Knowledge Management System (KMS)

Last Updated: January 15, 2014

Definition - What does Knowledge Management System (KMS) mean?

A knowledge management system (KMS) is a system for applying and using knowledge management principles. These include data-driven objectives around business productivity, a competitive business model, business intelligence analysis and more.

A knowledge management system is made up of different software modules served by a central user interface. Some of these features can allow for data mining on customer input and histories, along with the provision or sharing of electronic documents. Knowledge management systems can help with staff training and orientation, support better sales, or help business leaders to make critical decisions.

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Techopedia explains Knowledge Management System (KMS)

As a discipline, knowledge management is often confused with business intelligence, which also focuses on acquiring data for making business decisions. Some experts distinguish the two by pointing out that business intelligence has a focus on explicit knowledge, whereas knowledge management is a broader category that includes both implied and explicit knowledge. This differentiation has led many to classify business intelligence as part of greater knowledge management, where the wider category drives decisions in a more fundamental way.

As a broad designation, knowledge management can be applied in a lot of different ways to individual business processes. It’s up to top-level managers to use these systems in ways that make the most sense for a particular enterprise.