Laurent Couillard, CEO, Dassault Exalead: Exclusive Interview
June 28, 2011
Exalead caught my attention many years ago. Exalead’s Cloudview approach allowed licensees to tap into Exalead’s traditional Web and enterprise functions via on premises installations, a cloud implementation, or a hybrid approach. Today, a number of companies are working to offer these options. Exalead’s approach is stable and provides a licensee with platform flexibility as well as mobile search, mash ups, and inclusion of Exalead technology into existing enterprise applications. For organizations fed up with seven figure licensing fees for content processing systems that “never seem to arrive”, Exalead has provided a fresh approach.
Exalead provides high-performance search and semantic processing to organizations worldwide. Exalead specializes in taking a company’s data “from virtually any source, in any format” and transforming it into a search-enabled application. The firm’s technology, Exalead CloudView, represents the implementation of next-generation computing technology available for on-premises installation and from hosted or cloud services. Petascale content volume and mobile support are two CloudView capabilities. Exalead’s architecture makes integration and customization almost friction-free. The reason for the firm’s surge in the last two years has been its push into the enterprise with its search-based applications.
The idea of an enterprise application built upon a framework that can seamlessly integrate structured and unstructured data is one of the most important innovations in enterprise search. Only Google, Microsoft, and Exalead can boast commercial books about their search and content processing technology.
In 2010, Exalead’s market success triggered action on the part of one of the world’s leading engineering firms, Dassault Systèmes. Instead of licensing Exalead’s technology, the firm acquired Exalead and aggressively expanded the firm’s research, development, and marketing activities. Exalead’s approach enables more than 300 organizations to break the chains of the “key word search box” and has provided Dassault with a competitive advantage in next-generation information processing. In addition to mobile and rich media processing, Exalead is working to present integrated displays of real time information that add value to a wide range of business functions. These include traditional engineering to finding a restaurant on an iPhone.
Laurent Couillard, Chief Dassault Exalead
With the purchase of Exalead, Dassault appointed Laurent Couillard as Exalead’s chief executive officer. Mr. Couillard joined Dassault Systèmes as an application engineer in 1996, most recently serving as Vice-President Sales and Distribution for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In that post, he played a central role in the sales transformation of 3DS, establishing a powerful reseller channel for all PLM brands and contracting with more than 140 companies. As CEO of EXALEAD, his mission is to accelerate the market penetration of applications based on search technologies. Mr. Couillard holds an M.S. from Institut Supérieur de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace, a preeminent institution in Toulouse, France.
I asked him what was capturing his attention. He told me:
We are devoting more energy to developing packaged business applications or SBAs built on this foundation. That’s a mission right up my alley. And I intend to apply all my experience in sales and partner network development to this mission as well. That’s my charge from Dassault: To use my dual technology/sales background to develop Exalead and to penetrate new markets with SBAs, while preserving all the qualities that make Exalead so unique in this market. I’m fortunate to be in a position to leverage the full knowledge, resources, geographical coverage and expertise of the Dassault group to make this happen.
I probed for the reasons behind Dassault’s purchase of Exalead in 2010, a move which caught many analysts by surprise. He said:
Dassault saw first-hand how search-based applications based on Exalead’s systems and methods solved some of its clients’ long-standing, mission-critical business challenges quickly, painlessly and inexpensively. Dassault’s management understood–based on technical, financial, and performance facts—that Exalead’s search-based applications were a prime reason why search was, and is forecast to remain, an exceptional performer in the information technology software market. Because Dassault was seeking to diversify its content processing offerings, search in general and search based applications technology in particular were obviously an appealing choice. Dassault is, therefore, developing SBAs as one of its three core activities.
We discussed the challenges facing most of the traditional key word search and content processing systems. He noted:
You have to remember Exalead’s always understood search is sometimes something you do, and other times something you consume. In other words, sometimes it’s a search text box, and sometimes it’s the silent enabler beneath a business application, or even an entire information ecosystem.
You can read the full text of my interview with Mr. Couillard in the ArnoldIT.com Search Wizards Speak collection. The interview is located at this link.
Stephen E Arnold, June 28, 2011
Freebie from the leading vertical file service for search and content processing.
Does Google Have the Ooomph to PaaS Other Vendors
June 24, 2011
Writer Derrick Harris details several potential problems for Google in Gigaom’s article, “Can Google App Engine Compete in the Enterprise?”
First and foremost, the company has discontinued the App Engine for Business. That service was specially designed to function in enterprise environments, and was created in partnership with VMware. It seems that many users balked at limitations, like the inability to gain access from outside the owner’s domain.
