However, they’re not alone. A survey by tech company iManage of more than 1,000 businesses in the UK and Stateside, 38% of which work in the legal sector, found just 23% of knowledge workers (people whose job involves handling or using information) reported their organisation was ahead of the curve in digital capabilities to support knowledge work.
With ever-increasing amounts of data being produced, the collective information amassed can be difficult to manage. iManage makes the point that, where a variety of teams and projects are at work, it is important to collect the information gathered in a way that makes it accessible and easy to find.
Nearly three-quarters of respondents to the survey thought knowledge work would become more important to business in a post-Covid world, and 68% of knowledge workers believed the information contained in digital documents and files such as emails, contracts and spreadsheets is vital to their business.
More than a quarter of respondents, however, said most of their documents are scattered and siloed across multiple systems. 30% said documents reach their organisation via five or more channels.
Neil Araujo, CEO of iManage, said: ‘Really understanding how to make knowledge work achieve its highest and best use within organisations is a perspective shift that goes beyond enabling simple knowledge management.
‘It requires putting into place an ecosystem for knowledge activation. Organisations must have a breadth of capabilities at work that include collaboration, secure storage and retrieval, ability to work from anywhere, and capacity to curate and repurpose institutional knowledge―all delivered though a high-performance, reliable cloud service.
‘This empowers knowledge workers to create opportunities for unencumbered thinking, higher level productivity, and creativity that drives innovation and spurs new business opportunities.’
