After a Decade, Open Source Search Is Okay, Says Mid Tier Consultancy
January 27, 2011
The Inquirer reports that “Ovum Source Search Engine is Ready for Enterprise.” Ovum’s free-to-use open source enterprise search and retrieval software is great for companies who need a search application when they don’t want to rely on a commercial product. The article also recommends that companies should stick with open source products and only buy software when their needs aren’t met.
Ovum analyzed the top competitors and barely found any difference between them. “ ‘The key message for enterprises is that they should be aware that there is a raft of available products, including credible open source options, and not just look at the ‘usual suspects.’” Sometimes it pays to want free products! Does Ovum use open source search? Do its analysts have expertise in open source search? We don’t know, but we sure hope they do.
A decade after the début of Lucene, the consultants have discovered a “big thing” if our source is spot on. Yes!
Whitney Grace, January 27, 2011
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Vivisimo Publishes a Customer List
January 26, 2011
I found the links and original news release titled “Information Optimization Trend Continues Widespread Adoption in Government and Commercial Sectors According to Vivisimo” quite interesting. The PR Newswire version of the story might be offline but the story is on the Vivisimo Web site. The write up explains that “informatoin optimization” is a major trend. I noted that a mid tier consulting firm called the Aberdeen Group agrees. I don’t have much to say on the subject. I don’t know what “information” is, so I am not able to comment about “optimizing” it.
What I can point out is that the news release contains what looks like a partial Vivisimo customer list. I noted the names of about three dozen organizations. Several of the outfits license other vendors solutions as well. My thought is that Vivisimo’s competitors know where to make exploratory contacts. Big organizations have a penchant for licensing multiple search systems and making unexpected left hand turns.
I will have to give some thought to that phrase “information optimization.” It is definitely not search, and it may have some advantages when running a query on Bing.com or Google.com. But for me, it seems a bit fuzzy, more like consultant speak than the fractured lingo we use in Harrod’s Creek.
Stephen E Arnold, January 26, 2011
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Big Data Action from Cloudant
January 26, 2011
Do you have problems searching big data stored in CouchDB? Cloudant has discovered the solution to your problem by taking CloudDB’s full text indexing and applying them to search. CMS Newswire provides the details in, “Cloudant Has Found the Answer to Searching Big Data.” Three MIT particle physicists created Cloudant when their old tools to weren’t enough to manage their research.
“Cloudant’s product is the only one that integrates search directly into CloudDB to provide real-time access to data. Many of their customers were storing content in two places CouchDB and in Solr; Cloudant saw an opportunity to provide an easier, low cost solution.”
The new program combines the open-source search platform, Lucene, with CloudDB to make customized, easy searching. Cloudant is available free for hosting customers with an upgrade due in February 2011.
Whitney Grace, January 26, 2011
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Google Trying to Go Beyond Search
January 26, 2011
We love it when people snag the catchphrase and name of this blog for their headlines. Ah, originality. It keeps life fresh here in Harrod’s Creek. From our goose pond, we have been monitoring how Google is expanding beyond their iconic search engine. IT Pro gives us the article, “Google Investors Are Looking beyond Search.” Google is searching the product market, trying to find more moneymaking opportunities to make up for the revenue they lost in 2010.
“’The key opportunity for Google in 2011 is to prove that the transition to mobile, social and local is a graceful one,’ said Stifel Nicolaus & Company analyst Jordan Rohan. ‘Google cannot be perceived to be run over by Amazon.com, Apple, or Facebook.’”
Google is capturing market share with its OS for the Android phone. Google continues to grow as a company; the company is hiring more employees and continue spending on search advertising. The newly promoted vice chairperson, Eric Schmidt, aspires to a career in the public eye. The roses are blooming.
Could it be that its modest weakness is in the social networking department. Facebook, a company not without flaws, seems to be a competitor to Google’s social aspirations. Google needs to figure out how to beat the social networking giant or they’re going to go the way of Microsoft—beat out by newer markets. We think the IT Pro article is on the right track. Too bad the write up did not analyze:
- The new CEO’s native expertise in social networking
- The somewhat fragmented approach to certain markets such as a store front to compete with Apple’s App Store
- The run of products and services that left users indifferent or disappointed.
We don’t agree with “run over.” Our view: writing about Google, it seems, requires some tip “toe through the tulips” type effort.
Whitney Grace, January 26, 2011
OpenText License
January 26, 2011
Short honk: We were poking around for sample licenses from major vendors. We happened upon a site called Nettopdf. We ran a couple of queries. When we searched for “OpenText”, the system generated a page of links here that seemed to point to documents from the Canadian content management and search vendor. We could not get the file to download from a Windows computer, but our Mac sucked down the agreement quickly. To snag the file, get a Mac (just kidding). Navigate to http://nettopdf.info. Enter the query “Open Text Inc.” The file you want is “license available on line for you to review – OPEN TEXT .…” There are ferw other Open Text documents on offer. Several are 2011, including the Q1 2011 Investor Presentation from October 2010. The presentation beat the drum for Open Text’s focus on profitability and its growing market share in “global ECM.” Open Text reported that it had almost 20 percent of this sector, ahead of IBM, EMC, Autonomy, and “others.” Lots of numbers and MBA words. Not much about search. Interesting because Open Text has lots of search systems and if you license RedDot, you get Autonomy within RedDot.
