StreetAccount Added to the Acquisition List of 2012
July 18, 2012
Thomson Reuters may not be too thrilled with this news. Its competitor FactSet added a gem to its information treasure chest.
The acquisitions of 2012 just added some new names to the list. Taume’s article “FactSet Research Buys StreetAccount” explains why FactSet felt StreetAccount complimented their mission and decided to become their sole distributor.
In the company’s opinion, this is a win, win situation for everyone. Those that utilize FactSet currently can now gain access to StreetAccount through the FactSet workstation and iPad applications.
StreetAccount’s Senior Vice President Gregory Jones,stated:
“Institutional investors are challenged by the volume of information they receive. StreetAccount cuts through the clutter to deliver to users the news they need most. We’re delighted to join FactSet as we share a common mission: to transform information into intelligence for our clients.”
FactSet’s Director of Product Development for Market Data explained the reasoning behind acquiring StreetAccount as:
“StreetAccount content is a natural fit for FactSet that will complement our strong partnership with Dow Jones and other news vendors already available on the FactSet platform. This acquisition is right in line with FactSet’s long-term commitment to investing in unique content sets”
FactSet has been around since 1978 and combines integrated financial information, analytical applications, and client services, enhancing the productivity and organization of global investment professionals. StreetAccount opened their doors in 2003 and provide crucial market moving information for corporations involved in buying and selling. As far as acquisitions go, these two companies create a complimentary combination that might end up on the success list.
Jennifer Shockley, July 18, 2012
Blekko Evolves Search by Spreading the News
July 18, 2012
The voice of news and internet search is evolving and Blekko’s new social news site ROCKZi confirms why. The new website makes watching or reading the news a pleasure with their friendly, easy to use search platform. Not only that, but they are utilizing the information.
Blekko recently announced the arrival of Rockzi on their website, so this gosling checked it out.
What I found was a very user friendly design with visual appeal. Finding topics was simply done by clicking the subject, which brought up targeted subject tiles of articles or clips. Users can than vote, share or add content using the “submit” button on the board, or the convenient browser bookmarklet. Karma is earned via posting, commenting and voting. This raises the ‘knowledge’ status of the user, increasing social statuses in the community while also adding to the database.
ROCKZi opens the door to an interesting future for search content. Blekko wisely plans to use subject popularity as a new method of developing search content. They declared:
“As the number of news boards expands and we introduce more customizable Boards, this has the very powerful potential to revolutionize the way we discover good content on the increasingly cluttered Web.”
“Social signals generated by the ROCKZi user base will eventually translate into search signals that Blekko can use to identify the highest quality content and curate search results while pushing spam to the bottom.”
Blekko is dreaming big and could easily evolve search to the next level by harnessing the power of websites like ROCKZi. Overall, ROCKZi offers an interesting way to spread the news and collect targeted search data for the future.
Jennifer Shockley, July 18, 2012
Document Management Is Ripe For eDiscovery
July 18, 2012
If you work in any aspect related to the legal community, you should be aware that eDiscovery generates a great deal of chatter. Like most search and information retrieval functions, progress is erratic.
While eDiscovery, according to the marketers who flock to Legal Tech and other conferences, will save clients and attorneys millions of dollars in the long run, there will still be some associated costs with it. Fees do not magically disappear and eDiscovery will have its own costs that can accrue, even if they may be a tad lower than the regular attorney’s time sheets.
One way to keep costs down is to create a document management policy, so if you are ever taken to court it will reduce the amount of time and money spent in the litigation process. We have mixed feelings about document management. The systems are often problematic because the management guidance and support are inadequate. Software cannot “fix” this type of issue. Marketers, however, suggest software may be up to the task.
JD Supra discusses the importance of a document management plan in “eDiscovery and Document Management.” The legal firm of Warner, Norcross, and Judd wrote a basic strategy guide for JD Supra for people to get started on a document management plan. A plan’s importance is immeasurable:
“With proper document management, you’ll have control over your systems and records when a litigation hold is issued and the eDiscovery process begins, resulting in reduced risk and lower eDiscovery costs. This is imperative because discovery involving electronically stored data — including e-mail, voicemail, calendars, text messages and metadata — is among the most time-consuming and costly phases of any dispute. Ultimately, an effective document management policy is likely to contribute to the best possible outcome of litigation or an investigation.”
