment to customer satisfaction

turned Cisco’s information overload into knowledgeon-

demand.

About VisionCor

VisionCor is a 12 year-old, consulting firm based in Charlotte, North Carolina dedicated to helping companies

provide their employees with the information, education, and knowledge that they need to work smarter, faster.

VisionCor focuses on creative highly accessible and usable information, education, and knowledge management

resources including learning and knowledge portals, training, and performance support applications. VisionCor has

worked with many leading organizations such as Bank of America, Cisco Systems, and Wachovia Corporation.

VisionCor experts are frequently invited to speak at national knowledge management and e-learning conferences.

For more information, visit their website at www.visioncor.com.

Pembahasan:

Normative Structural: Mengumpulkan, membangun dan memgatur informasi sehingga benar-benar bermanfaat.

Normative Activity: membuat inovasi dalam pendekatan membuat sumber daya informasi yang mudah diakses sehingga mendukung operasi bisnis

Normative Behavioral: Membuktikan konten dengan cara pendekatan berorientasi pada objek untuk mengatur konten yang digunakan. Memberikan panduan untuk mengorganisir informasi, belajar, dan mengumpulkan pengetahuan.

Strategic Structural: Melakukan kunjungan cepat dengan merekrut karyawan yang sudah berada di tempat dan sesuai dengan arah. Dan siap dalam melakukan proyek selama 90 hari

Strategic Activity: Melakukan wawancara dengan menggunakan sistem ervice dan Support Management.

Strategic Behavioral: Menyusun kegiatan dan tugas-tugas yang diperlukan didalam SService and Support Management System.

Operational Structural: Mengembangkan pengetahuan, membangun infomarsi, dalam sebuah pelaksanaan proyek

Operational Activity: Menganalisi dan merancang informasi berdasar intrnet yang kemudian di konversi ke dalam bentuk web.

Operational Behavioral: Menguji konten di tempat, pengembangan coding dari situs konten yang kemudian diperikas dan diupdate berdasarkan pengetahuan baru.

Murni Shariff is a KM Manager attached to Group Technology Solution of PETRONAS, the National Oil Company of Malaysia. She has been working with PETRONAS for more than 18 years in the area of Information Technology, Business Process management and Knowledge Management. KMTALK recently discussed with Murni on the Knowledge Management programs in PETRONAS.

• Tell us the nature of your company’s business

We are in the Oil and Gas business. PETRONAS is fully owned by the Malaysian Government and have presence in more than 30 countries across the globe. PETRONAS is ranked as the top 100 FORTUNE global company in 2008.

• When did you begin doing KM?

Started to do KM strategically for the entire organization for the past 2 years (2006). Before that PETRONAS have had pockets of KM initiatives at departments/OPUs – however the focus on the past was on content/information management. Now we have moved to more than managing content – more emphasis has put on managing connections, relationship and extracting/transferring the tacit knowledge of our staff

• What was the main objective, issue or problem you were using KM to address?

1) Ageing workforce – A good percentage of PETRONAS workforce is retiring in the next 5 to 10 years. We need to increase productivity and accelerate growth of our young engineers to bring the organization to greater heights

2) Attrition – our skilled staff are increasingly being ‘poached’ by competitors. We need to retain and grow skill to remain competitive. We need to ensure that relevant knowledge remains in the organization by having the right KM programs in place

3) Our operations are becoming increasingly international. KM will help assimilate plants to operate using the ‘PETRONAS way’ and transmit relevant knowledge assets across borders

• What is the main focus of KM in your organization? ( i.e. technology, process, people management/culture)

When we first started 2 years back, we put quite an emphasis on technology as we did not have a single unified KM platform for the group (we have disparate databases which makes sharing cumbersome ) . However, like other organizations, we have learned our lessons that technology is easy while changing people’s behavior is hard. Now a big chunk of our efforts are focused on strengthening Communities of Practice (connecting people to people) and changing the behaviors of the staff (culture) via intensive change management programs. We also put substantial efforts into enabling KM habits into work processes and daily activities

• In brief, what do you do in KM?