Google is still working on the more generic App Engine, which is currently in preview mode, but the Platform as a Service’s (PaaS) full release may come too late for the company to profit fully. Harris conferred with the senior product manager for Google App Engine, Gregory D’alesandre, before drawing his conclusions, asserting:
D’alesandre acknowledged that he’s impressed with some of the PaaS offerings that have hit the market lately. If anything, timing might be critical for Google, which will need to get the production-ready App Engine into the market before any of the myriad other PaaS offerings gather too much momentum. I thought App Engine for Business was a formidable competitor when announced, but time and new PaaS launches — including from Amazon Web Services — have dulled its edge.
Harris also points out that Google’s architecture is considered outdated by at least one insider. That’s not good.
The GOOG is still a giant, but it had better step up its game if it wants such stature in the enterprise market. Our view is that the chatter about new cloud centric platform services is increasing. At the same time, technical issues and concerns about security are capturing headlines. Once again, truth and fiction become difficult to separate. We will just PaaS. Next.
Cynthia Murrell June 23, 2011
ArnoldIT.com, the resource for enterprise search information and current news about data fusion
Stormy Weather for the Eucalyptus Grove?
June 10, 2011
Still feel safe in the cloud? Have you heard from Eucalyptus lately?
According to “Critical Vulnerability in Open Source Eucalyptus Clouds”, there has been another break-in. At least a theoretical one; university researchers have found a hole in the cloud. Per the article:
“An attacker can, with access to the network traffic, intercept Eucalyptus SOAP commands and either modify them or issue their own arbitrary commands. To achieve this, the attacker needs only to copy the signature from one of the XML packets sent by Eucalyptus to the user. As Eucalyptus did not properly validate SOAP requests, the attacker could use the copy in their own commands sent to the SOAP interface and have them executed as the authenticated user.”
The platform has already provided a newer, downloadable version that corrects the issue. Eucalyptus has warned their services may be a little spotty while the rest of the system recognizes the fix.
Go ahead and tally another tick mark against the cloud. What’s worse, besides the discovered threat, users must contend with the hassle of outages related to the fix. I could be wrong, but it seems it is only a matter of time before some serious consequences arise from lax attitudes concerning data storage.
How about putting enterprise data in the cloud with a search interface? Or maybe a bank of social security numbers? Now what about a security lapse?
Sarah Rogers, June 10, 2011
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, the resource for enterprise search information and current news about data fusion
Cloud Crashes: Just One Villain!
June 5, 2011
The article “Cloud Outages: Why Storage Is the Real Villain” surprised me. My understanding of the high profile cloud problems is that there were different types of problems. Some of these were external such as Sony’s inability to keep hackers from penetrating the once proud manufacturer of the Walkman.
Amazon had intraprocess issues. Google’s Blogger went south due to a process issue. The recent Gmail problem is, according to probably specious news reports, China. (Google blames China, which is okay, just a bit repetitious in my view.) Microsoft Exchange did those wild and wonderful Windows ME sorts of things just in Microsoft hosted services, not on my neighbor’s computer.
Here is the passage that caught my attention in the ZDNet write up:
But first and foremost, we have to recognize that the real issues with storage-as-a-service are caused by inadequacies in storage technology, not by the concept itself. We have to address those problems rather than lay responsibility at the feet of cloud computing.
I agree that since Amazon Web Service’s flamed out in April 2011, the cloud looks less like a solution and more like YAP (yet another problem).
Considering the number of companies which are testing and using “cloud computing”, these issues may give some customers a sleepless night or two.
When I worked through the ZDNet write up, I was interested in boiling down some quite different problems to storage. Sure, storage is an issue and it may have been the problem at Amazon. However, the article casts a wider net and catches a whopper, letting the other and tastier fish slip through the weave in the logic. I
If anything, we should be examining the current model of cloud computing more, not less. Tightening the logic net around cloud computing seems like a reasonable step. If one is looking for information, and the cloud based enterprise search system fails, what then? Storage is not the problem, is it?
Stephen E Arnold, June 5, 2011
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, the resource for enterprise search information and current news about data fusion
Google Blogger, a Victim of Data Corruption
May 31, 2011
If Google was a victim of data corruption, what happened to the customers of the cloud based online publishing system?
It seemed that Google might be the latest victim of the recent vicious hacks such as those that recently plagued Sony. However, according to The Inquirer article “Google Says Data Corruption Led to Blogger Outage” offered an explanation for the outage. “During scheduled maintenance on Wednesday night Google’s Blogger team encountered data corruption, which caused the service to crash for many, while others encountered severe bugs such as disappearing posts or error pages.”
Users were unable to make posts for a brief time period. Google was able to solve the problem by restoring their software to an earlier version. The majority of Google Blogger is back up and ready for use. Google should actually be applauded for admitting a problem existed, apologizing, taking care of it quickly and even more surprisingly promising to issue a full report. Recent judgment lapses such as those recently made by Sony have some consumers just waiting to hand the guilty “out to dry.”
