Essentials of Knowledge Management

5.8. Professional Databases

Professional or commercial databases and search engines contribute to the knowledge acquisition phase of virtually every knowledge organization. Organizations with access to these professional databases can save time and money that would otherwise be wasted on duplicating the effort involved in locating the information. In addition, the organization probably wouldn't meet the quality standards established by the companies offering professional databases. With access to the proper database and search tools, in-house expertise can be rapidly augmented with knowledge from outside sources. Dozens of fee-for-access databases exist that typically contain thousands of journal articles and industry-specific information.