In today’s business world, it’s important that knowledge isn’t kept in silos. More often than not, information that one employee has gathered will, at some point, be needed by another. So having a platform that each member of a company has access to and can use to readily share their knowledge and expertise is vital. That’s where knowledge management software comes in. In this article, we’ll look at eight of the best knowledge management software programmes available, that could enhance the success of your business in 2022.

The Top 6 Best Knowledge Management Software

  1. Confluence – Best Knowledge Management Software For Fast-Growing Companies
  2. ZenDesk – Best Knowledge Management Software For Customer Service Teams
  3. Monday.com – Best Knowledge Management Software For Flexibility
  4. Shelf – Best Knowledge Management Software For Quick Answers
  5. Document360 – Best Knowledge Management Software For Easy Set-Up
  6. ZohoDesk – Best Knowledge Management Software For Reducing Customer Queries

1. Confluence – Best Knowledge Management Software For Fast-Growing Companies

PRICING: Free – up to 10 users; Standard – $5.50 per user; Premium – $10.50 per user; Enterprise – bespoke pricing based on business needs

Confluence claim that half of all Fortune 500 companies use their platform. But it can be effective knowledge management software for businesses of any size – and used by any department. Confluence acts as a database for meeting notes, strategy docs and IT documentation. Everything is organised into pages (the documents where teams can create, edit and discuss work) and spaces (containing all the pages relating to a team, group, project or individual). Its commenting and notification tools encourage collaboration and permissions ensure that files are accessible only to the people that need to see them.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Share documents and files
  • Manage projects and team workflows
  • Collaborate on projects with comments and discussion forums

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Flexible: software can be used effectively by virtually any team or department
  • It’s a feature-rich platform
  • Highly-rated customer support
  • Free version available

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Some users report issues with document exports
  • Reviewers feel it lacks integration with other apps

2. ZenDesk Guide – Best Knowledge Management Software For Customer Service Teams

PRICING: Suite Team – £39/mo; Suite Growth – £65/mo; Suite Professional – £79/mo (all billed annually)

ZenDesk is a well-established name in the world of customer service software and their all-in-one tool is a good knowledge management software option for businesses with customer service, helpdesk or tech support departments. You can create a database of all your clients, storing files, documents and information about each so it’s easy to access for anyone in your business. You can also interact with customers through phone, email, SMS or social media via the platform. While ZenDesk is geared toward customer service, it’s flexible enough to work for a number of different business cases.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Customer knowledge database to store files, documents and log tickets
  • Supports phone, email, SMS and social messaging
  • ZenDesk Guide self-help portal lets customers find answers to their questions without having to speak to an agent
  • Mobile support so agents can respond to inquiries on the go

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Easy to use, quick to set up
  • Well-established name
  • All customer interactions can be recorded within the platform

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • ZenDesk’s basic plan is limited compared to other providers’

3. Monday.com – Best Knowledge Management Software For Flexibility

PRICING: Free – up to 2 members (limited functionality); Basic – $8 per member/mo; Standard – $10 per member/mo; Pro – $16 per member/mo; Enterprise – bespoke, depending on business needs

When it comes to facilitating collaboration across business departments, Monday.com is a really useful tool. The knowledge management software provides a place to store all your team’s files so everyone has on-demand access to them. And it’s flexible: you can view projects in a number of different ways, from kanban boards to Gantt charts to good old-fashioned spreadsheets. There are use cases for virtually any department including project management, HR, tech support, sales or creative teams.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Flexible, all-in-one knowledge management software
  • Workspace functionality supports the storage of all relevant project data
  • Automations can be set up to keep team members informed about project statuses

REASONS TO BUY:

  • The platform is versatile enough to work for any business or department
  • Workspace templates make set up easy
  • Good usability

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • If you add team members prices automatically go up, if you remove team members they don’t automatically go down

4. Shelf – Best Knowledge Management Software For Quick Answers

PRICING: Bespoke, depending on business needs

Shelf uses AI to make finding and managing information easy. The software is embedded into apps and productivity tools such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Genesys, Salesforce and Slack. It listens when team members have a question and instantly suggests the best answers. You can search for keywords and Shelf will show all the matches across your entire database, recommending the resources employees use the most.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Web-based software
  • Uses AI to search your entire work library and provide relevant answers to queries by team members or customers
  • Collaboration tools make it easy for team members to update information

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Highly-rated platform
  • Easy to upload a document and make it accessible to team members
  • Powerful search features
  • Boosts business efficiency – less time spent searching for information

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Lacking batch upload and download functionality

5. Document360 – Best Knowledge Management Software For Easy Set-Up

PRICING: Startup – $99 per project/mo; Business – $249 per project/mo; Enterprise – $499 per project/mo; Enterprise – bespoke pricing

Document360 guides you through the process of building an information hub quickly. You can create FAQ pages, help documentation and Wiki entries about your business’s products and services and store them in its knowledge base. There’s a staff portal with an advanced editor, category manager and analytics tools, and a simplified site for customers to access answers about your business 24/7.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Contains all the tools needed to build and automatically maintain a business knowledge base

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Quick and easy to set up – no development experience required
  • Content editor and SEO features are highly rated

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Some users feel the editor lacks an automated spell checker

6. ZohoDesk – Best Knowledge Management Software For Reducing Customer Queries

ZohoDesk has all the tools you need to build a self-service portal for your customers. It has community forum functionality, so customers can help each other and share ideas. You can customise your help centre so it looks just like your company’s website. And the knowledge management software is SEO friendly, so content is more likely to show up in search engines. All this could ease the burden on your business’s customer service agents. The knowledge management software also has the tools you need to manage tickets and customer comms.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Track customer help requests across your business
  • Built-in AI helps with finding information
  • Self-service knowledge base builder
  • Collaboration tools
  • Automations to save time on repetitive tasks

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Integrates well with other Zoho products (including CRM, Finance, HR and other tools) and third party software
  • User-friendly UI
  • Lots of customisations available

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Some users comment that set-up can be complicated; onboarding required

References and Links

  • https://www.capterra.com/sem-compare/knowledge-management-software/
  • https://www.egain.com/products/knowledge-management-software2/
  • https://document360.com/blog/knowledge-management-software/
  • https://blog.hubspot.com/service/knowledge-managment-software
  • https://www.g2.com/categories/knowledge-management
  • https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/knowledge-management-system/
  • https://herothemes.com/blog/best-knowledge-management-systems/