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How do companies organize their knowledge? The German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) has recognized T-Systems Multimedia Solutions and other companies for their “exemplary treatment of knowledge resources.”

“Germany's most important natural resource isn't in the earth but in our minds.” Ministry Assistant Secretary, Dr. Georg Bröhl, summarized the significance of knowledge at the awards ceremony, which took place in late October in Berlin.

No wonder many companies are looking for the best way to organize their knowledge and make it accessible to their employees. At T-Systems' multimedia subsidiary, company Wikis are used as an everyday work tool. More than 800 employees at the company use them to work on everything from processes to developing strategic plans for any topic together with their colleagues. This tool not only lets them stay on top of current developments within the company but to also actively participate in professional development opportunities.

Instead of writing an endless stream of e-mails or creating unmanageable PowerPoint presentations, strategy team employees use tools such as “StraWiki” to get the job done. Team members report that using the tool helps keep discussions focused and get things done faster. The strategy team makes the results available to all company employees. Employees can comment on the concepts or post their own suggestions on how to best implement the ideas. This lets the management engage in a “bottom-up” dialog about strategies and goals.