Hugh McKellar

This article appears in the issue of March 2015 (100 Companies) [Vol 24, Issue 3]

For us here at KMWorld, knowledge management is an attitude, an approach, not an application, and that’s what we’re celebrating with this list—companies that offer the tools to analyze, augment, enhance, manage, and extend information assets to maximize the potential for organizations of all sizes. Our judging panel consists of colleagues, analysts, theorists, and practitioners. Everyone involved in the judging process has his or her prejudices, of course, but we set those aside, and have assembled what you see listed, 100 companies whose products and services best meet the needs of our readership.

Knowledge management can be a bit of an elusive term. We have always maintained—especially now in 2015—that knowledge management is the umbrella under which all other technical disciplines fall, including (but not limited to) business intelligence, collaboration, competitive intelligence, content management, customer/experience relationship management, enterprise search and discovery, big data management, business process management, adaptive case management, imaging, workflow, document management, cognitive computing and so on. And, as we’ve done in the past, we have recognized a number of consultancies and research firms for their contributions to the broader view of knowledge management.

Since we first published it a decade-and-a-half ago, our list has recognized organizations leading the way in the knowledge economy. These aren’t the only companies that matter, rather, the ones agreed upon by the judging panel for KMWorld readers. The criteria for inclusion on the list vary, but those listed have things in common. Each has either helped to create a market, redefine it, enhance or extend it. They all share a fundamental motivation to innovatively meet and anticipate the widely diverse needs of customers with robust (but sometimes single-point) solutions to meet evolving customer requirement challenges.

VIEW FROM THE TOP

We encourage you to visit the websites of this year’s list. Beginning on page 17 (KMWorld Vol 24, Issue 3), you can hear from some of the companies themselves in the View From the Top section. Here, CEOs and other top officials share their vision of the knowledge economy and how their solutions allow their customers to reach their goals.

