Digital knowledge management systems must be collaborative and focus on users!

The second day of the fifth edition at the International Conference on Digital Libraries (ICDL), organised here by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), placed the focus on the need to create knowledge management systems that are defined by users and very collaborative to ensure that a truly 'smart future' becomes a reality.

Moderated by Dr Shantanu Ganguly, Fellow, Knowledge Management Division at TERI, the day's key session, aptly themed 'Knowledge Management in an era of Digital Transformation', discussed the crucial challenge of providing an organizational structure and vision while promoting innovation in the new knowledge economy.

Speaking about the recent trends in the deployment deployment of an effective KM system, Ganguly placed emphasis Machine Learning, Cognitive Learning and Natural Language Processing, Social Media Platforms with special reference to Intra-organisational group meetings, among other things, adding that Analytical tools were coming into force to measure the vast amounts of data being generated today.

Dr Ganesh Natarajan, Chairman of NASSCOM Foundation and Global Talent Track, while emphasizing that knowledge management was a continuous journey, said, "Simplifying the user experience is the key. Knowledge management can be successful only if one first creates the 'culture' or aspiration, develops the process, and then provides technology and leadership."

Kavi Mahesh, Director and Dean of Research at KAnOE, said, "Knowledge management systems must be collaborative, user defined and 'ad-hoc'. Although it is the de facto encyclopaedia of information, the Internet was seen as more keyword heavy instead of being contextual and relevant to a particular engagement. It must be noted that knowledge management systems can make the right information available in the right context and at the right time and they are about enabling the creation, sharing, searching and application of knowledge."

With much of all human knowledge today be being stored away in centralised databases, the world has moved closer towards a 'knowledge-based' future, one where the ability to access and understand everything that is stored away is increasingly becoming the most important challenge. It is within this context that knowledge management must be understood and how it really aims to enhance the quality and productivity of the rapidly growing tribe of 'knowledge workers' across the world.

A total of 120 speakers from 22 countries will be participating in more than 30 sessions during the summit. The conference will witness a vibrant mix of academic papers, practitioner presentations, seminars, keynotes, discussions, workshops, and exhibitions by national and international conference delegates on a range of themes and subjects like innovation and knowledge management, social media and analytics, Big Data, analytics and artificial intelligence, new digital technologies like cloud computing and the Internet of Things, among others.

Five billion more people are set to join the virtual world. Digital connectivity will expand very rapidly and will usher in gains in productivity, health, education, quality of life, and economic progress, among others. In this context, organisations today must be agile and adaptive to be able to easily connect, transfer and share knowledge, deal with big data sets and, finally, find innovative ways to engage with their communities to achieve desirable and sustainable socio-economic outcomes.