What is a knowledge base in IT?

A knowledge base is a centralized database of information categorized to be easily retrievable. An IT knowledge base, also known as an IT KB, is specifically created to help users in navigating IT issues. These databases are necessary for organizations that want to optimize their information organization and accessibility.

IT knowledge bases may include either articles or instructions on how to best navigate technological problems. They allow your customers to fix simple IT issues themselves instead of immediately contacting an IT technician, saving your company time and money.

It is extremely useful for IT departments because they allow IT staff to quickly and easily find the answers they’re looking for. They’re also great for ensuring that all employees have access to the information they need to do their jobs.

Choosing a system for managing your knowledge base can be difficult, but we’re here to help!

Why is a Knowledge base so important?

Today’s customers expect easy access to accurate information. Providing well-organized, easy-to-find information for common problems is now expected of IT companies. With almost all modern companies depending on digital systems for their day-to-day activities, even the slightest failure can be extremely frustrating and impede important tasks.

But with a well-run knowledge base, these errors can be resolved quickly by the customers themselves, preventing these frustrating moments and improving the overall user experience. Knowledge bases are an effective way to resolve errors quickly, because they provide customers with instant access to the information they need.

A knowledge base is most effective when coupled with a helpdesk and ticketing system. Ticketing software makes help requests easy to track and store, alerting technicians of common problems so that they can seek a more long-term solution. Technicians may also be able to add instructions on how to easily solve simple issues to the knowledge base.

Knowledge bases can be customizable, tailored to fit the customer’s needs. They must be constantly monitored to ensure their efficiency in solving technological problems. Customizing a knowledge base to perfectly fit every company’s system can eliminate confusion and reduce support load.

Using Atera’s all-in-one IT management software, you can create your own KB for your customers in mere minutes!

Advantages of an IT knowledge base

Creating and maintaining a well-organized IT knowledge base comes with a number of important advantages, including:

• Increased productivity and efficiency
• Reduced training costs
• Improved customer service
• Increased knowledge retention
• Increased morale and engagement

Let’s explore a few of them:

Lower training costs

A well-maintained knowledge base for IT ensures new employees are trained with the latest information. Additionally, it provides a standardized guide that comes in handy when they encounter certain issues on the job. With the support of knowledge base systems, new hires are able to learn faster, shortening training time and costs.

Improved resolution rates and shorter wait times

A customized foundation for help is easily accessible through knowledge base articles for IT support. Instead of going through the process of reaching out to the helpdesk and waiting for aid, users can do it themselves. Even if customers need additional help, they may be able to diagnose the problem themselves, removing that step for technicians.

Better service

A knowledge base can standardize solutions across your company. Regardless of department, all employees will reference the same solutions for their IT issues. This ensures consistency across your organization and better functioning of digital systems.

Components of Knowledge base management

Knowledge bases require constant monitoring and management to run effectively. There are multiple factors important when administering knowledge-based systems, regardless of the size or needs of your organization.

• Strategy: This is the plan for integrating a knowledge base into your business activities. This refers to how you want your knowledge base to solve specific business challenges, the tools necessary to construct it, and a realistic budget.
• Process: This includes identifying both the knowledge your IT KB should feature as well as how it may be accessed and organized. Your management process requires constant reviewing and is not finished once your knowledge base is implemented.
• People: The staff that oversees all aspects of the knowledge base, constantly ensuring its efficiency.
• Maintenance: technology evolves, and therefore the answers in your knowledge base will too! Make sure to have someone on top of your knowledge base to update queries as needed.

How to keep your IT knowledge base updated

Digital networks are constantly changing and improved upon, and your knowledge base must be too. Constant updates keep your knowledge base relevant. So how can you do this?

• Establish an update schedule: With the help of automation software, updates can be set to go out on a standard time interval.
• Identify events requiring frequent updates: Tracking new assets and feature updates can help you identify areas that must be updated more frequently.
• Optimize the Knowledge Base: Knowledge bases require constant reworking, such as rewriting and rearranging old articles to simplify searches.

