Case Studies in Knowledge Management

Infosys Technologies, Limited 307

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LESSONS LEARNED

• The case study highlights the emergence of KM as a strategic requirement in
  knowledge-intensive industries. The fact that knowledge requirements underlie
  most of the improvements adopted by Infosys to manage growth substantiates the
  argument. How top management of Infosys took cognizance of KM as a strategic
  requirement would be an interesting discussion topic.


• The case study brings out, although subtly, the inherent dichotomy in KM
  implementations. Despite being an organization-wide exercise, it still is a confluence
  of many separate initiatives to be undertaken in an overlapping sequence. The
  nature and sequence of the separate initiatives undertaken by Infosys, namely,
  creating KM roles (KM Group), building KM infrastructure, initiating KM pro-
  cesses, is one possible illustration.


• The case also hints at the centrality of HR issues in KM. Whether the initial success
  of KM program would still be the same had Murthy not implemented the new human
  resource (HR) strategy way back in 1996 is an interesting issue for discussion.


• Infosys’s knowledge management maturity (KMM) model is an interesting exten-
  sion of Software Engineering Institute’s Capability Maturity Model (SEI CMM).
  Explicitly, it provides a future road map for organizational KM initiatives. Tacitly,
  it highlights the cyclical nature of KM implementation. Efforts to attain the higher
  levels of KMM are substantiated by feedback and insights from lower levels.

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