MOSS environment

Microsoft recently released an MSDN article written by Trent Swanson and Bhushan Nene from Microsoft, along with independent SharePoint MVP Scot Hiler. The article demonstrates how to implement an external content repository as a document library-like construct within SharePoint. The authors also released the underlying code, which you can download into your own MOSS environment.

I recently dinged Ektron for its lack of native deployment capabilities. Well, the company has just announced a new site replication tool that is designed to allow customers to develop proper dev, staging, and production environments, as well as load balancing at the delivery tier. The module is brand new and merits close testing before rolling it out to end-users, but it represents a promising step-up for a vendor that continues to add advanced services at a relatively low price-point.

In May 2003, The Law Offices of Braverman and Rossi approached CyberNET with objectives to move the firm's records management processes into the 21st century. At the time, the law firm was using file cabinets to organize and access case files. Braverman and Rossi wanted to free up the space consumed by these cabinets and eliminate the time and effort involved with updating client information within this paper-based environment.

Protecting the organization from the damage that non-compliance can cause is paramount in today's regulatory-ridden business environment. Many organizations start by securing e-mail for compliance purposes. We agree it is a necessary step – but a tactical one that pursues only the "e-mail-as-evidence" pain point. However, the risks are not married solely to business regulations or to e-mail as a messaging medium. Submitted by Grey Consulting

The power, flexibility, and openess of client/server technology have propelled client/server networks into the forefront of today's information systems environment. Networks for powerful workstations can field mission critical applications more quickly and at a lower cost more than ever.

User stories from the knowledge front The environmental organization Sierra Club wanted to improve its Web site, which is an important communication and outreach tool for the club. The site educates the public about environment issues and also makes it easy for people to join the club and act on behalf of the environment. The Web site draws as many as 10,000 visitors a day, including students, conservationists, media and people with opposing views. Jenny Coyle, local affairs editor for the Sierra Club Web site, explains, "They come to learn about everything from environmental issues to club outings." In addition to the national organization, the club has 63 chapters, each comprised of smaller groups. Most of the chapters and many of the smaller groups maintain their own Web sites.

By Gregory Dyer IDC defines an online community as "a group of people (e.g., employees, partners, suppliers or clients) with shared objectives, interests or purposes that interact and build relationships with each other in an online environment across time and space." As a result, people can make decisions, solve problems, learn and innovate faster and more easily. The more participation that occurs in the community, the greater the value that is created for the members. Communities development The importance of communities, content management and collaboration has evolved with the growth of the knowledge management (KM) market. From a KM perspective, companies are trying to create environments to parallel the face-to-face interactions that customers, employees, partners and suppliers have traditionally experienced. To do so, organizations must provide effective content management and collaboration, the underlying components of effective KM.

Do you labor to provide a better web presence at a government agency somewhere? If so, you may be heartened or saddened to review the remarks by new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Mike Leavitt to that agency's Web Workgroup. Heartened, because Leavitt (a former state governor) clearly understands the import of such issues as content categorization and web governance to effectively communicating with EPA's constituencies. Or you might be saddened, because paying attention to the quality of what their agencies publish online remains a rarity among political leaders -- in Washington DC as well as other capitals around the world...Read a Transcript of Leavitt's Remarks

With knowledge sharing a tenet of its mission statement, Tom's of Maine is the country's leading manufacturer of all-natural personal care products such as toothpaste, soap and mouthwash. Tom's has built its business on a commitment to being environmentally sensitive and socially responsible. What started in 1970 as a niche is now a full line of natural products distributed in more than 30,000 health food stores and food and drug outlets. The products command a price premium of as much as 50%, yet by 1995 the privately held company's sales were $20 million.Like many retailers, Tom's is facing the graduation of its Web site from a source of corporate information to an interactive online ordering system. Tom's hopes to make that migration without losing personal contact with its market. Further, the company strives to adopt technology while remaining true to its environmental sensitivity.

A spring '98 Delphi (www.delphigroup.com) Insight Research survey revealed customer service as the number one functional area where knowledge management is implemented. A similar answer was received when respondents were asked where knowledge management would be most useful. As evidence of that trend, the call center automation market is brimming with solutions to provide the right answer to the right caller at the right time. Basically, there are two ways available technologies can be used to resolve problems. The first involves the use of knowledge management systems to support call center analysts as they respond to inquiries in a traditional call center environment. The second approach reduces the number of incoming calls by offering a self-service, Web-based approach to problem resolution.