April Holmes, May 31, 2011
From ArnoldIT.com, your resource for enterprise search information.
Amazon and Billboard Go Gaga
May 29, 2011
Short honk: Navigate to “How Many Millions Did Amazon Lose on Two Days of 99 Cent Lady Gaga Sales?” Anything missing from the analysis:
Here’s the math: For every unit it sells at 99 cents, Amazon will lose about $7.40, according to Billboard’s calculation. At $7.40 per unit and 430,000 units (10,000 shaved off total digital sales to account for some sales of the deluxe edition), the Gaga-related loss comes to $3.18 million.
I was thinking it might be interesting to include a factor for loss of credibility related to Amazon’s “elasticity”. Obviously Billboard did not think this minor issue relevant. Great ginger beer in New Zealand. Business analysis? Hmmm.
Stephen E Arnold, May 29, 2011
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, the resource for enterprise search information and current news about data fusion
Open Source Meets the Cloud
May 29, 2011
Open source software has become a popular choice for many enterprises. Costs savings, flexibility as well as complete creative control are just a few of the coveted benefits. Cloud computing continues to expand and in many instances the two technologies have crossed paths. According to the InfoWorld.com article “Why the Cloud Can’t Be Separated From Open Source” the number of open source cloud projects has since a noticeable increase since 2005.
Now to fully understand the importance of the open source cloud partnership one must take a look at some of the projects that utilize both technologies and their overall importance to the software world. “The cloud takes the open source tradition of collaboration to the next level, as open source contributors meet the new technical and business challenges presented by the cloud.” Another interesting factor is that open source in some instances actually makes the cloud a more attractive option. “According to Michael Skok of North Bridge venture Partners, a firm specializing in open source funding, one of the chief customer objections to the cloud is the high potential for vendor lock-in.” Open source technology provides an obvious solution to the vendor lock-in dilemma.
OpenStack is one notable program that employs both open source and the cloud and it is utilized by more than 50 organizations including some big names such as Dell, Cisco Systems and NASA. Memcached, a distributed caching system, is used by several companies in the Internet world. Notable companies include Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. It’s hard to overlook such an impressive list of Internet industry leaders when discussing the significance of cloud and open source. There are other noticeable signs that cloud computing is expanding its boundaries.
According to the Silicon.com article “Cloud Computing Shines A Light On IT Money Pits” at the EMC world conference delegates were introduced to a “pay-per-use delivery model offered by a cloud computing provider that would allow companies to compare the fine detail of IT infrastructure costs and answer the question, Is the service worth paying for?” Businesses will be able to take an in depth look at their IT money flow and determine if they are spending wisely. More importantly companies can get service and product estimates form various companies and compare the results. The conference also provided insight about collaboration with Google that will allow the Google Search Appliance tool to find indexed data within the VNX storage database. With the innovation that continues within the cloud and open source communities, the search industry could find itself “stuck in the cloud.”
April Holmes, May 29, 2011
From ArnoldIT.com, your resource for enterprise search information.
More Cloud Cheerleading
May 27, 2011
“Gartner Identifies Five Ways to Migrate Applications to the Cloud” identifies the options for the IT department when the CIO calmly announces to ‘move some applications to the cloud’. As if it was only a matter of transferring a file from one shelf to the next.
Gartner insists there are many factors to consider when initiating the migration process, including a company’s requirements and architectural principles. Five options plainly identified for relocating to the cloud are as follows: “Rehost on infrastructure as a service (IaaS), refactor for platform as a service (PaaS), revise for IaaS or PaaS, rebuild on PaaS, or replace with software as a service (SaaS)”.
Granted, this article was written from the perspective of application architects. These are, we assume, individuals whose job is not to evaluate if an existing structure should be migrated to the cloud, only how to do so. In light of this, we would like to toss some other factors on the table.
What about the risks? Lady Gaga problems at Amazon. Dead Blogger.com. Sony network problems. Microsoft BPOS Exchange issues. Need I go on?
Cost should be considered. The difference felt in the coffers can be great between top-end and entry level servers, and without a simulation prior to the switch you may not realize what magnitude of power you require.
Security and reliability are also points of interest. Both the ability to extract personal data from the cloud as well as bring the service to a screeching halt has been demonstrated recently with the Sony network breach and AWS breakdown.
There are obviously some great benefits to joining the cloud, but just like any other decision, it is best to view all angles prior to jumping in. It is tough to search for documents or basic information when the cloud takes a couple of days off to recover from sun burn.
Sarah Rogers, May 27, 2011
Freebie
Will Office 365 Cloud Issues be 24/7?
May 26, 2011
As I write this, I heard about Amazon’s super reliable, scalable, elastic, whiz bang cloud service struggling to deliver a pop icon’s album to fans. I have concluded that Amazon’s service can fail and not scale. But Amazon is just one cloud marketer struggling to make the dreams of the marketing department into the reality of cloud services as ultra reliable.
