Meta4 NV, the Madrid, Spain-based developer of web and component-based software for human resources and knowledge management, is planning a diversification into what the company believes will become one of the hottest markets on the internet – trading knowledge. Just as tangible items such as wheat and stocks are traded in markets around the world, so the company believes that an intangible subject like knowledge will be the big market for the future.
Meta4 is tight-lipped about details of the new venture for fear of alerting potential competitors, but it is involved in talks with potential partners and financial backers to get the plan off the ground. Its credentials for a move into a new market lie in the skills it has developed producing knowledge management software. While Meta4 is expanding rapidly – third-quarter figures released last week showed revenue rose 54% – the company is looking for ways to exploit its intellectual property in new areas.
The type of knowledge that could be traded may range from expertise at setting up a computer system to the skills of a management consultant. Given its intangible nature, knowledge is obviously harder to quantify than wheat, but Meta4 insist it will be up to them to bring credibility to the system.
