Cadiz exceeds every expectation with Common Knowledge

Cadiz Holdings, the JSE-listed financial services company, is to implement Common Knowledge, the collaborative knowledge management solution from local software developer NeuraTech. Cadiz expects Common Knowledge to deliver a number of significant benefits including superior customer satisfaction, productivity gains, better intellectual capital management, and ultimately, increased profits.

Cadiz`s decision to implement Common Knowledge followed an extensive evaluation of competitive market offerings. The new system is being rolled out by Common Knowledge Authorised Business Partner, ULT to 70 staff across Cadiz`s two offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Everyone is expected to be using the system by mid-April.

Explains Gert Blij, information technology manager at Cadiz, "Three years ago, Cadiz comprised 16 employees and information sharing was relatively easy. By last year, however, we had grown to 90 people and this was no longer the case. It was increasingly difficult to obtain a complete view of customer accounts and duplication of work was becoming a major issue.

"Our business is essentially relationship-driven. We have a limited number of high value clients and it`s vital that we understand their requirements inside out. In our business, knowledge not only lends power, but it also generates money and competitive edge."

Says Blij: "We evaluated several leading products but they all fell short of our requirements. Common Knowledge combined a superior customer contact solution and document management solution and was perfectly suited to our way of working. All in all, it is a great system which is truly workable."

According to Blij, Common Knowledge`s unique neural approach to the storage and retrieval of unstructured information "blew our minds".

That Common Knowledge is integrated into Microsoft Office was also a key factor in Cadiz`s purchase decision. Moreover, "the interface is as simple and intuitive to use as Microsoft Outlook," he says.

Although Common Knowledge is still being rolled out across the company, initial feedback from users has been tremendously positive. Nonetheless, "the value of the solution will increase exponentially as system usage grows. The more information is entered into the system, the more relevant and powerful it becomes," says Blij.

Blij is confident that Cadiz will very quickly start seeing a return on its investment in Common Knowledge. While he acknowledges the challenge faced quantifying the business benefits given the intangible nature of knowledge, he believes the system will start paying for itself almost immediately. "It`s a no-brainer. The cost per user is negligible compared to the opportunity costs of not sharing information and of losing valuable intellectual capital. Savings in time, money and effort, not to mention improved customer satisfaction are inevitable," he says.

In particular, Cadiz anticipates financial benefits from the cross-pollination of existing client relationships where different business units are selling different products into the same markets.

"I`m confident that Common Knowledge will enable Cadiz to leverage its knowledge resources for real competitive advantage," says Blij. "Our motto at Cadiz is `exceeding every expectation` - Common Knowledge is the perfect tool to help us realise this."