In brief, the activities can be classified into the followings :-

1. Technology – KM system development/support/maintenance, system training & communications, content management and delivery

2. KM Change Management – Communities of Practice, KM Awareness/education, KM Roadshows, Change Agent Programs, Rewards & Recognition, Top Mgmt Engagement, KM Collaterals, Newsletters, Technical Sharing Sessions, Expert Interview

3. Enablement activity – KM Strategy development, KM measurement, KM processes

• What technologies (if any) do you use for KM?

We developed our own KM platform using MS sharepoint. It has quite modest features including discussion forums, document library, yellow pages, CoP Portal, Search Engine that helps facilitate groupwide knowledge sharing and collaboration

• What KM concepts and techniques did you initiate to assist staff in managing knowledge wisely?

I suppose the Ask, Learn and Share (technique used by Shell) is pretty generic and applicable to everyone including PETRONAS. We encourage our people to practice the very same in all their doings – especially in project. Lessons Learned / Retrospect are pretty common too in PETRONAS culture.

• How do you monitor progress?

At the moment, we have established some metrics to measure our KM system utilization and knowledge content. We also monitor our CoP activities/effectiveness via some metric that was internally developed.

• What challenges or barriers have you faced in implementing KM? How have you overcome them?

Generation factor – varying degree of acceptance from staff from different generations. We tried to use different approach for different age group – elder generation (baby boomers) are more comfortable with personalization approach while the younger generation ‘Y’ are at ease with technology. For Gen ‘X’ staff we use mix approaches.

We also found that average life span for KM staff is quite short i.e about 2 years (teleportation syndrome –term used by Patrick Lambe). We haven’t found a solution for this as yet, but we are trying our best to soften the impact of people leaving KM jobs by having regular sharing session amongst KM practitioners and transferring the KM skill to as many people as we can in the organization.

• Any lessons learnt for other companies who are willing to implement KM?

1. Consider having a central budget for KM initiatives – easier to implement programs. But to get a central budget, you need to get higher management buy-in.

2. Correct the perception that KM is about managing information/content – it’s much much more than that…

3. One size doesn’t fit all – different approach work for different people/organization. Just don’t copy a KM model from another organization and try to fit in your culture.

Pembahasan:

– Normative Structural: pensiun dalam waktu 5 hingga 10 tahun.Agar meningkatkan produktivitas dan mempercepat pertumbuhan organisasi dengan lebih tinggi dengan menggunakan lulusan “Fresh Graduate”

–  Normative Activity:Menjaga keterampilan para karyawan dengan cara mengelola pengetahuan kompetitor sehingga dapat bekerja dengan kemampuan yang kompetitif.

– Normative Operational: operasional  yang semakin internasional sehingga dibutuhkan KM yang dapat membantu operasioanal perusahaan dengan cara menyebarkan pengetahuan yang relevan di seluruh aset perbatasan.

– Strategic Structural: Mengelola konten menempatkan penekanan lebih pada pengaturan  komunikasi pengetahuan antara staff.

– Strategic Activity: Mengembangkan/menyupport dan memelihara sistem, melakukan pelatihan dan komunikasi, mengelola konten dan penyampaian informasi.

– Strategic Behavioral: Mengubah perilaku ( budaya) staff secara intensif melalui perubahan manajemen dan mengusahakan KM menjadi kebiasaan dalam proses bekerja sehari-hari.

– Operational Structural: Mengukur pemanfaatan informasi secara efektif melaluli metrik yang dibuat secara rutin berdasarkan hasil kinerja.

– Operational Activity: Membuat beberapa ukuran untuk mengukur pemanfaatan pada sebuah sistem dan pengetahuan dari Km. Memantau efektifitas kegiatan.

