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The purpose of this paper is to provide information about the extensible markup language (XML) – its history, function, legacy, and contribution to the world wide web and to the discipline of knowledge management. The knowledge worker will better understand how XML supports the codification aspect of the technology pillar of knowledge management.

The author gives an overview of markup languages, which preceded XML, details XML syntax structure, and discusses techniques for processing XML data. Derivative markup languages which use XML's syntactical structure are listed, and an exercise explaining the process behind generating XML documents from spreadsheets is provided.

XML has served as an integral part of the world wide web for over a decade, and enables internet applications to transform and exchange data in a very efficient manner. The codification of knowledge is germane to the KM process, and XML provides a very capable means for warehousing knowledge that can later be retrieved from knowledge repositories and relational databases. Additionally, XML‐like markup languages such as ebXML (electronic business for XML) help improve the effectiveness and efficiency of knowledge organizations.

The paper hightlights how the management and valuation of knowledge assets are greatly facilitated by the functionality offered by XML, which enables a knowledge worker to store and retrieve knowledge artifacts in the form of structured data.

The purpose of this paper is to show that collaboration is a vital cog in the “wheel” of knowledge management. The exchange of knowledge between individuals and enterprises is accomplished by knowledge sharing technology, enabling tools that provide communication and knowledge capture in the form of wikis, blogs, online repositories, and instant messaging applications. In order to keep pace with the demands of the ever‐changing knowledge economy, organizations must be aware of the knowledge sharing tools that are in use today, customizing the technology to help them maintain a competitive advantage in the global marketplace. This article introduces knowledge sharing products that are readily available in the commercial market. Products distributed by SalesForce.com, BMC Software, DCASoft, and Atlassian are highlighted. An evaluation of Atlassian's Confluence collaboration product is provided.

The paper lists the capabilities of product offerings by several companies, and provides an in‐depth product review of a web and database‐enabled collaboration application that is fully‐installed on a web server.

There have been several success stories in which government, commercial, and academic institutions have improved performance by using knowledge sharing technology. However, organizations must be prepared to identify technical staff and/or hire consultants who can integrate and customize knowledge sharing applications to suit the needs of their environments. These system integrators should have extensive internet development skills using the eXtensible Markup Language (XML), Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML), Really Simple Syndication (RSS), database connectivity, portals, and web programming languages such as Java and Perl.

Enterprises can achieve a significant return on investment (ROI) by integrating collaborative technology into their daily operations. Benefits would be measured in terms of increased productivity, improved performance, and profitability.

The purpose of this paper is to inform the knowledge worker about Business Intelligence (BI) – its origins, value in decision‐making processes, and currently available BI applications.

The paper discusses the evolution of decision support systems (DSS) and their close relationship with the business intelligence arena. Open source and commercial BI products are also identified.

The data that are accessed by BI applications must be accurate if managers of knowledge enterprises are to make informed decisions. Effective partnerships for business and information entities should be observed when BI tools are introduced to an enterprise. Buy‐in from top management is absolutely necessary for the successful implementation of BI tools.

The use of BI applications aids a knowledge enterprise by promoting efficiency within an organization, particularly by using analytical methods to provide valuable decision‐making knowledge to minimize operating costs and to accurately forecast market trends.

The purpose of this paper is to educate the knowledge worker on the benefits of using open source software, and to demonstrate how open source methodology promotes the collaborative and innovative attributes of knowledge management.

The author lists the open source initiative's definition for open source products, licensing information, the value of open source in a global economy, misconceived barriers to open source adoption, a functional comparison of open source and commercial software products, and web sites where open source products may be obtained.

Open source usage is prevalent throughout the world for governmental, business, educational, military, and space exploration purposes. Notwithstanding, some commercial enterprises such as the Microsoft Corporation have viewed the open source movement as a threat to profitability, citing alleged intellectual property infringement violations. However, other commercial entities such as IBM, Oracle, Novell, and Apple computer have embraced open source technology to conduct business operations as well as satisfy customer needs. Public appeal for open source products has been strong enough for Microsoft, through a recent public statement, to disclose that the firm wishes to “build a bridge” with the open source community, an apparent realization that open source is here to stay. The knowledge worker should understand that commercial and open source applications may coexist in the same IT environment.

A knowledge enterprise's total cost of ownership (TCO) can be significantly reduced through the use of open source software, resulting in an improvement to overall performance attributed to the collaborative and innovative nature of the open source model. Enterprises can benefit by taking a closer look at how open source technology helps to meet organizational goals and objectives in the most efficient and effective manner available.