P.M. BRIEFING : 5 Firms Form Software Group to Manage ‘Corporate Knowledge’

Four major corporations and a computer software company announced today they have formed an alliance to develop software that will allow them to better manage “corporate knowledge,” or the skills and know-how of their employees.

The five companies--Digital Equipment Corp., Ford Motor Co., Texas Instruments Inc., U S West Inc. and Carnegie Group Inc.--said they contributed $10 million to the initiative, which they began working on in 1988 but did not announce at the time.

The alliance, called the Initiative for Managing Knowledge Assets, says it wants to develop a next-generation software technology to capture the skills and knowledge of the member companies’ employees.

“The ability to manage these assets, just as companies manage their capital or financial assets, is one of the most important ways in which companies can retain a competitive advantage in our increasingly competitive world,” said Ted Smith, technical director of U S West Advanced Technologies Inc., a division of the Colorado-based regional phone company.