-Operational Behavioral: Mengelompokan staff dari berbagai generasi. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan yang lebih nyaman dengan pendekatan personalisasi. Dan pada generasi muda dengan cara pendekatan dan pengenalan terhadap teknologi.

Posisi Kacey Fine Furniture dalam lingkungan ekonomi global adalah dengan menjadi produsen furniture terbesar ke-4 di Denver setelah American Furniture Warehouse, Weberg Furniture, dan Homestead House.

Posisi Kacey Fine Furniture dalam peta persaingan perusahaan furniture di Denver adalah dengan menyasar konsumen kelas menengah dan menengah-ke atas dan berfokus utama pada kualitas model produk dan jasa yang ditawarkan . Posisi tersebut mirip dengan posisi pasar dari Homestead House.Sementara 2 pesaing besar lainnya, American Furniture Warehouse dan Weberg Furniture cenderung untuk menawarkan varian produk dengan harga lebih terjangkau dan produk dengan kualitas lebih rendah, yang tentunya ditawarkan kepada konsumen dengan daya jangkau lebih rendah.

Dibandingkan pesaing-pesaingnya yang sama-sama memiliki lokasi toko yang tersebar di berbagai wilayah, Kacey Fine Furniture mempunyai keunggulan tersendiri dengan memiliki toko utama yang terletak di pusat kota.

 

Important knowledge in Company

Salah satu faktor yang menjadikan Kacey Fine Furniture dapat bertahan sejak didirikan pada tahun 1960-an dan bahkan terus berkembang sampai menjadi perusahaan furniture nomor 4 di Denver, adalah karena mereka memperhatikan dengan seksama aspek knowledge atau pengetahuan yang terdapat di dalam dan luar perusahaan.

Informasi dan pengetahuan tersebut antara lain:

• Dari dalam perusahaan:

# Informasi pertumbuhan penjualan periodik

#Data-data mengenai ketersediaan produk

# Informasi mengenai muatan barang yang akan dikirimkan

 

• Dari luar perusahaan:

# Informasi pembelian dan trend penjualan produk berdasarkan jenis,corak, warna, serta kisaran harga dari produk-produk yang telah berhasil terjual

# Semua informasi pemesanan, termasuk persediaan barang, pembelian dan profil pembeli

 

Semua informasi diatas dianalisa dan diteliti secara. Selanjutnya informasi yang telah diteliti tersebut akan disimpan dan dimanfaatkan sewaktu-waktu di masa depan apabila menghadapi pembeli yang sama atau metode pembelian yang sama. Tidak terlupakan juga, semua faktor informasi tersebut akan menjadi tidak berguna apabila tidak ditunjang oleh sales yang kompeten dan mampu menjunjung tinggi kepuasan pelanggan. Oleh sebab itu, Sam Fishbein, salah satu pimpinan Kacey Fine, menyatakan demikian, “Setiap orang mencari produk yang tepat, tetapi ketika pelayanan tidak terdapat di dalamnya, harga menjadi tidak relevan.” Pendapat tersebut dapat diartikan bahwa faktor pelayanan turut pula memegang peranan penting yang menentukan konsumen untuk membeli produk selain faktor harga.

Secara umum, dapat disimpulkan bahwa masalah dan kesulitan yang dihadapi oleh Kacey Fine Furniture (KFF), dapat dibagi ke dalam beberapa masa dan periode waktu.

 

Periode 1950-1960an:

Pendiri KFF, Jack Barton, merumuskan visi jangka panjang dari KFF dengan merubah namanya yang sebelumnya Kacey Linoleum King, menjadi Kacey Fine Furniture dengan tujuan untuk menciptakan suatu konsep produk furnitur yang berkualitas. Permasalahan utama pada masa itu adalah, bahwa perusahaan tersebut belum berkembang begitu pesat, dengan hanya mempekerjakan 2 orang sales dan seorang sopir sebagai karyawan, serta menggunakan mobil pribadi Jack untuk mengantarkan pesanan barang yang kadangkala berjumlah 5-6 pesanan per hari.

