Houston, Texas-based APQC has recognized Siemens for its outstanding knowledge management. In addition to Siemens, the rigorous requirements also were met by Hewlett-Packard, Shell, Accenture, and the U.S. State Department. The object of especially high praise by the APQC was the close integration of Web 2.0 software such as blogs and wikis with knowledge management at Siemens. APQC is recognized as a pioneer in knowledge management and an initiator of studies and conferences on the topic for about ten years.

Rapidly exchanging existing knowledge and making it available to all employees is very difficult, especially in large companies. Knowledge management at Siemens, however, is a tradition: internal platforms on which project planners, sales personnel, or researchers can inform themselves and others have existed at the company for years. The advantage of these Web-based technologies is that reference projects with their specifications and contact partners can be saved and researched.

One such application from (and for) the experts at Building Technologies is “References@SBT.” It is especially useful for shortening the tendering process in time-critical invitations to tender while simultaneously improving quality for customers by optimally utilizing knowledge and exchanging experience. One special feature is a mashup integration, which makes possible a map that clearly depicts all projects linked from Google Maps.

Working in cooperation with Corporate Communications, the knowledge management experts at Siemens Corporate Technology have also created the “Blogosphere” in the intranet. These websites enable every Siemens employee worldwide to create and maintain their own blog with just a few easy steps. Employees from about 30 countries are already networking there. The employees use this decentralized networking to display their expertise internationally and to exchange information on business-related topics.