The European e-Business Report 2004 - Berlecon Research GmbH

The European E-Business Report 2004Exhibit 1.2-1: Index for automation of internal business processes 2003/04The Index consists of fourcomponent indicators:1. Intranet diffusion2. Use of online technology totrack working hours and/orproduction time3. Use of ERP systems4. Perceived impact of e-business on internal workprocesses (compoundindicator in itself)Index values are based on meanvalues and standard deviations.Zero equals the mean value for allsectors, a value of +1/-1 that thepercentage is higher/lower thanthe mean percentage of all sectorsby the extent of the standarddeviation. Thus, the Index is arelative measure, comparing thesectors to each other.Business srv.ICT srvHealthTourismTextile1,50,0-1,5RetailSource: e-Business W@tch (2004)ChemicalsElectronicsTransportFrom sharing information to managing knowledgeIn many companies, an Intranet is a platform for the exchange and management of companyinformation and possibly for the implementation of internal training programmes. Company policiesand procedures (“how things are done here”), company news, or project plans, for example, can beprovided on the Intranet. Thus, Intranets are often understood as internal websites that contain thecollective company knowledge and can be accessed by the entire internal staff.Knowledge Management (KM) describes the process through which organizations generate valuefrom their intellectual and knowledge-based assets. While knowledge is often shared through informalnetworks, the intention of formal knowledge management systems is the systematic gathering andcompilation of information. Knowledge-intensive sub-sectors of business services are an example fora sector where KM is important. For instance, large consulting companies use databases describingthe expertise and project experience of individual consultants. If a new project comes up, managerscan use these knowledge databases to set up the optimal project team. This sector exhibits one of thehighest diffusion rates of KM software systems.The efficient management of knowledge is important for companies of all sizes, but special tools tosupport this function are most valuable for large enterprises with a complex and often dispersedknowledge base where files have to be accessed by many different parties in the workflow. Inparticular the sharing of tacit knowledge (the know-how contained in people’s heads), which is doneface-to-face in smaller companies, can pose a problem for large, dispersed companies.As a result, the use of all applications for information sharing increases by company size (cf. Exhibit1.2-2). More than 70% of large firms had an Intranet in 2003, compared to 55% of medium-sized firmsand 31% of small companies. Large firms are twice as likely to use Knowledge Management softwareas SMEs (16% versus 8%) and to employ e-learning applications (20% versus 10%).E-learning applications are predominantly used in sectors which have a high affinity to informationtechnology due to their main business activity. Manufacturers of electronics, telecommunicationcompanies and computer services firms are prime adopters. This reflects that digital learningenvironments are particularly suited for contents of a technical nature, where opportunities of 3Dvisualization and hyperlinked cross-references make them superior to paper-based documentation.19