OpenText and Endeca Tie Up: Digital Asset Management Play
April 17, 2009
OpenText has a six pack of search systems. There’s the original Tim Bray SGML search system (either the first or one of the first), the Information Dimensions BASIS (structure plus analytics which we used for a Bellcore project eons ago), BRS Search (a rewrite of STAIRS III which I’m sure the newly minted search consultant who distributed a search methodology built on a taxonomy will have in depth expertise), the Fulcrum engine (sort of Windows centric with some interesting performance metrics), and a couple of others which may or may not be related to the ones I’ve named). Endeca is a privately held vendor of search and content processing technology. I like the Endeca system for ecommerce sites where the “guided navigation” can display related products. Endeca has been working overtime to develop a business intelligence revenue stream and probe new markets such as traditional library search. The company received an infusion of cash last year and I heard that the company had made strides in addressing both scaling and performance challenges. One reseller allegedly told a government procurement officer that Endeca had no significant limit on the volume of content that it could index and make findable.
So what are these two powerhouses doing?
According to Newsfactor here, the two companies are teaming up for digital asset reuse. Most organizations have an increasing amount of podcasts, videos, images, and other rich media. If you read my link tasty essay about content management (the mastodon) and the complexities of dealing with content objects in containers (tar pit), you know that there is an opportunity to go beyond search.
The Newsfactor story is called “Open Text, Endeca to Deliver Digital Asset Reuse”. My understanding of the Newsfactor version of the deal is that OpenText will integrate Endeca’s asset management system into OpenText content management systems. There are a number of product names in the write up, and I must confess I confuse them with one another. I am an old and addled goose.
What’s the implication of the tie up? I think that Autonomy’s push into asset management with its IDOL server and the Virage software has demonstrated that there’s money in those rich media objects that are proliferating like gerbils. The world of ediscovery has an asset twist as well. Videos and podcasts have to be located and analyzed either by software or a semi alert paralegal, maybe a junior lawyer. OpenText has a solid ediscovery practice, so there’s some opportunity there. In short, I think this tie up helps two established companies deal with a competitor who is aggressive and quicker to seize enterprise opportunities. Autonomy is a serious competitor.
What will Autonomy and other vendors do? I think that in this economic climate there will be several reactions to monitor. Some aggressiveness on the part of Autonomy and probably Adobe will be quick to come. Second, other vendors of search and content processing systems will shift their marketing messages. A number of search systems have this capability and some, like Exalead, can make videos searchable with markers where particular passages can be viewed in the video object. This is quite useful. You can see a demo here. Third, I think that eDiscovery companies already adept at handling complex matters and content objects will become more price competitive. Stratify comes to mind as one outfit that may use price as a counter to the OpenText and Endeca tie up. I can point to start ups, aging me-too outfits like IBM, and a fair number of little known specialists in rich media who may step up their marketing.
This will be interesting to watch. OpenText is a bit like the old Ling Temco Vought type of roll up. Endeca is a solid vendor of search and content processing technology that was unable to pull off an initial public offering and a recipient of cash infusions from Intel and SAP’s venture arm. The expectation is that one plus one will equal three. In today’s market, there’s a risk that a different outcome may result.
Stephen Arnold, April 17, 2009
Comments
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
