IBM, Watson, and Patents
December 13, 2011
What no game show?
Although it’s getting a lot of recognition lately, Apple’s Siri probably isn’t the smartest machine on the block.
IBM’s Watson, if you remember, was the one to beat Ken Jennings in Jeopardy. With the computer’s speech recognition, natural language processing, machine learning, and data mining, IBM is now pushing Watson into other applications.
For example, WellPoint, a health plan company, is using Watson to search patient records and improve diagnosis. We learn more in the article on Slashdot, “IBM Watson to Battle Patent Trolls”:
..IBM itself is using Watson to help sell Watson (and other IBM products) to other companies. Now, using Watson’s data mining and natural language talents, IBM has created the Strategic IP Insight Platform, or SIIP, a tool that has already scanned millions of medical patents and journals for the sake of improving drug discovery — and in the future, it’s easy to see how the same tool could be used to battle patent trolling, too.
It seems there are a lot of present and future implications for the company, but where’s the cloud service which showcases this formidable system?
Andrea Hayden, December 13, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Enterprise Information Alphabet Soup Explained
December 13, 2011
Recently, we found an interesting article from Reto Hug entitled “Manufacturing Productivity and MRP/ERP/MIS”…try to say that three times fast! Anyway, in his article in explains what each acronym means and what technology is available to aid manufacturing productivity.
So what does it all mean? Manufacturing resource planning (MRP) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) are defined as:
management information systems (MIS) since they are converting raw data into useful facts such as reports and invoices to optimally run a manufacturing environment.
The article explains that the software for MRP and ERP:
allow for keeping track of inventories in a manufacturing setting as well as purchasing and manufacturing controls and communications with people on the fabrication floor so that things are running smoothly between all departments of a manufacturing company.
Though Hug seems to have some insightful, technical information in his posting, it seems a bit convoluted. Inforbix provides a much more direct solution to the problems brought forth in his article. They provide a simplified approach to product data access versus the traditional product data management. No more acronyms on top of acronyms, just the revolutionary Inforbix process of find, re-use and share data. It is just that easy
Jennifer Wensink, December 12, 2011
Quote to Note: Kindle Issues
December 13, 2011
We don’t know much about the Kindle. We ordered one. Turned it on once. Put it in the box. Meh. We did read “Can a Software Update Quench Kindle Firestorm?” and wondered, “What does one want for $200?” Here’s the quote we noted:
A lot of the Kindle team is ex-Microsoft, and [their] process of releasing a major new platform
followed by updates to correct problems and make minor in-line improvements has proven to be successful over time,” Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group, told TechNewsWorld.
Our view: Wonderful. Hello, mediocrity and her brother good enough. Search. Never tried it. Device to slow and clunky. Microsoft, eh?
Stephen E Arnold, December 13, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Enterprise Search in the Realm of Social Media
December 13, 2011
Enterprise and social media are two emerging trends gaining ground fast in the world of IT, but how do they work together? Not just fads, they have proven their worth and are here to stay, but how can they both be utilized in order to maximize efficiency? SharePoint is an obvious place to start, as it controls a large segment of the market. Rich Blank gives the pros and cons in, “5 Myths about SharePoint as an Enterprise Social Platform.”
When SharePoint 2010 arrived in the marketplace, the platform included new social capabilities to improve productivity and collaboration. However, as the consumer social web exploded, it became clear that the 2010 platform only provided the basic building blocks of social computing. As many organizations are now making social collaboration a priority, it’s important to dispel myths and provide a reality-based understanding of SharePoint 2010 as a social computing platform.
While SharePoint works as an enterprise foundation, its true potential comes through the addition of third party solutions. A solution that we like is Fabasoft Mindbreeze. Fabasoft has taken an interest in social media, and is working to maximize its offerings to compliment social media needs.