Consider Microsoft, please.
If there is one rule left in the business environment, it is that you do not mess with a worker’s email. Perhaps Microsoft did not get that memo? Last week MS’s latest incarnation of its Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), Office 365, had some serious cloud issues. According to “Microsoft’s Handling of BPOS Outage an Ill Omen for Office 365”, users saw delays totaling up to fifteen hours spread across a three-day span.
The author himself admits that it isn’t so much the outages that are the cause for concern but the manner of handling the issue by Microsoft. Not that the inhabitants of your average cube farm won’t automatically freak out over any interruption in email services, but they could rest easier if they at least had an idea of what was happening behind the scenes.
To calm the harried nerves of its customers, Microsoft created the Online Service Health Dashboard, with an intention to provide up to the minute status of cloud services and tools. If you think you can rest easy now, not so fast. The article said:
The first detailed Dashboard notification I can find on the Tech Center forum is time stamped 9:40 a.m. on Thursday. That’s two full days after the original notice. Dave Thompson notified the world about the problems, via his blog, at 6 p.m. But there were two full days of widespread intermittent email outages without any explanation from Microsoft. Yes, there were service degradation icons on the Dashboard earlier, but no explanations or ETA for a fix.
Call me naive, but what’s the point in having a notification board when it takes two days to post notifications?”
And Google? Well, its vaunted technology failed during its I/O conference when executives were chatting up the reliability of the Google cloud. Blogger.com, however, must have been on break. That service went down for 20 hours.
Welcome to the cloud, a sometimes gray area where you are not privy to the same information on controls and status you would find within an average business enterprise.
That, my friends, can be the trade-off for convenience. Besides, if your company is anything like mine, you wouldn’t be getting much more support from your in-house IT anyway.
But when I can save $11 on a hot new album, I am flexible. For work, I am not so flexible. My hunch is that others may have a similar view. What happens when cloud based search fails? I won’t be able to find my documents. Not good.
Sarah Rogers, May 26, 2011
Freebie
Frankie Goes to Cloud Computing: IBM Says, Relax Do Not Worry.
May 24, 2011
I listened to a podcast called Cloud Computing. After the “I am giving important talks” portion of the program, I learned that Amazon’s failure was pretty bad news. In fact, the containment of the failure did not work—and here’s the kicker—again. Okay, a couple of dot points on the Amazon failure line may suggest a trend. The podcast made lemonade from the Amazon lemons under a cloudy sky; specifically, hire us to work on your cloud road map. The subtext, “Our firm Blue Mountain can help heal the wound between business needs and information technology.” This theme is quite like the comments I heard from Googlers a year or so ago. The idea is that any intermediary with some expertise is sort of a problem. The idea is to disintermediate these folks so the MBAs can make better business decisions. You know what that means? Embrace cloud services like Google Docs or Amazon and the back end for mission critical services. Those annoying intermediaries can open a Subway franchise or get into consulting.
The cheerleading does not stop. I read “New Global IBM Study Confirms Cloud Computing Poised to Take Off” and experienced shock of awe. IBM is ramping up its PR activities across a range of business sectors. Does the anticipated aggressiveness of HP and Dell’s push into the enterprise, cause anxiety in IBM Land? I read New Global IBM Study Confirms Cloud Computing Poised to Take Off at Companies. My take is that IBM wants to reinforce the Googley notion that that CIOs positions have evolved from “just another job” to highly respected and valued positions.
The IBM study also showed that four out of five CIO’s see business intelligence and analytics as top priorities since abundant data is available and the strategic use of it is necessary to stay competitive. Working closely with CEOs, their visions are merging…”together, their top three focus areas are strengthening relationships with customers, developing the skills of employees and gaining insight and intelligence from data.” With cloud and business intelligence at the forefront, IBM skillfully weaves yet another PR play…yep… poised like Watson, agile like a mainframe, componentized like Lego blocks.
But is it true?
Sony’s cloud has rained on the consumer product giant’s game parade. Amazon fizzled out, making life tough for some high traffic AWS customers. Microsoft Exchange has been gasping in the rarified Microsoft cloud. Google—the ultimate in cloudy billions—announced whizzy new services as its own cloud based Blogger.com crashed. Great timing. Now what happens when a company’s mission critical data are not available?
IBM hums Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Relax. Don’t worry.”
Let’s assume IBM puts search in the cloud. How does a company providing support to operations in a war zone if the cloud blows away? Relax. Don’t worry.
I worry. Fail over, security, telco-inspired service level agreements, latency. So I worry. Your mileage may vary.
Stephen E Arnold, May 24, 2011
Freebie unlike IBM, Amazon, et al cloud services
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
