Comparison of Elasticsearch, Solr, and Sphinx
October 8, 2020
Search and retrieval underpins most policeware and intelware systems. Open source search software has made life more challenging for vendors of proprietary enterprise search solutions. There are versions of an “in depth” enterprise search analysis like this available for thousands of dollars from marketers like https://www.adroitmarketresearch.com sporting this title:
Enterprise Search Market Demand Analysis and Projected huge Growth by 2025| IBM Corp, Coveo Corp., Polyspot & Sinequa Inc., Expert System Inc., HP Autonomy, Lucidworks, Esker Software Corp., Dassault Systemes Inc., Perceptive Software Inc., and Marklogic Inc.
Notice that none of the search vendors in “Elasticsearch vs. Solr vs. Sphinx: Best Open Source Search Platform Comparison” appears in the Adroit Market Research report. That’s important for one reason: Open source search has driven vendors of proprietary systems into a corner. What’s even more intriguing is that some vendors of enterprise search like Attivio and IBM Corp. use open source search technology but take pains to avoid revealing the plumbing under the house trailer.
The comparison is, for now, available without charge online, courtesy of Greenice. This firm, based in Ukraine, is what I would describe as a DevOps consulting and services company. It’s a mash up of advisory, coding, and technical deliverables.
The comparison contains some useful information; for example:
- Inclusion of examples of the search systems’ visualization capabilities
- Examples of organizations using each of the three systems compared
- Presentation of the analyst’s perception of strengths and weaknesses of each system
- References to machine learning in the context of the three systems.
What caught my attention is the disconnect between the expensive and somewhat over enthusiastic for fee study about search and this free analysis.
Many of the problems in search are a result of what may be described as “over enthusiastic marketing.” This approach to jazzing up what can be accomplished by information retrieval technology has resulted in at least one jail sentence for an enterprise search entrepreneur and may be followed by jail time for other companies’ executives who practice razzmataz sales techniques.
The principal value of the free comparison is that it does a good job of walking through basic information without the Madison Avenue hucksterism. Net net: A free write up with some helpful information.
Stephen E Arnold, October 8, 2020
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