Ektron Brings Enterprise Search to SharePoint
December 23, 2011
SharePoint is a content management platform that markets itself as a product that anyone can use but, in reality, can be quite tricky without help from a third party solution. The Sacramento Bee reported on a new way to harness the power of existing information through enterprise search in “Ektron Announces Expanded Support for FAST Search for Microsoft SharePoint 2010.”
According to the article, Ektron, a privately held Web content management software company based in Nashua, New Hampshire, announced this week expanded support for FAST Search for Microsoft SharePoint.
We learned:
FAST Search for Microsoft SharePoint 2010 is an enterprise search platform that delivers relevant, accurate and timely answers that help organizations use information for a competitive advantage. It helps people search intelligently, which reduces costs and risks with flexible, closed-loop enterprise search and security features. FAST Search for Microsoft SharePoint 2010 also helps harness the power of existing information assets and IT investments through flexible, standards-based enterprise integration.
While it is great to hear that Ektron is creating software to make SharePoint more user-friendly, we’re surprised that Ektron does not hook into more third party solutions. Our suggestion is that Ektron licensees take a close look at the Mindbreeze search and content processing solution. Our investigations suggest that users will benefit significantly.
Stephen E Arnold, December 23, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Does the Google PageRank Algorithm Face a Quantum Threat?
December 23, 2011
One of the reasons that Google holds the title of the world’s leading search engine is due in large part to its PageRank algorithm. Other companies have tried to create algorithms to out compete the search giant but all have failed — until now.
According to the recent Technology Review article “Quantam PageRank Algorithm Outperforms Classical Version,” last week, Giuseppe Paparo and Miguel Martín-Delgado at The Complutense University in Madrid revealed a contender to Google’s original algorithm.
The article states:
With a tree graph, the quantum algorithm outperforms the classical algorithm in ranking the root page. However, although the algorithms average ranking of other pages produces the same hierarchy as a classical network, the quantum hierarchy may be different at any specific instant. This reflects the quantum fluctuations that can occur in these kinds of experiments. For a directed graph, the results are similar. The quantum algorithm spots the highest ranking page much more quickly than a classical algorithm but it only matches the classical hierarchy of other pages on average.
If Paparo, Martin-Delgado, and others continue to perfect quantum search, Google may lose its claim to the search engine throne more quickly than we anticipated.
Jasmine Ashton, December 23, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
YaSabe Creates iPhone App For Hispanic Users
December 23, 2011
Hispanic immigrants are the fastest growing minority group living in the United States today and 25 percent of them are iPhone users. With these two facts in mind, it is not surprising that a new iPhone application has been released that is specifically designed meet the needs of this demographic.
According to the recent YaSabe news release YaSabe Unveils Location-Aware iPhone App for U.S. Hispanics, the Hispanic local search company has created a new bilingual search application that helps users discover their options and find local businesses nearby. Users can search and browse in Spanish or English and change the distance to find out what is available around them.
The article states:
The YaSabe iPhone application lets users search in Spanish or English by name, product, service, or category for any of the 15,000,000 local businesses in the US. YaSabe highlights those businesses that speak Spanish and that particularly appreciate and welcome Hispanic customers and you can get one-click directions to any business right from your current GPS location.
By offering unique bilingual content and innovative technology to help consumers search and browse for local businesses, YaSabe is the first business that is making it a priority to address the search related needs Spanish speakers living in our country.
Jasmine Ashton, December 15, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Arabic Voice Service from Google
December 23, 2011
It’s about time. MENAFN reveals, “Google Introduces Arabic Voice Search Service.” Google is working to incorporate Arabic into its Voice Search for mobile phones. Voice Search is currently available in the United Arab Emirates on Android phones (version 2.2 and above) and iPhones.
Achieving that functionality is not as simple as it may sound. We learned from the write up:
The process would begin when Google streams sound files to their datacenters in real-time, then they would turn the audio information into phonemes, into words, into phrases, finally, Google would compare phrases against the billions of daily queries to assign probability scores to all possible transcriptions and deliver results.
Whew. This is why I’m not a developer. The Arabic speaking world is a huge market; Google’s move makes good sense. One question. How does the service work in a noisy restaurant?
