Knowledge Management for IT Support Do your IT support initiatives use up a ton of your business’ resources? You are not alone. In fact, HDI found that a single tech support instance can cost your company anywhere from $2.93 to a whopping $49.69. Worse yet, escalated support tickets can cause this cost to triple. Of course, you cannot exactly go without a dedicated IT department and tech support staff.

ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is an industry standard for IT service management, and it has become the go-to framework for organizations that need to manage their IT services. One of the critical components of ITIL is the Service Knowledge Management System (SKMS). An SKMS is a comprehensive repository of all the information related to IT services, including processes, procedures, and best practices.

The IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) describes a framework for delivering IT services according to best practices, including best practices for what’s known as knowledge management. Knowledge management, which includes being able to gather, store, and share IT knowledge, is critical for IT service management (ITSM).

Knowledge is king in today’s information-driven business world, as most knowledge managers like me know. Having the right information at customers' fingertips can greatly influence their perception of the customer support experience. In today’s self-service world, a well-populated knowledge base with a reliable group of contributors is not enough to create a great experience. The content must be relevant and timely.

Anatomy was always one of my favorite subjects in school—it just made sense. I still know the structure of a human cell, I remember the different parts of the ear, and because I’m active, I know the soreness I feel in my muscles is caused by lactic acid fermentation. Lessons from anatomy have proven to be some of the most practical for my everyday life.