Here Michael Hadrian discusses their participation in the Content and Collaboration Summit in London:
’With Folio Cloud, Fabasoft has developed a European Cloud for ECM and B2B collaboration. This enables worldwide connected collaboration and secure data exchange in protected team rooms,’ explained Michael Hadrian, Fabasoft Distribution GmbH managing director. ‘As Premier Sponsor at this established conference, we are looking forward to contributing towards the continued advancement and assertion of business Cloud applications.’ In his presentation, Michael Hadrian presented Fabasoft’s latest inter-company business applications live, showing which concrete business advantages companies can benefit from with Fabasoft Folio Cloud based on customer projects.
While there is not yet a single out-of-the-box solution for organizations needing to merge their enterprise and social media needs, there are good solutions out there. Check out the Mindbreeze suite of offerings to see if it might work for you.
Emily Rae Aldridge, December 13, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Google and Customer Service
December 13, 2011
Now here’s an interesting view of Google. Ars Technica reports, “How effective is the Google Apps support ecosystem? The customers speak.” The article was prompted by the implementation of a new phone support system aimed at business and education users. The feature is to provide support for issues with its core services like Gmail, Google Docs and Google Calendar.
Writer Jon Brodkin notes that a dedicated phone line could be a great leap forward from the haphazard mix of support options Google has offered in the past. The article asserts:
Google’s reputation on customer support has never been stellar, so we decided to talk to a few Google Apps business and education customers to find out how good or bad it is in real life. The answers ranged from ‘We’ve never had to call support’ to ‘their tech support sucks.’ In the middle ground, several customers told us Google support is usually good enough for break/fix issues but falls short when it comes to requesting functionality customers believe is missing.
Keep in mind that these people are speaking pre-help line. We don’t yet know how well that will work out. However, Brodkin’s write up is full of examples of frustrated Google users trying to get the help they needed when they needed it. The stories suggest that implementing a round-the-clock phone line is just the beginning of what Google needs to do to truly support its users.
Our view is that Google should provide the type of customer support available to Adwords’ customers to users of other Google services.
Cynthia Murrell, December 13, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Exclusive Interview: Gilles Andre, PolySpot
December 13, 2011
Last week I was able to interview Gilles Andre, the chief executive officer, of PolySpot late in November and then last week. Mr. Andre joined PolySpot in June 2010. Prior to this, Gilles was co-founder and CEO of Augure, a company engaged in e-reputation management and services. Mr. Andre was also the founder of Leonard’s Logic suite in 1997 (software editor of Genio ETL). Acquired by Hummingbird in 1999. Mr. Andre is board member at Talend, recognized market leader in open source middleware solutions.
PolySpot is a provider of open search solutions. The company offers a robust and innovative architecture which supports search-centric applications accessible from any device connected to a client’s network.
I was interested in Mr. Andre’s view of PolySpot. The search and content processing sector is in transition, and the role of open source solutions continues to gain traction. He told me:
PolySpot’s agile framework, its use of open source technology like Lucene, and a focus on putting information in the business work flow. Olivier Lefassy, David Fischer – our CTO – and I had designed some interesting ideas, and I was eager to fine tune these elements into a business model that would propel PolySpot over the hurdles which cause many enterprise information solutions to fail.
With open source making in roads at IBM and other major technology providers, I asked about Mr. Andre’s involvement in the “communities” which play an important role in the sector. He told me:
When I was board member at Talend, a very successful French initiative in the ETL [extract, transform, load] segment from inception in 2006 to December 2010, I came to understand the potential of open source software. PolySpot gives me a chance to leverage my knowledge about fast growth, high potential companies, open source software, and the “big data” opportunity around us. I think you can say that data management and information are woven throughout my business fabric.
The PolySpot approach boasts a robust framework. I asked what PolySpot has constructed around Lucene, the open source search system:
We build the connectors I mentioned before and a connector software development kit. We engineered out proprietary transformation and enrichment platform (that’s the Sense Builder components) which adds intelligence to raw information. We also developed a very innovative end to end administration console enabling to design and maintain search applications with no particular technical skill, this eases Lucene and Solr configuration but also amplifies the search functionalities provided by Solr. Last, we have added display modules, information views, and graphical user interfaces. These can easily be customized. To make it brief, PolySpot delivers the first end-to-end packaged search infrastructure over Lucene and SOLR core technologies.