The best way to start working on a plan is to outline your purpose and scope—know what you need and want the plan to do. Also specify who will be responsible for each part of the plan—not designating proper authority can leave the entire plan in limbo. Never forget a records retention policy—it is legally require to keep most data for seven years or permanently, but some data can be deleted. Do not pay for data you do not have to keep. Most important of all, provide specific direction for individual tasks, such as scanning, word management, destruction schedule, and observing litigation holds. One last thing, never under estimate the importance of employee training and audit schedules, the latter will sneak up on you before you know it.
If, however, you still are hesitant in drafting a plan can carry some hefty consequences:
- “Outdated and possibly harmful documents might be available and subject to discovery.
- Failure to produce documents in a timely fashion might result in fines and jail time: one large corporation was charged with misleading regulators and not producing evidence in a timely matter and was fined $10 million.
- Destroying documents in violation of federal statutes and regulations may result in fines and jail time: one provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act specifies a prison sentence of up to 20 years for someone who knowingly destroys documents with the intent to obstruct a government investigation.”
A document management plan is a tool meant to guide organizations in managing their data, outlining the tasks associated with it, and preparing for eventual audits and litigation procedures. Having a document management plan in place will make the eDiscovery process go quicker, but another way to make the process even faster and more accurate is using litigation support technology and predictive coding, such as provided by Polyspot.
Here at Beyond Search we have a healthy skepticism for automated content processing. Some systems perform quite well in quite specific circumstances. Examples include Digital Reasoning and Ikanow. Other systems are disappointing. Very disappointing. Who are the disappointing vendors? Not in this free blog. Sign up for Honk!, our no holds barred newsletter, and get that opt-in, limited distribution information today.
Whitney Grace, July 18, 2012
Sponsored by Polyspot
Why GTV Will Not Survive
July 18, 2012
Tech Crunch recently reported on Google’s version of the Apple TV in the article “Google’s TV Strategy Is Doomed.”
According to the article, there are a few reasons off the bat for why GTV will not succeed and it all has to do with the fact that Google will not be able to win over television broadcasters. The second point to note is that no one really understands the goal for smart TVs.
When discussing the former issue, the article states:
“First, television broadcasters don’t want to work with anyone who aims to make money off their content. Sure they’ll sell a program here or there, but unless the set-top in your home is streaming out the unadulterated streams coming out of their satellites, they don’t want any part of it. By co-opting search and discovery, Google looks to the broadcasters like a parasitic organism rather than a money maker. TiVo (barely) survives because it acts as a smart VCR. Apple TV and GTV are slow to spread because they are, at best, glorified media players and they will never be anything more without real broadcaster buy-in.”
Perhaps Google will surprise us and turn GTV into a money making machine. However, it seems to me that, a company trying to conquer every inch of the tech landscape is going to fail more times than not. Stick to what you are good at Google.
Jasmine Ashton, July 18, 2012
Sponsored by IKANOW
Trimming Legal Costs and Jobs: A Predictive Coding Unintended Consequence?
July 17, 2012
Predictive coding and eDiscovery are circling the legal communities gossip rings about what it means for the future of legal costs and jobs. The Huffington Post addresses the topic in “ ‘Lawyerbots’ Offer Attorneys Faster, Cheaper Assistants.” The US court system has made new regulations when it comes to eDiscovery technology and how it can be used in court cases. Lawyer, legal professionals, and even the companies licensing various programmatic content processing systems are struggling to understand the upside and downside of the algorithmic approach to coding. One-way eDiscovery and predictive coding will be used is to cut down on the many, many hours of post-processing some electronic documents. This new technology is being referred to as “lawyerbots.”
Lawyerbots cut through the man-hours like an electric knife, saving time and clients money. Many are optimistic about the changes. But some clients are ambivalent:
“But how will clients feel about a computer doing some of the dirty work, instead of a lawyer or paralegal manually digging through documents? Some could be concerned that a computer is more apt to make an error, or overlook crucial information. In a recent study in the Richmond Journal of Law and Technology, lawyer labor was tested against lawyerbots with predictive coding software. Researchers found “evidence that such technology-assisted processes, while indeed more efficient, can also yield results superior to those of exhaustive manual review.” In basic terms, the computers had the humans licked.”