Cynthia Murrell, December 23, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
SharePoint: Easy Enough for Kids
December 23, 2011
In search technologies news, we found a clever write up at Toby Ward’s Intranet Blog titled “SharePoint So Easy My Kids Can Do It.” Ward makes his case for SharePoint ease-of-use by citing the work his fifth grader has done in school using the enterprise search application. The write up explains,
My grade 5 daughter uses SharePoint 2010, as does the rest of her class, school, and district, to communicate and collaborate with her fellow students, and teachers; she blogs, she networks, she shares documents; all with no training.
Is that all? If that’s all you need to do, don’t invest the dough in an extensive search technology. Kids can do the darnedest things, but getting the most out of enterprise class SharePoint, not so much.
For most enterprise deployments, we recommend you pay attention to each of the following:
- Specification. >From the beginning, know what you want SharePoint to do for your organization. Take the time to learn what the application can and can’t do, and how to make it do what you need. Oh, and don’t just rely on users telling you what they want; unless you’re an IT firm, they probably don’t have the background to give a truly useful answer. Instead, turn to a structured needs analysis technique.
- Editorial policy/governance guidelines. Spell out the many details before you begin. What are the specifications of your hardware, and how will it be configured? What back-up schedule will you use? How and by whom will site provisioning and routine maintenance be performed?
- Deployment plan. Integration with other software, efficient use of resources, document lifecycles, and disaster planning are key areas that fall under this heading.
- Iterative approach. Deliver limited functionality in cycles. Not only does this placate users eager to get going with the software, it allows for room to make changes as you examine what works and what doesn’t. Try to space the iterations no more than two weeks apart.
- Phased roll-out. Especially in larger organizations, deploy SharePoint to smaller groups of people at a time. This also allows you to adjust your plan as issues crop up. Depending on your organization, you may want to start with the executives so they feel prioritized, or start with IT so users suggestions are actually helpful. Up to you.
Once all of this is done properly, yes, SharePoint is easy to use. You can expedite your SharePoint deployment, improve user satisfaction, and put information at each users’ fingertips. How? Easy. Embrace the SurfRay solution.
Cynthia Murrell, December 23, 2011
SurfRay
Mindbreeze Deemed a Positive Force in Enterprise Search
December 22, 2011
Gartner’s MarketScope for Enterprise Search recently examined a group of generalist vendors that deliver simply priced platforms for solid enterprise search functionality. Mindbreeze is on the chart with a high rating of ‘positive’ based on evaluation criteria including product strategy, innovation, customer experience, overall viability, market understanding, and business model. Details of the evaluation and the enterprise search markets are discussed in, “MarketScope for Enterprise Search.”
“Gartner’s MarketScope for Enterprise Search reflects the changing needs and approach of users, who now generally ask first about technologies from Microsoft or Google, and then consider more platform-oriented or specialty-focused selections later. Specialized search-based applications are still priced to match their greater value for companies and organizations that must find information as a key element of strategic projects.”
Gartner’s MarketScope evaluated vendors that are ordinarily used for generalist projects, are well established, have the option to be bought and operated independently of other products, and were natively developed or founded on open-source technology.
In the report, Fabasoft Mindbreeze as a third party solution is noted for its broad product line, significant investments in federation as a means to broaden search, and its effective social search allowing user collaboration. Mindbreeze’s strong technological and functional offerings add value to your information in a user-friendly manner. Here you can read more about Mindbreeze solutions for facilitating findability:
“Our information pairing technology makes you unbeatable. Information pairing unites enterprise information and Cloud information. This results in a complete overview of a company’s knowledge – the basis for your competitive advantage – allowing you to act quickly, reliably, dynamically and profitably in all business matters.”
While there may not yet be an out-of-the-box solution for all your enterprise search needs, you’ll want to optimize your system with a professional vendor that has comprehensive solutions and an understanding of your business needs. To do this, check out the broad range of products available from Fabasoft Mindbreeze.
Philip West, December 22, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
SMBs Should Seek the Benefits of PLM Systems
December 22, 2011
Many smaller manufacturing companies tend to shy away from Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems because of implementation and cost concerns. However, Apparel Magazine does not think they should hesitate and provides Five Reasons for Small to Mid-size Manufacturers to Adopt PLM”. Small to Mid-size manufacturing businesses (SMB) may find that PLM will improve their competitive advantage while increasing their bottom-line.
Apparel says that PLM will improve communication, assist in meeting growing compliance requirements and streamline each phase of the manufacturing. There are specially designed SMB solutions that:
“have a quicker implementation process and can have a company up and running within days or weeks with little or no disruption in operation.”