What should be included in an IT KB?

Knowing what’s in an IT KB can help you and your customers. They should contain documentation of all the software used by the organization, as well as instructions on how to use these applications.

In the case of technological errors, knowledge bases may also include troubleshooting information. Many knowledge bases are simplified with pages on frequently asked questions and their corresponding solutions.

Specifically for the use of IT professionals, knowledge bases often include suggestions on the best coding practices for certain jobs and tasks. They may also contain onboarding material to make training easier.

How to create your own IT knowledge base

In order to build a successful knowledge base, it’s important to understand the advantages and components of a knowledge base. Once we have an understanding of these advantages and components, we can start to construct our knowledge base.

Define the scope: Determine the scope and purpose of your IT knowledge base. Consider the specific IT domains or topics you want to cover, such as network infrastructure, software applications, security protocols, or hardware components, depending what your users will most likely be using it for.

Choose a platform: Select a platform or tool to host your knowledge base. Several options are available, including wiki software like MediaWiki (used by Wikipedia), content management systems like WordPress, or dedicated knowledge base software like Atlassian Confluence or Zendesk Guide. You can also create your very own customizable IT knowledge base right inside of Atera!

Structure and categories: Develop a logical structure for organizing your knowledge base content. Create categories, subcategories, or sections based on the topics you identified earlier. This structure will help users navigate and find information easily.

Gather the right content: The first step is to gather the right content. By highlighting common errors and simple solutions, we can reduce the amount of time employees have to spend resolving problems.

Consistency in voice: Written voice must be easily understood across all knowledge base articles. The staff constructing your knowledge base must be consistent in their information. When building a knowledge base, a centralized IT management office can be helpful.

Make it understandable and easy: Those managing knowledge bases must always be consumer-focused, adapting the articles and their information to the user’s knowledge level.

AI knowledge base

As technology continues to advance at an unprecedented pace, the integration of AI  into knowledge bases is becoming increasingly vital within the realm of IT. AI-powered knowledge bases are revolutionizing how organizations handle information and problem-solving.

These intelligent systems leverage machine learning algorithms to analyze vast amounts of data, enabling them to predict and address IT issues proactively. As AI becomes more adept at understanding context and user intent, it can offer tailored solutions and recommendations, enhancing the overall efficiency of IT support.

Furthermore, the concept of AI is extending beyond knowledge bases and permeating other facets of IT service management (ITSM), such as AI-driven service desks. Atera’s AI product not only streamlines the creation and management of knowledge bases but also augments AI service desks, where AI-driven bots can assist in issue resolution and provide real-time support.

By leveraging machine learning, Atera’s AI can identify recurring issues, suggest optimized solutions, and even automate problem resolution in some cases. This integration of AI technology, spanning knowledge bases and AI service desks, bridges the gap between human expertise and rapid problem-solving, ensuring that organizations can maintain seamless digital operations.

In an era where downtime and disruptions can severely impact business operations, the significance of AI in ITSM, knowledge bases, and AI service desks cannot be overstated. Atera’s AI product, with its proactive insights and adaptive learning capabilities, exemplifies the direction in which IT support and ITSM are evolving. As AI continues to evolve and intertwine with IT management practices, its role in the IT knowledge base and AI service desk landscape will likely become even more indispensable, helping organizations maintain their digital infrastructure and deliver exceptional user experiences.

Get started with your own IT knowledge base

Knowledge bases are useful for everyone within a business network, from the standard employee to specialized IT technicians. They offer a range of benefits, from saving on training costs to allowing business networks to run more efficiently.

However, optimizing a knowledge base requires many components, from staff building and maintaining it, to a backup helpdesk and ticketing system. This is where Atera can help. Atera’s an all-in-one IT management platform, you can create your own customizable knowledge base in minutes, so your users can start using it today!