After seeing several demonstrations of client deployments, I was impressed with the PolySpot technology. To learn more about PolySpot’s solutions and technical approach, navigate to www.polyspot.com. The full text of the interview with Mr. Andre is located in the ArnoldIT’s series Search Wizards Speak at this link.
Stephen E Arnold, December 13, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com, publishers of The New Landscape of Enterprise Search
Optimizing Your Enterprise Mobile Strategy
December 12, 2011
Two main concerns need to be balanced when pursuing an effective mobile strategy for any organization: efficiency and security. CMS Wire reports in, “Mobile Risks and Opportunities: Is Your Company’s Strategy Optimized?”
“A balance needs to be struck so that the organization can take advantage of the new technology, but not at the cost of lost confidential information or an IT infrastructure that is unmanageable. How can IT be expected to support five versions of essentially the same application but from different vendors (not all of which may be in business next year), running on every imaginable mobile device and operating system — that everybody wants connected to the corporate network?”
Add the necessity for mobile enterprise to the equation to further complicate the challenge. Mobile changes can occur so rapidly that a plan needs to be in place in order to keep pace. But keeping pace without regard to security poses its own threat.
“The internal audit, risk management and IT security teams should provide advice on the risks. However, care should be taken that excessive concern about risks does not result in being slow, or even late, to seize the opportunities.”
Fabasoft Mindbreeze offers a mobility solution that ensures security and efficiency are both priorities. Unlike broader solutions like SharePoint, you never have to worry about access and security issues with Mindbreeze.
“Smartphones and tablets allow you to act quickly in business matters – an invaluable competitive advantage. Fabasoft Mindbreeze Mobile makes company knowledge available on all mobile devices. You can act freely, independently and yet always securely. Irrespective of what format the data is in. Full functionality: Search results are displayed homogenously to the web client with regards to clear design and intuitive navigation.”
Change will always be a challenge in IT, but success is possible through anticipating the threat and responding with a smart solution. We think Fabasoft Mindbreeze is worth a second look for this, and many other reasons.
Emily Rae Aldridge, December 12, 2011
Sponsored by: Pandia.com
Take a Gander at PowerShell to Generate a SharePoint Architecture Diagram
December 12, 2011
“Having a well-planned Information Architecture is critical for the success of a SharePoint implementation. Sometimes, as we all know, our environments get away from us and site owners start running frantic – sites are created without our knowledge or placed where they shouldn’t. You have had enough and it’s time for reorganization (and perhaps a new security model) – but how do you know what you have now in order to thoroughly plan things out?”
Dueling Perspectives on PDM Versus PLM
December 12, 2011
stands for a broader data management solution that includes orientation on processes that influence changes of this data as well decision management in a context of this data.” This broader scope creates many “benefits of data completeness” and “created many overlaps in data management solutions.
System Deployment Woes Continue: Search and More
December 12, 2011
Financial directors can only do so much from their end, and are frustrated by poor management of their software investments. That’s the gist of “Why Do Financial Directors Have Little Confidence in Business Software?” from the UK’s BCW.
Writer Julian Swan cites research showing that only 7% of financial directors in the UK are very confident that their organizations software is correctly deployed, and 65% are unhappy with the way it is being managed. Furthermore, we learned from the write up:
Only 12% of FDs think that Intellectual Property (IP) is valued within their company, which might explain why almost 30% of those surveyed admitted that illegal software could be in use in their organization. Some of the worst performing organizations when it comes to software management are in the public sector. Only 35% of FDs in the education sector are confident that their software is deployed correctly.
Swan recommends proper, long-term planning as the remedy. Assuring that licensing issues are addressed can not only ward off all the problems that come with unlicensed software, but also save money lost to over-licensing.
We know, we know; that’s why we’re on top of it here. Do we get a gold star? Do we, do we, do we? Guess not. Our deployments work. No poobahs or satraps of home economics, big smiles, and laser printed taxonomy boot camp certificates needed. Thanks though.
Cynthia Murrell, December 12, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