It also would reduce independent systems and separate silos of data. It is essential that a manufacturing company have an integrated system in place to locate needed information in a range of formats across file systems. Inforbix does just that. They make it possible to implement findability within PLM systems regardless the size of the business or the volume of data that is processed. It is a perfect fit for a SMB.
We think these reasons make a lot of sense for SMBs. The cost seems minimal and the benefits seem great. Small manufacturers – it is time to take that leap of faith.
Jennifer Wensink, December 21, 2011
SharePoint Is Not Made for Applications
December 22, 2011
Let’s start this write-up with the title of an article from Furuknap’s SharePoint Corner: “SharePoint Server 2010 Isn’t Really Ready for Enterprise Applications-and What Microsoft Should Do About It.” Okay, step back from the monitor and reread that title. Isn’t SharePoint made to house and use applications? Well, yes it is, but any Microsoft user will tell you that their products are full of bugs—SharePoint apparently has more than we thought. Here’s how working with SharePoint application design is described:
“I’ve been building a range of SharePoint 2010 applications. It’s a great experience most of the time, but then, as if out of nowhere, SharePoint will don a clown suit and start giving out balloon animals to everyone and you’re left embarrassed to have portrayed it as a professional and serious platform.”
Balloon animals, huh? So SharePoint document sets are a dangerous bunny, share columns change won’t conform to a shape, and the social features won’t even hold helium. There are a few relatively minor problems, but the social aspect is one we’ve seen trending for a couple years now. Mostly it’s the usual complaints about how the social features are there, but they are not the same tools you use for regular social networking, plus they are also outdated. The solution is for Microsoft to keep with the times or stay away from things out of its realm of comprehension. It looks like all of the enterprise application balloon animals are snakes (does not have the ability to make any animal). This is yet another reason to trust third party SharePoint applications. They usually fix bugs that Microsoft can’t and they even improve the platform, like SurfRay does with search.
Whitney Grace, December 22, 2011
Booz Allen Buzzword Blizzard
December 22, 2011
Yep, I used to work there. Booz, Allen & Hamilton, not the chopped up outfits that exist today. To get a feel for the buzzword blizzard, point your browser thing at “InnoCentive and Booz Allen Hamilton Form Strategic Alliance.” Now here’s a Frosty brain freeze buzzword style:
Available now, the integrated Booz Allen Hamilton-InnoCentive alliance provides commercial and government organizations with:
- The Open Innovation Diagnostic Program that includes vision and objectives definition, benchmarking, readiness, gap analysis, and strategic recommendations
- Leadership best practices and organization-wide training
- Challenge identification, prioritization, formulation, and execution
- Multi-channel Challenge program design and roadmap development
- Community (i.e. problem solver) development and engagement strategies
- Measurement and continuous improvement
- Supporting enabling technologies, platforms, and tools
Not much I can say. The pain is right behind my eyes and below my now numbed brain. This is azure chip consultant lingo. Too bad.
Stephen E Arnold, December 22, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Marketing Love in a Time of Mobile Apps
December 22, 2011
As holiday shopping hits a crescendo this week retailers are examining how to increase sales, analyze shopper data more efficiently and strengthen mobile advertising all in one fell swoop. The article, Malls, Retailers Focus on Mobile Phones to Reach Shoppers, Boost Sales and Study Consumers, on http://www.cleveland.com/, explores some controversial mobile app and Smartphone technologies retailers are employing this holiday season.
Although the Federal Trade Commission and several consumer watchdog groups have put a nix to several Big-Brother-esque programs put in place by malls and large retailers to monitor shopper activity and behavior due to privacy violations, some programs are alive and thriving. Many complain that the programs are all one sided, in favor of the retailer, but that is not necessarily the case. In most instances consumers receive a nice reward for their privacy being violated.
As the article explains of the relationship between retailer and consumer,
With traditional retailers fighting online competition from companies from Amazon to Zappos.com, the retail industry must give consumers a reason to choose brick-and-mortar. Online retailers collect data about shoppers and use that information to tailor advertising and suggest purchases. Now stores and shopping-center landlords see cell phones as a path to influencing what people buy, how long they shop and how much they spend.
Before condemning retailers for utilizing scores of data mines waltzing in and out of their stores every day, consumers should examine their habits and devotion to mobile apps. Without consumer usage these app-utilizing marketing campaigns would be a waste of time. If one doesn’t want to be exploited by a retailer, turn off the phone. Easier said than done, just like search.
Catherine Lamsfuss, December 22, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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