Knowledge Management practices at Microsoft

Knowledge is processed information. It is fluid mix
of framed experiences, values, information,
insight and intuition.
Knowledge Management is a discipline of
identifying, capturing, retrieving, sharing and
evaluating an enterprise’s information assets.

 Microsoft was established in 1975 by Bill Gates and
Paul Allen.
 As of 2013, Microsoft is market dominant in both
the PC operating system and office suite markets.
 The company also produces a wide range of other
software for desktops and servers, and is active in
areas including internet search (with Bing), the
video game industry (with the Xbox and Xbox
360), the digital services market (through
MSN), and mobile phones (via the Windows Phone
OS).

 In 1995, a project called SPUD (Skills Planning
under Development) has started and was
developed by a unit within Microsoft’s internal
Information Technology (IT) group.
 The project involved building an online system
that contained job rating systems and ratings
database, and competency levels for
employees.
 The goal for the project was to create an online
competency profile for jobs and employees
within Microsoft IS.

“Knowledge management is a fancy term for
a simple idea. You're managing data,
documents, and people efforts.“- Bill Gates
The high individual knowledge is not enough in
today's dynamic markets. A company also
needs a high corporate IQ – intelligence,
knowledge, and expertise of the company –
which provides the facility to share
information widely and enable staff members
"to build on each other's ideas".

 Live video meeting/conferences
 All employees have the opportunity to attend one
conference a year.
 Breakfast meeting :The occasion is used for
knowledge sharing and learning that concerns the
whole organization.
 Biz-talk: a knowledge library with questions and
discussions that are related to its products. These
info are open to everyone in Microsoft.
 There are different resources of knowledge in
Microsoft viz. Internal web sites and Resource
One.
 Employee communication about updates and
products.

Learning/training initiatives for employees in
Microsoft can be divided into three dimensions:
 Courses and training specialized for the work-
role. These are mainly online courses/e-
learning, but also can be external courses and
conferences.
 Face-to-face learning on the job. Learning by
experience, interaction with colleagues, Friday
lunch presentations.
 Learning by seeking information when needed.
SharePoint libraries and blogs.

 My web
 Microsoft SharePoint: First launched in 2001, It
has historically been associated with intranet
content management and document
management, but recent versions have
significantly broader capabilities.
SharePoint is used by 78% of Fortune 500
companies. Between 2006 to 2011, Microsoft sold
over 36.5 million user licenses.

Two things make Microsoft diff from other
companies. One is the amount of information, the
second is open landscaped office. Not only physical,
but also when it comes to sharing.
Employees try to sit by each other’s work-desks and
they try to have lunch with different people each
day. They have a sharing culture. Even the top
manager sits in an open landscape.

 Duplication of effort and increased costs
 Information leak out
 Irrelevance of information

Software products are knowledge-based, and it often
requires specific knowledge to know how to use the
products most efficiently. Microsoft knows that this
kind of knowledge is essential for the company and
makes a lot of effort to develop and maintain the
knowledge level in the organization.
KM strategies at Microsoft have become integrated in
the organizational culture, and have become a part
of normal work practice.

Knowledge Management practices at Microsoft

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