Automatic classification provides a way to uncover the structure of information that lies trapped beneath the surface of corporate documents and email. When represented in a hierarchy, classification taxonomies (remember that, loosely, a taxonomy is a categorization system) can have the effect of a structured knowledge database that indexes and tracks knowledge and its interrelationships throughout the organization. But the knowledge base programs itself through the use of a common language that permeates corporate documents.

This ability to track knowledge in unstructured media provides a key benefit. 80% of corporate knowledge is presented in unstructured documents where we traditionally have placed only 20% of our technology investment. The benefit of investing in structured information systems is reaching a point of diminishing return. The time has come to turn the corporate investment focus towards harnessing the power of information and knowledge trapped in unstructured corporate documents, reclaiming and activating hidden knowledge to drive business processes and corporate learning.

When employees leave the company, they leave their useful knowledge behind in the documents they've written. With a knowledge capture and leveraging tool, corporations can finally leverage sustained value from employee training. At a time when training is expensive but essential, employees far more transitory than ever, and baby boomers are reaching retirement age, leaving the corporation no longer needs to mean losing corporate knowledge. By capturing and leveraging learning in corporate memory banks through its use on business projects, employee knowledge can remain with your company and contribute sustained business value long after its contributors have left.

Taxonomies provide a structured view of unstructured information. Since you can have many views of the same data, you can automatically generate a multidimensional knowledgeable base from document collections. The opportunity to present multiple views of unstructured information can extend the value of documents beyond the benefits delivered by structured data because it represents the usage of corporate knowledge.