Knowledgebase software is one of the top current business applications. It can help you organize your company’s knowledge resources into searchable databases so that both your employees and your customers can find answers and solutions faster and with as little hassle as possible. But creating an organizational knowledge base involves more than just collecting, tagging, and storing documents and information.
Here are nine things you didn’t know knowledgebase software could do.
- Integrate with other enterprise applications
Information is just information. It doesn’t turn into knowledge until it is able to be used. Many knowledge base software programs provide integration with other applications, such as customer relationship management software and help desk ticketing software, so that everyone in the company can both contribute to and benefit from the stored resources.
- Make content recommendations
Knowledgebase software not only provides an efficient way for users to search a database, but it can also make appropriate content recommendations. The software can point users to related articles, featured articles, popular articles, and most recently added articles, to name just a few.
- Collect content ratings
How do you know what articles are most valuable to your users? Knowledgebase software can be configured so that users can rate and comment on resources, which over time improves the users’ experience as well as the quality of information in the database.
- Enable content sharing
Content sharing is the top way to spread information across organizations. It’s also an excellent way to engage customers through various channels. Look for a knowledge base system that has integrated content sharing, such as via email, on social media platforms, and through RSS feeds.
- Content authoring
Some knowledgebase software systems provide primarily storage and search capabilities, but others have authoring functions as well. This feature makes the software a truly one-stop application for organizational knowledge management.
- Remote and mobile support
Being able to access the knowledgebase while you are sitting at your desk is good, but being able to access it from a remote computer as well as from your tablet or smartphone is even better. Remote and mobile support significantly increases the usability of your knowledge base resources.
- Permissions and access control
Your internal (employee-facing) and external (customer-facing) knowledge databases are not the same. Similarly, you may need some resources to be restricted to certain users. Knowledgebase software makes it easy to set permissions and control access to your content.
- Customize appearance and templates
Your knowledge resources are a vital part of your brand, so they shouldn’t just look like generic files and folders. Many knowledge base software programs have customizable appearances, including features like personalized email templates.
- Generate reports and statistics
Would you like to know how often users are searching for information? What categories and resources are the most popular? Which authors produce the most highly rated content? Knowledgebase software can generate reports and statistics so that this information is available to you at the click of a button.
As you can see, knowledgebase software provides much more than just a repository for information. When used to its best advantage, it is an essential part of a complete, fully integrated knowledge management strategy.
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About the Author:
David Miller is an educational researcher who has several years of experience in the field of teaching, online testing and training. He is associated with prestigious universities and many leading educational research organizations. Currently, he is pursuing research in online knowledgebase software and is also a contributing author with ProProfs.