• Accellion- Enterprise-class, secure file-sharing solutions for mobile-enabled organizations.
• Access Innovations- Information management and database construction products and services.
• AccessData- Standalone and enterprise-grade solutions that enable digital investigations of any kind, including computer forensics, incident response, legal review, IP theft, compliance auditing, and information assurance.
  Accusoft—Document, content, and imaging solutions. To learn more, read Jack Berlin, Founder, President & CEO’s View From the Top.
• Acrolinx—Linguistic analytics software based on natural language processing.
• Adlib Software—Automated conversion of content within business processes for document-intensive organizations.
• AirWatch—Enterprise-class mobile device, application management, and content management solutions.
• Appian—Business process management software, including solutions for mobile devices, cloud computing, and social business.
• Apple—Business and consumer software and hardware.
• APQC—Provider of benchmarking, best practices, and knowledge management business research.
• Aptean—Industry-specific solutions to address business challenges.
  ASG Software Solutions—Vendor-agnostic cloud, content, and systems software for reducing costs, enhancing workforce productivity, and ensuring regulatory compliance.
• Astera—Data integration and extract, transform, and load (ETL) software tools.
• Astoria Software—On-demand enterprise content management.
• Attensity—Social analytics and engagement solutions.
• Attivio—Integration of enterprise search, business intelligence, and analytics.
• AvePoint—Enterprise-grade governance and infrastructure management solutions for SharePoint.
• BA Insight—Connectivity, classification, and application software that accelerates the implementation of on-premise and cloud-based SharePoint portals. To learn more, read Massood Zarrabian, CEO’s View From the Top.
• Bamboo Solutions—Provider of some 70 products for SharePoint, including solutions for project, process, community, and knowledge management.
• Bonitasoft—Open source business process management.
• BP Logix—Infrastructure and business intelligence that allows users to anticipate and predict potential problems in recurring business processes.
• BrainSpace—Machine learning language platform to power information and discovery applications.
• Calabrio—Integrated, multichannel contact center solutions for faster decision-making at all levels of the organization.
• Cambridge Semantics—Solutions to simplify and automate data management in the enterprise, improve governance, and simplify and improve the ease of use of data stored in big data systems.
• Clarabridge—Customer experience management solutions powered by sentiment and text analytics.
• Clarizen—Project management through a robust social interface.
• Code42—Secure file sync and share, and technology that protects and manages the data.
• Codifyd—Product content solutions.
• CognitiveScale—Technology-independent cognitive cloud platform.
• Colligo Networks—Data synchronization solutions for Microsoft SharePoint.
• Columbia University—Master of Science program for information and knowledge strategy designed to prepare knowledge practitioners to plan and lead knowledge and information services, improve collaboration and networks, and create innovative knowledge products.
• Comintelli—Enterprise information access software focusing on solutions for competitive intelligence, knowledge management, content delivery, and enterprise search.
• Concept Searching—Software solutions that deliver conceptual metadata generation, auto-classification, and taxonomy management.
• Connotate—Web data monitoring and collection for business users.
  Content Analyst Company—Search and analytics for unstructured text.
• Coveo—Modular and scalable enterprise search platform that indexes information stored in various repositories throughout the enterprise.
• Datawatch—Information analytics systems through data extraction from static, but content-rich, sources.
• e-SignLive—Provider of automated business transaction support that requires secure, compliant, and enforceable electronic signatures.
• e-Spirit—Enterprise content management system designed to help companies implement their digital strategies, engage audiences more effectively, and increase market share.
• Earley & Associates—Information management consulting company specializing in all aspects of content management and search, SharePoint solution design and development, etc.
• eGain—On-premise or cloud software for knowledge-powered, multichannel sales and service.
• EMC—Information infrastructure technology and solutions that enable organizations to transform the way they create value from information.
• Empolis—Creation, management, analysis, and intelligent processing of all relevant information for a company, regardless of producer, source, format, application, user, location, or device. To learn more, read Dr. Stefan Wess, CEO’s View From the Top.
• Enterprise Knowledge—Consulting services in the areas of knowledge and information management, application development, and project management. To learn more, read Zach Wahl, President & CEO’s View From the Top.
• Expert System—Semantic technology and the creators of semantic technology that understand the meaning of written language. To learn more, read Bryan Bell, Executive Vice President’s View From the Top.
• Exsys—Software that provides non-programmers a new way to easily build interactive Web applications.
• Forrester—Highly relevant research-based services aligned to client needs.
  FTI Consulting/Technology—E-discovery software and services. To learn more, read Seth Rierson, Global Practice Leader’s View From the Top.
• Gartner—Information technology research and advisory services.