 

Tahun 1976:

Pergantian kepemimpinan dari generasi Jack Barton kepada anaknya, Leslie dan suaminya Sam Fishbein.

 

Periode 1980:

Periode 1980-an adalah masa-masa ekspansi bagi KFF.

1981: Leslie dan Sam membuka toko seluas 600 m² di Frisco

1982: Pada December 1982, KFF berpindah lokasi karena gedung yang akan mereka tempati akan dijual dan pemiliknya yang lama telah meninggal. Mereka lalu menemukan lokasi baru yang terletak hanya beberapa blok dari lokasi yang lama dengan sebuah gedung pada lokasi itu seluas 6000 m². Namun permasalahan yang terjadi berikutnya adalah, dengan kepindahan ke gedung baru, dibutuhkan masa transisi, dan selama masa transisi ini, jadwal-jadwal penting harus tertunda dan sirkulasi komisi untuk sales pun terggangu. Beberapa karyawan yang karyawan yang khawatir dengan ini keluar dari perusahaan.

1983: Membuka toko seluas 2700 m² di sebelah barat laut kawasan pinggiran Lakewood.

1984: Meminjam area seluas 1,1 hektar bekas dari pabrik karet Gates untuk digunakan sebagai gudang.

1980an: Masalah kembali muncul sebagai akibat dari perlambatan ekonomi dunia yang turut menyebabkan permintaan konsumen akan furnitur menurun.

1990: Leslie dan Sam menjual rumah mereka dan bekerja tanpa digaji untuk menghindari status “perumahan” bagi karyawan mereka.

1987-1989: Aset perusahaan pada 1987 bernilai sekitar US$ 14 juta, dua tahun sesudahnya turun menjadi US$ 12 juta. Hal ini diduga diakibatkan karena para karyawan di dalam perusahaan tidak mau mengambil inisiatif dan tanggung jawab lebih. Semua masalah ditimpakan kepada manager atau Leslie dan Sam sehingga pada akhirnya membuat karyawan menjadi tidak produktif dan perusahaan mengalami stagnasi.

 

Periode 1990:

Pada tahun 1992, Leslie mengikuti seminar yang diadakan Jack Stack dan menerapkan suatu metode yang dicetuskan oleh Stack,The Great Game of Business , ke dalam perusahaan mereka. Pada intinya, metode ini berpusat pada suatu konsep sistem management terbuka dimana setiap orang di dalam perusahaan menjalankan misi yang sama terhadap rencana perusahaan.Dengan berlandaskan metode ini, perusahaan mengajarkan seluruh karyawannya laporan arus kas, laporan keuangan, dan neraca lajur yang sesuai dengan level pendidikan dan pengertian mereka. Karyawan diikutsertakan ke dalam pengambilan keputusan di berbagai level di dalam perusahaan.

Dengan konsep ini, perusahaan menciptakan suatu pengertian kepada karyawan bahwa, “inilah perusahaan di mana anda bekerja. Dengan inilah anda akan mempengaruhi orang-orang di sekeliling anda, dengan inilah anda akan membuat keputusan dan tanggung jawab tetapi, untuk membuat keputusan tersebut, tentunya anda harus lebih dulu memiliki sumber informasi yang cukup untuk mendukung terjadinya pengambilan keputusan.”

1995-1996:

Pada April 1995, Entertainment Development Group (EDG) dan United artist Theatre Circuit merencanakan pembangunan teater dan kompleks hiburan di area seluas 7400 m² di sebelah tenggara areal Lower Downtown (LoDo). Satu bulan berikutnya Ascent Entertainment Group membeli tim NHL, Quebec Nordiques dan merubah namanya menjadi Colorado Avalanche. Tim ini kemudian meraih sukses dengan melaju ke babak play-off pada liga baseball musim 1996, menjadikan stadion kandang mereka selalu penuh didatangi suporter sepanjang bulan april-mei.

