Save time and money with a modern wiki solution

Aug 5, 2025

“Knowledge is the only commodity that increases when it is shared,” Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830-1916) is said to have once said. Today, knowledge management is a much-discussed topic and an indispensable process in modern organizations. With the spread of smartphones, access to the internet and therefore to incredible amounts of knowledge has become ubiquitous. The success of organizations is now also measured by the extent to which they are able to make their knowledge accessible and usable for the right recipients. Stable processes and a software solution such as Atlassian Confluence or BlueSpice MediaWiki are required to meet the expectations of internal and external customers with regard to the quality and speed of response to inquiries.

This short article covers the following topics:

What is knowledge management anyway?
The business case for a modern wiki solution
The symbiosis of processes, methods and tools
What else can wiki systems be used for?
Partnership between generativ and Hallo Welt!
Advantages for oneGov.ch members

But let’s start at the very beginning: What is knowledge management anyway?

Knowledge management is a method by which companies can influence the organization and use of knowledge. It refers to the methodical influence on the knowledge base of a company or an administration (organizational knowledge management) or an individual (personal knowledge management). The knowledge base refers to all data and information, all knowledge and all skills that an organization or an individual needs to solve its various tasks. In today’s knowledge and innovation-oriented communication age, the knowledge capital available in a company is increasingly becoming a decisive production factor. Knowledge within a company is therefore seen as a production factor alongside capital, labor and land.

The business case for a modern wiki solution

A simple calculation example for an organization with 100 employees: Let’s assume that each person involved works about 40 weeks per year and is absent the rest of the time on vacation, on training or for other reasons. Furthermore, let’s assume very cautiously that all employees spend around 6 minutes a day, i.e. 30 minutes a week, searching for a document, a procedure or the status of a topic. This results in a total of 100 employees x 40 weeks x 0.5 hours, i.e. 2,000 hours per year.

This means that the organization has around one full-time employee working exclusively on searches. However, the actual figures are probably much higher. McKinsey, for example, assumes that it is actually up to five hours per week, i.e. around one hour per day. This makes the business case for a modern process and an integrated tool very easy to calculate, of course

The symbiosis of processes, methods and tools

We firmly believe that the availability of situationally relevant information is crucial for productive collaboration. Constantly searching and asking employees is not only frustrating, but ultimately also costs time and money. Particularly when employees are physically separated, a simple question can turn into a cumbersome clarification that ties up valuable capacity.

The reasons for using a wiki system are obvious.

Wikis are a central point of contact and avoid “island knowledge” within the organization
Standards for documentation and processes can be adhered to more easily
The organization’s knowledge is institutionalized
The participatory design of content promotes the motivation of contributors

In short, it can be said that the effectiveness and efficiency of collaboration can be significantly improved.

BlueSpice is an integrated management system (IMS). For a first impression, we provide you with the following video: https://youtu.be/YvR-GeRtZvs

What else can wiki systems be used for?

There are virtually no limits to creativity when using wiki systems:

Use as a knowledge base or generally as a documentation platform
Use as an integrated management system
Platform for recording and processing requirements
As an intranet platform for the organization
Platform for change management
Provision of training documents
Innovation management, environmental management
Risk management
and much more…

Partnership between generativ and Hallo Welt!

Thanks to the partnership with Hallo Welt! GmbH, generativ GmbH can now also offer its customers an open source wiki solution. BlueSpice is based on MediaWiki, the mother of all wikis. The platform is used by thousands of organizations worldwide and is the basis of wikipedia.org, probably the best-known wiki in the world. With BlueSpice MediaWiki, you enable your employees to quickly access up-to-date and business-critical knowledge via a central and dynamic knowledge base.

Wikipedia.org

BlueSpice is an open source enterprise software with many advantages: It is stable and secure and uses state-of-the-art web technologies. You retain control over the source code and ensure that all developments remain publicly available. The software runs on all common browsers and mobile devices and complies with the guidelines of the EU General Data ProtectionRegulation (GDPR).

Benefits for members of OneGov.ch

In addition to a free initial consultation, we also offer a trial version for you to try out.
You can contact us by e-mail at: service@generativ.ch or via the contact form on the website.

And if it can be a little more technical – BlueSpice is an open source software that offers many advantages, especially for public administration:

High security standards and rapid closure of security gaps
Stable and proven technologies with high performance
Open source code for maximum transparency and trust
Optimal adaptability of the software to your needs
No compulsory commitment to manufacturer or IT service provider
Compatibility with other software solutions and IT systems
Continuous further development of the software by a dedicated community

For more information, questions and answers: https://bluespice.com/de/produkte/haeufig-gestellte-fragen/

generativ GmbH was founded in 2018 as a specialized consulting company and software house in Zurich. Our focus is on digital business processes as well as solutions and methods relating to the Atlassian product range. In addition, we support you in digitization with open source solutions such as BlueSpice and Easy Redmine. We offer process and methodological expertise as well as solution architecture from a single source and support organizations in classic project and process management, the introduction of agile principles and digital transformation. We are attentive listeners, rational analysts, forward-looking consultants and experienced coaches. Together with our clients, we envision the working environments of tomorrow and thus enable lived processes as well as effective and efficient collaboration in and around organizations.

BlueSpice is a brand of Hallo Welt! Ltd. a leading global provider and consultant for MediaWiki solutions. The company was founded to make the technology and concepts of Wikipedia usable for companies. Since 2007, we have therefore been developing the BlueSpice knowledge management platform based on the open source software MediaWiki. With our growing team of over 20 employees, we offer companies enterprise software for the implementation of integrated management solutions, documentation systems, organizational manuals and a flexible knowledge base. With our services and support, we ensure that your wiki project is professionally planned, implemented and supported. Let’s Wiki together!