Faster and more accurate! It is an awesome combination, but the next question to follow is what about jobs? There are several predictions already out there; the article mentions how Mike Lynch of Autonomy believes the legal community will employ fewer people in the future. Others are embracing the new technology pattern and plan to see changes as the older lawyers retire. Here’s one observation:
“Jonathan Askin, the director of Brooklyn Law School’s Brooklyn Law Incubator and Policy Clinic (BLIP)…said, ‘When I look around at my peers, I see 40-year-old lawyers who are still communicating via snail mail and fax machines and telephones and appearing in physical space for negotiations.’ He said he hopes to better merge the legal sector and technology to serve both lawyers and their clients more efficiently.”
We arrive at yet another crossroads: traditional, variable cost ways vs. new, allegedly more easily budgeted approach to content analysis.
As a librarian, I predict, without having to use predictive analytics that eDiscovery will take some legal occupations. Online wrecked havoc in the special library market. However, I am confident that there will still be a need for humans to keep the lawyerbots and maybe the marketers of these systems in check.
After all, software technology is only as smart as humans program it and humans are prone to error. The lawyerbots will also drive down costs, a blessing in this poor economy, and more people will be apt to bring cases to court, increasing demand for lawyers. In order to get to this point, however, there needs to be an established set of standards on how litigation support software can be programmed, how it can be used, and basic requirements for the processes/code. What’s the outlook? Uncertainty and probably one step forward and one step backwards.
Whitney Grace, July 17, 2012
Sponsored by Polyspot
Tips for SharePoint Integration from EPC Group Leader
July 17, 2012
Errin O’Connor, Founder and CEO for the SharePoint consultant firm EPC Group, focuses on implementing Microsoft technologies in organizations throughout the United States. In a recent Q & A article, “SharePoint Integration Considerations for Every Exchange Organization,” O’Connor provides some insight into taking full advantage of the SharePoint system, as well as Exchange and Outlook, in your organization.
O’Connor explains some lesser-known ways to use Exchange and Outlook with SharePoint,
SharePoint 2010 supports two-way synchronization. With that comes the ability to email-enable SharePoint lists like calendars, tasks, document libraries, discussion boards and contacts. Of course, you can also create custom alerts for actions taken on said lists. A lot of users don’t always take advantage of the option to manage SharePoint contacts from Outlook and don’t add SharePoint tasks or calendars into Outlook. Of course, we also want users to minimize the number of passwords or applications they interface with on a daily basis.
O’Connor also discusses SharePoint in large versus small companies, and that no matter the organization size, the IT team needs a passionate advocate for SharePoint and improved collaboration. The brief Q & A may be worth the read if you are embarking on increased SharePoint integration.
To increase user adoption, look to save employees’ time by connecting them to the right information via a user-friendly interface. We like the good reviews for the Fabasoft Mindbreeze suite of solutions. With clear navigation and a self-explanatory interface, Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise facilitates findability.
Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise finds every scrap of information within a very short time, whether document, contract, note, e-mail or calendar entry, in intranet or internet, person- or text-related. The software solution finds all required information, regardless of source, for its users. Get a comprehensive overview of corporate knowledge in seconds without redundancy or loss of data.
Navigate to http://www.mindbreeze.com/ to read more.
Philip West, July 17, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Should Technology Complement or Replace Customer Service?
July 17, 2012
An important customer service message involving bypassing technology to appease your customers was revealed by UserVoice early this week.
UserVoice, a company which focuses on listening to your market through simple engagement tools, recently posted an article titled, “Sorry, but Your Customers Don’t Care if You’re Sorry.”
With technology becoming so engrained in everyday business, sometimes that technology reveals itself to be slightly finicky. Systems can be inflexible and unable to accomplish certain tasks which may seem quite ordinary, such as leaving a side off of an order or doing partial refunds. However, this does not mean that your business can afford to lose the human side of everyday transactions. The article asserts:
“Guess what: your customer doesn’t care how your system works. No, really. They don’t care one bit. They want what they want, and if you can’t deliver it, they’ll find someone who CAN do it.
Take the time to help your customers, even if it means circumventing your system. Walk the 3 feet to talk to the chef. Send someone a check if your system can’t do refunds. Give someone another game if it turns out your games only work on PC.”
Using common sense in these sorts of simple transactions, which may include bypassing the “system,” will result in happier customers in the long run.
Andrea Hayden, July 17, 2012
Sponsored by PolySpot
Make Easy to Use Solutions and They Will Come
July 17, 2012
One of the largest issues facing enterprises optimizing product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions is that they are often too complex for individual employees to use. When all employees along the production chain are not able to easily make the most of a solution they will return to tried and true methods making expensive PLM solutions a giant waste of money. The Design News article, “Kenesto Takes an Un-PLM Approach to PLM”, explores how one provider’s goal is to change all that.
