As John McQuary—vice president in work process optimization at Fluor—and others pointed out, the Internet of Things allows for greater connectivity among individuals and organizations, and thus presents opportunities to “leverage knowledge in new and innovative ways.”
But for many firms, the Internet of Things also presents previously unforeseen risks to the organization and its knowledge assets. Murray E. Jennex, professor at San Diego State University, thinks that in the future, KM teams will need to work with security and legal to create secure ways of sharing across the organization and across geographical boundaries. Tanya Houseman—consultant at Tanya Houseman Consulting—echoed Jennex’s sentiments, noting that in the future, “Companies will have to balance security against collaboration—not just in the digital workspace, but who and what kinds of information we share with colleagues in face-to-face collaboration.” Arthur Shelley, founder and CEO at Intelligent Answers, added to this conversation: “Knowledge and intellectual property are like cash—they need to flow to create value. This requires trusted relationships, a willingness to constructively engage, and preparedness to share the value created.” All of these aspects are “difficult things to define in a legal contract," he added.
In short: It's an interesting discussion that reveals how new technologies might improve KM—but also points out areas where technology might introduce risks that inhibit sharing and collaboration in organizations. If you want to know what everyone said, you can download a summary of responses related to all three categories on our website. And this is meant to be a dynamic discussion, so please chime in below.