Maginfo: An Unlisted Enterprise Search Video

October 25, 2015

Somehow a link to a video found its way to me. The video is produced by Maginfo. You may or may not be able to view the program at this link. The content of the video was familiar to me. I did not know about Maginfo.

Some highlights:

  • The company has a blog post which points to the unlisted video. You can check out that link only blog post at this link.
  • Maginfo says it is “a leading provider of technology development services and solutions to small, medium, and large enterprises.”
  • The company is a consulting firm in Boulder, Colorado, and it has been in business since 2001, presumably working in the search and retrieval field for search vendor Inforbix (now a mostly invisible unit of Autodesk) and Systap.
  • The company has a semantic technologies capability.

I learned that Maginfo has identified five ways can drive a firm’s competitive advantage; to wit:

  1. Save time. This benefit is one of those specious assertions based on a pulled-from-the-air consulting reports about how finding information takes time. Yep, with search systems delivering lousy precision and recall, locating information to answer a specific question often takes time.
  2. Get maximum value from existing resources. I assume this means digital content in an organization. The notion of “maximum value” begs the question, “What is value?” No explanation of the benefit has been provided to me after decades of prodding search marketers to explain the “value” of search and retrieval.
  3. Improve productive of all workers. Yikes, another categorical statement. I have a number of workers involved in my research and publishing activities. One of the workers sprays my office every eight weeks to keep insects in Harrod’s Creek at bay. I am not sure information search is going to make Irving more productivity. But there is that silly “all” assertion. One exception. Poof. There goes the argument.
  4. Improve customer support and lower associated cost. Really? I am not sure how much more cost cutting outfits offering customer service can do. If there are costs to be reduced, I am not sure search and retrieval will be the drum major for the band and the parade. A Weebly Web site and no inbound phone number coupled with an info@company.xxx will do the trick.
  5. Improve support for telecommuters. I am on record saying that telework cannot proceed unless the worker can locate the digital object upon which one works. However, enterprise search may not do the trick; for example, for certain legal activities, the “content” will not be included in an enterprise search system. If the workers on site and off premises are engaged in a work task which is classified, my hunch is that the enterprise search system may be the last place the workers want the content.

If you want more information about Maginfo, navigate to the firm’s Web site at http://maginfo.com. A fellow named Darren says, “Maginfo has been a  joy to work with.” Darren appears to have hired Maginfo to work on a social network with artificial intelligence. No word about search from Darren. Did I mention that Darren found Maginfo a joy. To me, this suggests that Maginfo’s competitors are not a joy. I have no information about what other search consultants’ joy factor is. Maybe someday.

Stephen E Arnold, October 25, 2015

Comments

3 Responses to “Maginfo: An Unlisted Enterprise Search Video”

  1. christians and online dating on October 25th, 2015 8:55 pm

    christians and online dating

    Maginfo: An Unlisted Enterprise Search Video : Stephen E. Arnold @ Beyond Search

  2. Anjelica on October 26th, 2015 3:08 am

    Anjelica

    Maginfo: An Unlisted Enterprise Search Video : Stephen E. Arnold @ Beyond Search

  3. Greg Best on November 16th, 2015 2:12 pm

    In and of itself, I would argue that “search” is a hard value proposition for many to understand. Especially since there is often confusion between data and information. Having data does not in any way mean that one has information. Multiple data storages and complex systems can also disastrously undermine the value of your data and one’s ability to create meaningful information from it.

    Simply having data without being able to find it is an impediment to operational efficiency, which is where the “value proposition” comes into play. Information that comes from data being readily accessible, easy to find, in any format, in any place and at any time has a distinct relationship with data management systems, CRM’s & ERP’s. These systems all exist to save time and improve efficiency.

    Following a similar pattern, enterprise search essentially does the same thing. Likewise, with data being created so quickly and in such large amounts, finding what you are looking for in an efficient way is fundamentally important. On its own, search may seem like a low-value proposition. However, it is not intended to be a stand-alone feature. Instead, imaging this solution coupled with a system that has version control, filters, analytics, visualization and advanced sharing.

  • Archives

  • Recent Posts

  • Meta