I think there are a MILLION of different things you can use for this type of information. I don't like Confluence much, but it does work.
Best app is probably an internal Wiki. Works extremely well, easy to setup, searchable, etc.. etc..
I think that was always my favorite. But don't store passwords here. Use a secure PW manager. Sometimes you can even link to it from the Wiki.
My issue has always been the bulletin-board type of things. "Client XYZ expressed concern about this. Let's make sure we're sensitive to this."
I've rarely seen companies even make an attempt at spreading this type of info, and the ones that have have not thought of a good solution. No, sending emails to the entire department is not a solution.
Confluence is good. I will say I hated it at first, but it’s one of those kinds of software that you need to adapt to instead of the other way around.
It has a lot of good, the-way-it-should-be-done processes that if you force yourself to follow, can be very rewarding.
Some positives:
1. Great mobile app.
2. Lots of security. Audit trails, granular access to specific pages, 2FA.
3. Can sync users with Google Cloud Suite, nice to only have 1 set of users.
4. Very rich and detailed page design options.
5. Has other apps that bolt on. So much sensitive data can be stored in a wik, it’s nice to be able to securely share it into Jira (like Github) or Stride (like Slack).
6. Is only $10 for up to 10 users. Can also bring in on-premise (much more expensive though). This is good for HIPAA stuff.
I suspect the answer is a function of team size. For smaller companies, less formal solutions may be ok.
At my company we use:
- Salesforce
- wiki
- google groups
- github
- Trello
We use Confluence, but to get the most out of it, you need two things.
1) proper training for everyone that will use it. 2) processes regarding its use so your information is consistent.
Google docs, google pages , wordpress for users faq. It’s far from perfect but it works okay.
Confluence seems to be pretty popular for reasons which I can't understand since like you said it's godawful.