K

KB (kilobyte): 1,024 bytes.

Kbps (Kilobits per second): Measurement of data transmission speed in a communication system. The number of kilobits transmitted or received each second.

KMS (knowledge management system): See knowledge management.

Knowledge asset: Intellectual content possessed by an organization. Any piece of information that a worker at a company knows, from customer names to how to fix a piece of machinery, can be considered a knowledge asset. Assets can be codified in a variety of formats, such as PowerPoint slides, Word documents, audio and video files, and so forth.

Knowledge base: A specialized database that stores knowledge assets.

Knowledge management: The process of capturing, organizing, and storing information and experiences of workers and groups within an organization and making it available to others. By collecting those artifacts in a central or distributed electronic environment (often in a database called a knowledge base), KM aims to help a company gain competitive advantage.