Kedua hal di atas, rencana pembangunan teater dan kesuksesan tim NHL, Colorado Avalanche melaju ke babak play-off, tampaknya tidak berhubungan dengan kondisi Kacey Fine Furniture. Namun, yang terjadi adalah sebaliknya. Kedua hal tersebut sangat berkaitan erat dengan masa-masa suram yang dialami oleh KFF pada periode pertengahan 1990-an. Dengan adanya rencana pembangunan gedung teater dan kompleks tempat hiburan, disertai dengan penuhnya kapasitas stadion Coors Field (kandang dari tim Colorado Avalanche) yang terletak satu mil di sebelah utara toko KFF, hal ini ternyata menimbulkan masalah serius bagi KFF. Area Lower Downtown (LoDo) atau pusat kota yang tadinya merupakan kawasan komersial berbiaya sewa rendah, secara serta-merta berubah menjadi kawasan bisnis elit dengan biaya sewa tinggi, yang diikuti dengan meningkatnya berbagai macam aktivitas pembangunan di sekitar area itu, tidak terkecuali pembangunan perumahan. Dengan dibangunnya banyak perumahan di area tersebut, seharusnya merupakan keuntungan bagi KFF karena dapat lebih mudah memasarkan produknya dan jumlah konsumen yang potensial pun jadi lebih banyak. Tapi yang terjadi justru adalah sebaliknya,jumlah konsumen yang datang ke KFF mengalami penurunan semenjak didirikannya Coors Field pada 1995 . Semua orang yang datang ke pusat kota bermaksud untuk menonton pertandingan baseball atau hockey di Coors Field. Dengan kapasitas Coors Field yang berjumlah 50200 orang, setiap minggunya ada ribuan orang dan mobil yang datang dan keluar memasuki pusat kota untuk menonton pertandingan baseball atau hockey . Dengan kondisi seperti ini, jalanan mengalami kemacetan dan ketiadaan lokasi parkir. Kemacetan dan ketiadaan tempat parkir yang memadai inilah, yang membuat orang-orang menjadi malas berbelanja di pusat-pusat pertokoan di pusat kota, termasuk di toko KFF.

Seakan belum cukup, Dewan kota merencanakan pembangunan stadion basket yang baru dan menandatangani kontrak kerjasama dengan PepsiCo. Pembangunan stadion sendiri diperkirakan akan menelan biaya senilai US$ 132 juta. Pembangunan rencananya akan dimulai pada tahun 1996 dan akan memakan waktu 2 tahun.

Dengan pembangunan stadion baru ini, diperkirakan akan semakin mempersulit dan mematikan toko-toko dan bisnis yang ada di pusat kota seperti Kacey Fine Furniture dikarenakan kepadatan lalu lintas dan kesulitan tempat parkir.

Kacey Fine Furniture

Pendiri : Jack Barton. Berdiri sejak tahun 1965 di negara bagian Colorado.

Company Profile Kacey Fine Furniture

Kacey Fine Furniture menawarkan pilihan furniture dan perabot rumah terbaik di negara bagian Colorado sejak 1965. Anda ingin renovasi seluruh isi rumah, dekorasi kamar atau hanya mencari sebuah kamar makan, kamar tidur, ruang sofa, kursi, recliner, atau hanya membetulkan sofa, sekat ruangan, karya seni yang mahal, dekorasi dinding home teather, pusat hiburan, kasur, meja ruang tamu, lampu, frame karya seni, perabot rumah kantor, atau aksesoris unik, kami menawarkan pilihan furniture yang berkualitas dan unggul, desain interior, perencanaan dekorasi lantai dan membantu anda menemukan perabot di mana saja. Kami menawarkan harga kompetitif, harga rendah dan termurah dari semua yang anda beli dari kami. Kami beroperasi lima toko furnitur yang cantik terletak di Colorado Denver Metro di seluruh daerah maupun di Summit County. Toko kami terletak di pusat kota Denver, Lakewood, Littleton, Parker dan Frisco, Colorado.