Stephen E Arnold, January 26, 2011
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Zend Lucene Migration
January 26, 2011
Lucene has been mentioned in many of our stories lately, but Zend hasn’t. It’s come to our attention that some of our readers may use Zend and Lucene together, but they need to make a transition to Solr. Stackoverflow.com has the perfect article to explain the process, “Migration from Zend Lucene to Solr.”
Lucene is an open-source search platform and is used in the execution of search engines and individual website searches. Zend Framework is a PHP 5 open source object oriented web application, sometimes used for cloud software. The article gives a step-by-step intro:
“In our project (based on Zend Framework) we have to find a replacement for default Zend_Lucene. Now I’m trying to implement Solr with PHP Solr Client in it. We have 2 tables, where we take the data: categories and offers.”
Follow the steps and you’ll learn a few things about the open source programs and Solr.
Whitney Grace, January 26, 2011
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Tableau Upgrade
January 25, 2011
Look out, BI providers, “Tableau Upgrade Heats Up Cool BI World” reports on Tableau Software’s new 6.0 version. The reviewer here is impressed with the easy to use visual discovery tool, leveraging of the underlying database, and scalability. Also of note is “Data Blending,” the ability to handle multiple data sources: “The lack of this option was one of the oft-cited reasons customers [previously] would choose other products over Tableau. With Data Blending, an end user can drag and drop new data sources onto a visualization. As long as the dimension names are conformed, the tool will automatically create the joins.” Her final analysis is that many people who haven’t tried Tableau before will now. There has been a lot of talk about Tableau and data integration, and this new version may catch search and content processors by surprise.
Alice Wasielewski, January 25, 2011
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The Year for Semantics? Finally?
January 25, 2011
Semantics are coming! Semantics are coming! Well, maybe. “Happy New Year: What’s Ahead for the Semantic Web “(Part 1) and (Part 2) is made up of more predictions for 2011, but this one reports the opinions of “industry names” about the near future of the semantic web.
My favorite quote,
“The business process model we build needs to be more closely aligned with what happens in the enterprise. I want us as a community to stop selling ‘semantics’ – the word and its variants are on all kinds of marketing materials these days! We should be selling our solutions to business and consumer needs, and just happen to be doing it with semantic tools.”
In both the posts, there is too much disparate stuff to summarize the whole thing briefly, but the two articles are divided into sections of Making Money, Fulfilling Enterprise Expectations, Customer Experiences, Where Search and Data are Going, Social Web, Government, and Challenges. Under Challenges, the author points out that 2010 for the semantic Web was like Waiting for Godot instead of the “killer year” that was hoped for. There is just as much optimism at the start of 2011. Maybe it’s the lure of the clean slate of the fresh new year, but 2011 seems again like it holds great promise for the semantic Web.
Alice Wasielewski, January 22, 2011
E-Disclosure Rules
January 25, 2011
I was recently pointed towards The e-Disclosure Information Project (EDIP), an organization sponsored by several relevant companies like Legal Inc and Symantec, whose aim seems to be to investigate this growing entity in hopes of developing rules and practical technology solutions. Originating in the UK, the scope of this project widened as other countries including the US quickly jumped on the bandwagon.
e-Disclosure brings us as a global society to a new juncture. I must admit I find it slightly unsettling that this great age of internet services brings with it such a Big Brotheresque side effect. Consider that anything emailed, texted, IM’ed, etc in the last ten years is likely stored on a tape somewhere, waiting to be called into evidence should the circumstances arise. As an avid fan and user of these technologies, I guess I should have realized that eventually every click of a “send” button would be tantamount to etching in stone.
That being said, this is why the EDIP is an important endeavor. Realizing the power that can be harnessed from the digital mountains of amassed data, the EDIP seems to be attempting to cut the negatives off at the pass based on the earnest project purposes listed on the website, namely to report, influence and educate. Situations such as these beg for rules and constraints, ideally before thousands of electronic pages are entered into court evidence and emails with off-hand remarks condemn a plaintiff to an awful fate over a small dose of sarcasm or a particularly bad day. It is for this reason that even Big Brother needs a Big Brother, the EDIP, to keep things on the up and up.
Sarah Rogers, January 25, 2011
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The Sinequa Shuffle
January 25, 2011
According to some French news reports from ITRnews.com and Channelnews.com, as of December 31, 2010 Sinequa president Jean Ferré has stepped up or aside to make way for Alexandre Bilger. Bilger, who has served as Product Architect and company Co-Director since 2004, is now tasked with driving a “focus on the operational development of its turnover while maintaining its lead in the technological and functional.”
Although Ferré is leaving after a five year reign marked with success, he won’t be going too far. The former CEO will retain a seat as Vice-Chairman while at the same time lingering as a shareholder. Bilger will be trading in some of his duties on the technical side in an effort to spend more time with customers and partners. All in all, most seem to agree this is a win-win situation.
Sinequa provides business search for companies with a plethora of data sources and complex security and connectivity issues. This firm seeks to refine enterprise search methods while cutting down on required infrastructure. Sinequa’s technology solutions can be seen across several legs of industry, including banking, consulting, consumer products, government, media, telco, manufacturing and retail per the establishment’s website.
Sarah Rogers, January 25, 2011
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