Netsuite this week enhanced the capabilities of its premium NetSuite CRM+ application.

A key new feature is the Knowledge Management for Customer Service module which is designed to help front-end service staff find relevant content to handle customer inquiries. The interface also allows reps to easily add customer feedback into the knowledge base.

Also introduced are Marketing Automation features to help marketers effectively segment their target markets for more productive marketing campaigns.

A US workplace survey commissioned by LexisNexis revealed the extent to which information overload is affecting white-collar knowledge workers in today’s work environments.

Some interesting findings from the survey:

• 89% of the average white-collar workday is spent conducting research, attending meetings, and searching for previously created documents;
• Knowledge workers spend an average of 2.3 hours daily conducting online research;
• 62% of professionals admit wasting a lot of time sifting through irrelevant information to find what they need;
• 75% of the respondents felt they were heading for an “information breaking point”.

My personal experience and anecdotal evidence suggest that knowledge workers in Singapore fare no better in resisting this information paralysis. Smart businesses would do well to better manage the information generated within and flowing through their organizations.

A well designed knowledge management system can be invaluable in ensuring that the right information is available to the relevant people at the proper time. The IT tools and services available today mean that even small businesses can afford to deploy powerful knowledge and learning systems that can help them thrive in this information-rich era.