Visi dan Misi

Visi

Menjadi perusahaan furniture nomer satu di Denver. Mengikut sertakan karyawan ke dalam pengaturan administrasi perusahaan. Menghasilkan furniture berkualitas unggul. Melayani pelanggan dengan memberikan kepuasan terhadap apa yang di minta oleh pelanggan.

Misi

– Pelanggan merasa nyaman berbelanja di showroom kami

– Furnitur yang di pilih dapat memenuhi kebutuhan pelanggan

– Pelanggan dapat mendapatkan apa yang diinginkan dan tidak dipaksakan untuk memilih dari apa yang dimiliki

– Pelanggan dapat up to date tentang informasi dari kacey fine furniture

– Furnitur yang di tawarkan kepada pelanggan adalah fresh factory

– Menyelesaikan permasalahan furnitur pelanggan secara cepat

 

Salah satu contoh penerapan knowledge management adalah ITCP (Indonesian Technical Cooperation Programmes). ITCP merupakan proyek yang dikembangkan oleh Sekretariat Kabinet Indonesia. Tujuannya untuk berbagi informasi dan keahlian antara Indonesia dengan negara berkembang lainnya. Aktivitas ITCP meliputi pelatihan; studi kunjungan; pertemuan kelompok yang mencakup area pertanian, pendidikan, informasi, sumber alam, perencanaan keluarga, dan sebagainya. Saat ini peserta ITCP tersebar sampai ke 90 negara dengan jumlah mencapai lebih dari empat ribu orang.

Semula proyek ini mengalami banyak kesulitan, tidak hanya dalam proses persiapan dan registrasi, melainkan juga pada proses dokumentasi dan pelaporan. Bagaimana menentukan jenis pelatihan yang paling dibutuhkan; bagaimana mencari dan menentukan kebutuhan akan pakar yang kompeten di bidangnya; bagaimana mengklasifikasikan laporan hasil suatu proyek atau studi agar dapat dimanfaatkan oleh negara lain; merupakan kendala yang dihadapi selama ini dan tidak dapat secara cepat dan optimal ditangani oleh administrasi manual.

Sekretariat Kabinet kemudian memutuskan untuk menggunakan aplikasi berbasis web sehingga kecepatan informasi dapat jauh lebih meningkat, mengingat luasnya area cakupan peserta ITCP. Dengan hanya bermodalkan program penjelajah (browser) dan koneksi ke internet, para peserta dapat dengan mudah memantau laporan proyek serta agenda pertemuan, serta memberikan masukan mengenai kebutuhan akan pelatihan serta pakar.

Masukan ini akan menjadi salah satu faktor penentu dalam pembuatan agenda kegiatan pelatihan ataupun studi. Kemudahan lainnya adalah dalam proses pencarian informasi. Data, dokumen, dan laporan sudah diklasifikasikan dengan beberapa kriteria yang diolah sedemikian rupa, sehingga informasi yang dihasilkan akan optimal dan tepat sesuai dengan kebutuhan dari peserta.

‘One stop service’

Pendekatan yang hampir serupa juga dilakukan oleh United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). UNDP menyediakan suatu fasilitas yang disebut one stop service kepada para stafnya agar dapat mengelola proyek-proyek UNDP di Indonesia. Disebut one stop service, karena semua perangkat lunak (Word, Excell, dan lain-lain), aplikasi database, jadwal kegiatan/kalendar, pendistribusian pekerjaan dan data dapat diakses dengan mudah melalui program penjelajah (browser). UNDP menggunakan program penjelajah agar semua informasi dapat tersaji secara visual, mulai dari proses pemantauan sampai dengan pendeteksian kemajuan dan perkembangannya.

