Preface for the Third Edition - Read

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FIGURE B-55. Simple architecture for KMS 511
Lotus Notes
Database
7. Systems 315
World
Wide
Web
Market-driven architectures. A third group of authors applies a more pragmatic
approach and empirically distills the most important components of an organizational
knowledge management environment which is integrated with more traditional
data and document management systems as well as communication systems
512 . The authors mostly rely on the offers of (a number of) vendors of standard
software tools, platforms and systems to support KM or analyze the individual KM
environments of organizations that are regarded as KM pioneers and develop their
own KMS solutions. These architectures are mostly layer models. The number,
naming and inclusion criteria of the layers differ from author to author. Examples
for layered KMS architectures are:
OVUM, also a vendor of KMS tools, developed a simple architecture for KMS
based on an empirical study on ICT demands and supplies for KM (Versteegen
1999). The architecture supports the four KM core processes capture, classification,
sharing and understanding of knowledge and consists of six layers: (1)
information and knowledge sources, e.g., texts, DBMS, email directories,
WWW and the knowledge workers themselves, (2) infrastructure, i.e. email, file
server and Intranet-/Internet-services, (3) information and process management
that is located in a knowledge repository, (4) a shared taxonomy, a knowledge
map, (5) knowledge management services for discovery and collaboration and
(6) a user interface that consists of a knowledge portal.
The architecture presented by Applehans et al. (1999) is quite similar to the
OVUM architecture and also comprises six layers (see Figure B-56): (1) information
and knowledge sources, called repositories, (2) transport layer, which
corresponds to an Intranet infrastructure, extended by collaboration and stream-
511. Source: CompassWare 1998.
512. See e.g., Applehans et al. 1999, 87ff for a layered knowledge architecture, Bach 1999,
69 who proposes a tool architecture for business knowledge management, CZ 1999, 13
for the comprehensive KM architecture proposed by the Meta Group, Versteegen 1999,
118 who describes OVUM’s six-layer KMS architecture, Seifried/Eppler 2000, 31ff
who suggest a structured set of functionality expected from knowledge management
suites and Vieser 2000 who presents the Siemens three-layered architecture for ICT
tools, services and KM applications.