Kenesto is a young PLM provider dedicated to creating solutions that don’t require an IT team for every task. As the article explains,
“Kenesto 2012, now generally available, aims to blend simplicity with a cloud-based approach to circumvent some of those familiar road blocks. Via use of familiar metaphors like attachments and email-like conventions, the platform allows engineering teams to route drawings and documents, create and circulate RFQs (request for quotes), interact with external suppliers, and populate bills of materials, all without any behind-the-scenes programming. The system is particularly compelling for organizations that have been chained to paper-based processes because they didn’t see the appeal of existing, often hard-to-implement PLM platforms…”
The problems Kenesto addresses are seen across industries and, in general, are the reasons PLM leaves a bad taste in many enterprises’ mouths. Kenesto is not alone in their desire to help companies take full advantage of PLM solutions. Other providers like Inforbix is dedicated to providing their clients with new data management solutions that enable all employees to find, reuse and share data effortlessly. Combine their technology with some of the best ongoing customer support in the industry and one can easily see why their reputation precedes them.
Catherine Lamsfuss, July 17, 2012
With 40 Million in the Bank Meraki to Expand
July 17, 2012
Josh Constine of Tech Crunch recently reported on wireless provider Meraki’s plans for expansion in the article “Meraki Plans to Conquer Enterprise Wi-Fi, Hire Like Crazy With $40 M in New Funding.”
According to the article, Meraki, a retailer of wireless LAN devices, security appliances, and the cloud architecture software, is using the $40 million that it has raised from investors and debt financing to keep a cash cushion, pay for its new headquarters, and aggressively hire in sales so it can break away from competitors.
Constine writes:
“A source close to the company says Meraki was spending around $65 million a year, and Q2 2012 saw the company rake in over $20 million — more than it was shooting for. The $40 million cushion will protect it in case expenditures rise for supporting its 20,000 customer networks or if it wants to rapidly pursue a new market as it competes with dedicated companies like like Aerohive and giants like Cisco.”
Our own Stephen Arnold, wrote about Meraki back in 2010 in one of his for fee columns “Google Broadband: Is There an Enterprise Angle?” At that point, the company was an unknown start-up that had received interest from Google.
After discussing the pros and cons of Google investing in Meraki and offering high-speed wireless connectivity with bundled applications at a competitive price, Arnold concludes:
“Another likely impact is that telecommunications companies, network equipment vendors and enterprise software vendors like Microsoft, Oracle and their partners will have to respond. Increased competition is often a benefit, setting off even more innovation. Bottom line: Google, Kansas, may only be the tip of a large, virtual iceberg floating in the cloud drifting toward the enterprise.”
Fast forward two years and it appears that Meraki is preparing for the very competition that Arnold predicted. Funny how things come full circle.
Jasmine Ashton, July 17, 2012
Sponsored by PolySpot
SEO Articles Have Confused the Search Goose
July 17, 2012
SEO and search go together like a goose and water, but two recent articles had this goose swimming in an oil spill. Let me tell you, getting oil outta feathers is a task.
Have some degreaser nearby if you are taking a swim through Search Engine Journal’s recent article, “Local SEO with Google+.” During the initial paragraph, one rejoices at the possibility of SEO enlightenment for the Google changes. However, disappointment soon follows as repetitive statements lead to the same conclusion, bogging this goose in techie sludge.
That conclusion was:
“These modifications have had a few, subtle impacts on Local SEO. As the integrations between Google+ Pages and Google+ Local pages begin to roll out, we’ll undoubtedly see more changes in terms of the best practices small businesses need to undertake in order to maximize their local SEO.”
Search Engine Watch’s article “The New Mobile SEO Strategy” leads geese to believe Google came out and supported a mobile strategy with specific SEO friendly recommendations, fee free. The article promises three simple steps to serve mobile content to users with recommendations.
The article explains:
“Google supports three ways of serving mobile specific content to users and have provided distinct recommendations for each. Using the starting point of a mobile user requesting a desktop URL, here are some details for the three options listed above.”
Both these reads start out simple, but end up as clumsy as a goose stuck swimming in oil. If you understand these articles, you are smarter than the geese who work at Beyond Search. All I could do was honk at the puddle…
Jennifer Shockley, July 17, 2012
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