Sistem manajemen proyek berbasis web di UNDP terintegrasi dengan database dan sistem surat-menyurat, sehingga pengguna dapat dengan mudah berkolaborasi baik melalui program e-mail, faksimile maupun dokumen melalui antarmuka (interface) yang sama. Guna mengurangi kesalahan, disediakan juga template untuk setiap dokumen yang sudah baku dan draft pada tiap tahapan proyek yang bila sudah diselesaikan, secara otomatis akan masuk ke langkah selanjutnya dan menjadi semacam tugas (task) untuk pengguna selanjutnya.

Proses aliran pekerjaan ini selain membuat proyek menjadi lebih efisien dan terorganisasi, juga memungkinkan semua pihak melihat sejarah setiap proyek, sehingga memudahkan untuk proses perencanaan selanjutnya seperti sistem database. Pada umumnya akses terhadap data-data yang berhubungan dengan proyek dibatasi dengan simpul-simpul keamanan yang terintegrasi pada tingkat pemakai dan pengelola database.

Sampai saat ini UNDP belum melakukan penghitungan secara rinci mengenai manfaat intranet terhadap pilihan sistem tanpa kertas (paperless system) ini, karena penerapannya baru sebatas penyediaan dokumentasi dalam bentuk intranet, internal memo, pendelegasian pekerjaan, pengumuman, dan katalog. Tapi yang jelas, proses pengambilan keputusan jadi lebih cepat dan efesien.

Sumber : http://www.asmakmalaikat.com/go/buku/26082000_1.htm

Tulisan ini sekedar referensi untuk gambaran kecil mengenai Knowledge Management. Saya pun hanya mengutip dari sumber di atas. Semoga tulsan ini dapat membantu teman-teman terutama yang sedang menjalani mata kuliah knowledge management. Masih banyak contoh lain yang ingin saya tahu. Saya berharap agar kita bisa belajar bersama untuk saling share informasi tentang knowledge management. Teimakasih atas waktunya untuk membaca blog saya.

Ratusan juta pemakai layanan e-mail Google, Gmail sempat tidak bisa mengaksesnya selama beberapa jam. Google pun meminta maaf sembari sibuk mencari penyebabnya.

“Kami secara aktif menginvestigasi sumber isu ini dan akan membagi informasinya pada user begitu kami mendapatkannya,” kata juru bicara Google, Andrew Kovacs yang dilansir AFP dan dikutip detikINET, Rabu (25/2/2009).

Gmail diketahui sempat tidak bisa beroperasi sekitar 2,5 jam. Sampai sampai ada yang menjulukinya di forum online sebagai ‘Gfail’.

“Kami tahu kejadian ini mungkin mengganggu pekerjaan Anda. Kami meminta maaf dan kami telah melakukan segalanya untuk memulihkan akses. Kejadian ini tak biasa terjadi,” kata Acacio Cruz selaku Site Reliability Manager Gmail.

Diperkirakan, gangguan tersebut menimpa sampai 113 juta user di Eropa, Asia, Amerika Serikat dan wilayah lainnya. Sebelumnya, layanan Gmail juga sempat crash beberapa kali tahun lalu.

Sebagai salah satu kompensasi masalah tersebut, Google memperpanjang masa langganan Gmail berbayar yang didesain untuk bisnis secara gratis.

Sumber: http://www.detikinet.com/read/2009/02/25/123719/1090271/317/gmail-kandas-google-minta-maaf

Google termasuk perusahaan besar dalam penyediaan mail service di dunia. Tapi sesuatu yang besar ternyata juga ada kesalahannya juga. Apakah sebenernya penyebab kandasnya GMail sebagai salah satu mail service terbesar di dunia itu? Jika ada teman-teman yang tahu tentang informasinya mohon di sharingkan. Terimakasih atas perhatiannya.