Vivisimo’s Stan
March 21, 2009
Clusty has a new friend, Stan. Stan, said Vivisimo, is:
an everyman. (Hey, that rhymes!). He could be you, or your colleague or anyone frustrated with their company’s ability to search internal data (or inability to search). Stan is the man!
You can learn more about Stan here. The FAQ here provides more information about this personification of a user of an enterprise search system. I learned that Stan has a Web log. You can read his musings here. I learned from the March 17, 2009 posting:
I heard about this enterprise search thing. Frankly, it sounds too good to be true. Searching across multiple repositories from a single search box. Presenting results into topical clusters. Tagging and rating documents to impact future search relevancy. Sharing results with other users. All of this while respecting my individual security rights. Seems like pie in the sky to me. Is anybody actually doing this, or is it just some marketing hype? So I’ve started this Web site and blog to figure things out for myself. But I need lots of help. So bookmark the site, friend me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter. Give me suggestions for future videos and blogs postings. Maybe I can actually find something at work now.
Like the a recent consultant’s report about search, Vivisimo has jumped on Google’s “simple” marketing bandwagon. Google’s game plan calls for its sales professionals to state that Google’s enterprise search solution is simple. When one licenses the Google Search Appliance, the customer eliminates the months of fiddling that go along with some search systems. The administrative console makes set up quick and painless. Google makes available to customers who want to do more the OneBox API and expert Google partners like Adhere Solutions. But the message is clear. Google reduces the hassle and hence the cost pain of setting up and maintaining some enterprise search solutions.
Stan is at http://meetstan.com
Is the CMSWatch report right? Is Stan right? I have no idea. I get asked questions about search because the caller has discovered that what looks easy was not for that caller’s particular situation. In general, search is hard. Even Steve Ballmer said that search was tougher than it looked.
Simple is good. Great teachers make the complex easy to understand. In search, there are a number of issues to simplify. Getting one component wrong can create some challenging situations. Some create budget havoc. Others lead to legal matters.
I suppose that if most people insist that search is simple, a minority opinion is irrelevant. At some point, a person may sit down and figure out what has to be done to make electronic information available for specific use cases in a particular organization. I don’t think that is a simple task. Someone may have to figure out how to transform content to make it crunchy. Someone may have to figure out how to create a 24×7 system with near real time updates. I don’t think that is simple either.
For now, I am going to suggest that making issues clear and easy to understand is good. I hope that mythical Stan does that. Simple as a marketing tactic may not be appropriate for some information access situations such as eDiscovery, medical information, law enforcement, or similar applications. Just my opinion. Simple.
Stephen Arnold, March 21, 2009
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2 Responses to “Vivisimo’s Stan”
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Now why would you point out Adhere Solutions as an example of a “Expert Google Partner”. Do you perhaps know someone that works there? Why not be up-front about it?
Gary,
Absolutely. Adhere Solutions is my son’s company. I would gladly point to another Google partner if Googzilla actually communicated with me. Erik Arnold is as close to a Googley soul as I can get. Would you like me to point to a different resource? Use the comments section of this Web log to flog your favorite son. It’s okay with me. Oh, in case you are not clear about how the addled goose’s Web log works, check out the editorial policy on the About page. Genes and money can buy Beyond Search goodness. It’s right there in goose dark gray and white.
Stephen Arnold, March 21, 2009