• Google—Technology solutions for search, voice, analytics, documents, geospatial applications, etc.
• Hitachi Consulting—Solutions designed for operation performance to help achieve mission-critical processes. To learn more, read Ellen Dowd, Senior Vice President, Information and Content Management Practice’s View From the Top.
• HP—Management and analytic tools for both structured and unstructured information combined with the ability to extract meaning in real time from all forms of information.
• Hyland, creator of OnBase—Flexible and comprehensive enterprise content management. To learn more, read Bill Priemer, President & CEO’s View From the Top.
• IBM—Complete portfolio of enterprise content technologies and solutions.
• iCONECT—HTML5 intuitive, multi-browser, hosted e-discovery review platform.
• Igloo Software—Social business software.
• Ingeniux US—Web experience management software for managing content, community, and collaboration.
• Integrify—Robust, lean, and flexible business process and request management. To learn more, read David Willsey, CEO’s View From the Top.
• IntelliResponse—Platform designed for customers and service agents to ask questions in natural language.
• Interneer—Business process management for process automation applications and smart mobile apps. To learn more, read Romeo Elias, President & CEO’s View From the Top.
• kCura—Web-based platform servicing the analysis, review, and production stages of the e-discovery reference model.
• KMS lighthouse—Big data customer experience solutions designed to provide precise answers to customer questions. To learn more, read Yossi Caspi, CEO’s View From the Top.
• Kofax—Smart process applications for customer engagements.
• Linguamatics—Health science-focused natural language processing solutions for knowledge discovery, information extraction, and decision support.
• Magnitude Software—Variety of solutions for business intelligence, data warehousing, master data management, reporting, and analytics. To learn more, read Chris Ney, Chairman & CEO’s View From the Top.
• MediaValet—Cloud-based digital asset management.
• Metalogix—Management tools for Microsoft content and collaboration platforms, including SharePoint, Exchange, and Office 365.
• MetaVis Technologies—Solutions for Microsoft SharePoint, Office 365, Azure, Exchange, and SkyDrive, as well as for file systems and cloud-based content repositories. To learn more, read Steven Pogrebivsky, CEO’s View From the Top.
• MicroPact—Platform for dynamic case management and business process management with fully integrated document management, natural language analytics, and mobile modules. To learn more, read Kris Collo, CEO, President & Founder’s View From the Top.
• Microsoft—Complete software solutions for home and office.
• Mindbreeze—Enterprise search, information access, and data cognition. To learn more, Daniel Fallmann, Founder & CEO,s, View From the Top.
• Nexidia—Audio and video search and analytics.
• OpenText—Enterprise information management solutions for BPM, CRM, SCM, and ERP applications.
• Oracle/RightNow—Web, social, and contact center experiences for a unified, cross-channel service solution in the cloud.
• PeopleFluent—Talent management and social networking software.
• PPC—Consulting firm addressing the energy, environment, financial, healthcare, and insurance industries.
• Radialpoint—Technical support software and services for technology vendors and IT help desks.
• RAMP—Solutions to optimize video content and collaboration on the Web, mobile, and connected devices.
• RAVN—Browser-based content analytics.
• Raytion—Enterprise search and corporate communications solutions.
• Real Story Group—Vendor-neutral product evaluation and consulting services.
• Recommind—E-discovery, enterprise search, and information governance.
• RightAnswers—Cloud-based KM, Web, and mobile self-service and social knowledge solutions.
• Rivet Logic—Content management, collaboration, and community solutions.
• RSD—Information delivery, content, and records management, and document archiving and retrieval software.
• Search Technologies—Search engine implementation and tuning.
• Sherpa Software—Technology-driven information governance solutions.
• Sinequa—Big data search and content analytics.
• Sitecore—Content management software integrating marketing automation, intranet portal, e-commerce, Web optimization, social media, and campaign management technologies.
• Sitrion—Enterprise social computing and HR self-service solutions.
• Smarsh—Archiving and compliance solutions for regulated industries.
• Smartlogic—Taxonomy management and automatic classification.
• SpringCM—Cloud-based enterprise content, document, and workflow management.
• Strategic Knowledge Solutions—Knowledge management training to solve problems such as knowledge flow, transfer, etc.
• Synaptica—Taxonomy management and ontology software. To learn more, read David Clarke, CEO’s View From the Top.
• TEMIS—Identification and extraction of targeted information to semantically enrich content with domain-specific metadata.
• TIBCO—Infrastructure, business intelligence, and analytics software for on-premise or cloud deployment.
• Transversal—Dynamic knowledge solutions for customer-facing websites and contact centers. To learn more, read Heather Richards, CEO,’s View From the Top.
• Verint—Software designed to capture and analyze customer interactions, sentiments, and trends across multiple channels, improve performance and optimize the customer experience. To learn more, read Verint Systems, Elan Moriah President, Verint® Enterprise Intelligence Solutions™, and Video and Situation Intelligence Solutions™’s View From the Top.
• VirtualWorks—Enterprise search and indexing software that automatically indexes, abstracts, and normalizes all of the knowledge-rich content throughout an organization.

SOURCE: KMWorld Magazine