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Employee Turnover Creates Corporate Memory Loss80% of Professional Knowledge is Lost When Employees Leave a CompanyREDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Enterprises risk losing critical information by allowing individual employees to carry their knowledge expertise out the door when they leave a company due to layoffs or other attrition, according to SupportSoft Inc. (Nasdaq: SPRT - News), a leading provider of support automation software. Gartner, Inc., an IT research and advisory firm, indicates that 80% of a company's digital resources are not accessible to the enterprise as a whole because they are stored as personal files on individual computing systems.(1) This problem can be especially acute in maintaining high levels of technical support for a company's employees, where access to a timely, relevant and up-to-date knowledgebase for answers to user problems is essential. Gartner also estimates that 90% of businesses surveyed suffer from 'information overload.'(1) Of the companies surveyed, Gartner found that the perception of information overload was 20% higher overall among companies that had knowledge management systems in place, compared to those which didn't.(2) Traditional knowledge management solutions have tried to address this situation but have been ineffective due to costly manual upkeep and an inability to consistently access the most relevant responses to employee questions. A new category of software termed knowledge ensures that information assets don't leave a company when an IT employee departs. Knowledge automation enables companies to easily capture, store and quickly retrieve essential technical information developed by their employees, and to provide access to knowledge anywhere within the company's network when a support question needs to be answered. The result is that valuable knowledge doesn't leave the enterprise with ex-employees, but instead appreciates over time with the added contributions of past and present staff. Moreover, it can help ensure the quality of the information by automatically delivering personalized answers to requested questions. "Knowledge automation represents the next step in the evolution of knowledge management for service and support delivery, moving beyond costly, cumbersome knowledge management and dated or irrelevant information," said Bruce Mowery, vice president of marketing of SupportSoft, Inc. "For companies that are seeking to 'institutionalize' critical knowledge in the face of shrinking headcount and budgets, knowledge automation can help ensure that vital information is always available. The result is that employees can resolve technical problems on their own, without putting additional pressure on IT staff that are coping with reduced resources." To help businesses better understand how knowledge management is evolving into knowledge automation, SupportSoft has published a white paper entitled 'Achieving Higher Levels of User Self-Sufficiency with Knowledge Automation'. A free copy is available by visiting the company's Web site: www.supportsoft.com. SupportSoft will also be hosting a Web seminar on Thursday, November 21, 2002, at 11 a.m. (PST)/2 p.m. (EST), entitled 'Knowledge Automation: Delivering on the Promise of Knowledge Management'. The seminar will feature an independent analyst from Gartner who will share Gartner's outlook for self-service technologies. To register, please visit www.supportsoft.com/knowledgemanagement. About SupportSoft SupportSoft is a leading provider of support automation software. SupportSoft's patented software platform allows businesses to automate and personalize the support they provide to their customers, partners and employees, helping them reduce costs and drive user satisfaction. Global 2000 companies using SupportSoft's software include corporate enterprises like GE, Cisco Systems, Bank of America and Schlumberger, plus OEMs and service providers like IBM, Sony, CSC, Comcast and BellSouth. SupportSoft has offices worldwide. This press release contains forward-looking statements, including the statements about the expected benefits of Knowledge Automation solutions, are subject to significant risks and uncertainties including but not limited to the time and effort required to deploy the solution, technical challenges specific to a customer's implementation of the solution, and the rapid pace of technological change. Additional risks and uncertainties are set forth in SupportSoft's SEC filings. SupportSoft assumes no obligation to update the information in this press release. (1) Gartner, 'The Knowledge Worker Investment Paradox,' July, 2002 (2) Gartner, "Gartner Says 90 Percent of Businesses Suffer from Information Overload," May, 2002 Editorial Contact: Joi Deaser SupportSoft 650.556-8930 joi@support.com top of page |
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