Knowledge Management Systems provide a platform for storing, organizing, and sharing frequently requested or needed information. They can be used internally to store and share company and team information, or shared externally to provide information to customers. Self-serve repositories of information are also referred to as knowledge base systems, especially when shared with external users.
We’ve collected videos, features, and capabilities below. Take me there.
Knowledge Management Systems provide a platform for storing, organizing, and sharing frequently requested or needed information. They tend to be very configurable platforms, since the structure and application of knowledge management software will vary considerably from organization to organization. This level of customization tends to require bespoke implementation and clear internal owners of the platform. On the other hand, this configurability will also allow organizations to use the system to serve multiple use cases at once.
Knowledge management systems can be used internally to store and share company and team information. They can also be shared externally to provide company or product information to customers or users. Self-serve repositories of information are also often referred to as knowledge base systems, especially when used to share information with external users. These platforms play a critical role in supporting self-service models across the enterprise, deeply integrating with IT Service Management (ITSM), HR Service Delivery, and Agentic Enterprise Service Management frameworks to deflect common requests and reduce mean time to resolution.
Knowledge management systems are also designed to handle a wide range of knowledge formats. This can include:
Knowledge management systems primarily help users access information more quickly, easily, and reliably. For high-volume support environments, these products can significantly reduce the time it takes for users to search for the required information. They also mitigate the time and effort spent re-learning and re-teaching knowledge internally. Proper knowledge management can lessen the risk of knowledge loss from employee turnover.
A good customer-facing knowledge base system can increase customer satisfaction and decrease help desk employees’ workload. Customers can find the answers to commonly asked questions on their own, saving time for them and the customer service team.
Some knowledge management systems are designed to support specific use cases. Internal knowledge management systems can include work instructions (especially for technical work), as well as best practices and standard operating procedures (SOPs). Outside of day-to-day use, knowledge management systems are used internally for onboarding instructions, HR documentation, and employee training.
Externally facing knowledge base systems can also help customers or external users access useful knowledge. For example, they often provide FAQs for customers or site visitors, Wikis and forums, or support customer self-service.
Organizations should evaluate several factors when comparing knowledge management systems:
Pricing for knowledge management systems varies depending on desired features and whether the knowledge management system is a standalone system or part of a larger software suite. Pricing is typically per user, per knowledge base, or both. Entry level plans start around $5-$15 per user per month or $50-$100 per knowledge base per month and increase to several thousand dollars per month for large teams with complex use cases. Many vendors offer free trials, as well as free plans for small teams.
