Protected: Managing Email with SharePoint
September 13, 2011
IBM Watson in Health Care
September 12, 2011
Quote to note: A keeper. Navigate to the PR festival in “IBM Putting Watson to Work in Health Insurance.” The main idea, if I understood the write up, is that fresh from the game show win, IBM Watson is going to help diagnose illnesses. The stakes may be a trifle higher than a staged TV show’s, but I suspended disbelief when reading the story. With news about the US government cracking down on health care fraud starting to appear in “real” media, I tagged a quote to note. Here you go. The alleged author of the statement is Lori Beer, an executive vice president at Indianapolis-based WellPoint. This outfit is paying IBM for the Watson search elixir. She allegedly said:
It’s really a game-changer in health care…patients needn’t worry that Watson will be used to help insurers deny benefits.
Sounds fantastic. Now the goose will watch the hands of time move forward to see if the health care “game” is changed and it fraud investigators really ignore a technology that could save the US government billions of dollars in erroneous or fraudulent payments.
I am punching the button on my cheap iPad app which counts down. Plonk.
Stephen E Arnold, September 12, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
HP Autonomy: Pan Uni Everything Search
September 12, 2011
Fascinating write up in Forbes, the once capitalist tool. Autonomy is soon to be a unit of Hewlett Packard, a company eager to be a blend of IBM and SAP. But red, white, and blue capitalism seems to be struggling a bit these days at least in the US. In this land of beets, red, white, and blue capitalism is not numero uno. Chatter about pan universal everything search is not on my contacts’ lips. However, “HP Might Use Autonomy to Build a Search Engine – For Everything” reports that this type of big search-centric, Google-scale idea is floating around in certain circles. The idea is a good one because Google is, well, Googling along. Yandex is too busy to talk to anyone. Microsoft supports Bing’s slow but sure approach to growth. And for other outfits, search is just a giant money pit. Forbes recycles New Scientist, asserting:
According to the [scientific magazine’s] report, Autonomy hopes to develop an engine that works in tandem with HP’s text-based search system and their own pattern-recognition search system. The end goal would be a step beyond normal search, where data that’s typically hard to organize and relate to each other, like voicemails, emails, and other documents is made much more searchable.
If memory serves, Hewlett Packard once owned AltaVista.com, employed some sharp engineers, and demonstrated that it was not in tune with search. That was in the halcyon days of the Compaq Digital Equipment acquisition. Now it is 2011, and HP owns one of the highest profile search and content processing companies in the world.
Forbes is a cautious, if sometimes confused source of technology information. The article states:
Information’s pretty thin on the ground about these plans at the moment, so it’s hard to say if this is geared towards being a Google competitor, or more of a backbone for more specialized applications on the enterprise level. Or even if, with all of the changes going on at HP, that this project will go forward at all. That said, I think it’ll be something interesting to keep an eye on.
My thought is that this is a very big idea which may require some money to move from marketing to reality. Then, once underway, HP will need to have the cash to keep the system ahead of the Googlers. My hunch is that HP will have its hands full dealing with the aftermath of the somewhat confusing comments about its consumer PC division, the mobile operating system situation, and getting its somewhat ageing arms around the Autonomy acquisition. I find the notion of a new “everything” search interesting. I won’t have to watch the subject. Forbes has already suggested it will do the job. Toss in a couple of “real” consultants, a failed Webmaster or two, and a scoop of English majors and the information about another significant development in search will be documented as thoroughly as the vote about the color of the church tower in Durnstein. (Blue it turned out. HP will be going for a happy face in yellow.)
Stephen E Arnold, September 12, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Inteltrax: Top Stories, September 5 to September 9
September 12, 2011
Inteltrax, the data fusion and business intelligence information service, captured three key stories germane to search this week, specifically, we saw a trend of money saving pop up in three stories this week.
The first financially focused story was “Navy, HP and Others Cut Costs with Analytics” http://inteltrax.com/?p=2304 which briefly explored how the aforementioned institutions trimmed already tight budgets by investing in BI.
Return on Investment (ROI) was another money-centric topic discussed in “Terradata and Company Improve ROIs” http://inteltrax.com/?p=2310 in which we showcased how well those investments pay off.
Finally, on a slightly different note, we took a look at how different users are defining the value from BI in the story, “Value Creation Defined in Different Ways by BI Experts” http://inteltrax.com/?p=2332 .
During these tough economic time, companies around the globe are clearly looking to get the best value for their money, and save as much as possible. Thankfully, business intelligence software is helping solve those two trying problems. We’ll keep a close watch as this world undoubtedly expands.
Follow the Inteltrax news stream by visiting
www.inteltrax.com
Patrick Roland, Editor, Inteltrax.
The 2011 Search Trends from Forrester
September 12, 2011
The wave which was supposed to be a tsunami seemed to become one of the lapping ripples that my goose pond enjoys. Slap, slap, slap. No roar, crash, thunder. Just slap, slap, slap. Boring.
Bill Ives’ Portals and KM blog examines a new report in “Forrester on Enterprise Search Trends.” The report was, as the title suggests, put out by Forrester and examines “six key trends to watch” in enterprise search. We monitor the trends in enterprise search here at the goose pond in Harrod’s Creek, and we take an interest in what the poobahs, pundits, wizards, and unemployed English majors generate in their “real” reports.
The six “trends” examined in the report strike us as similar to vanilla wafer cookies. You decide because we are biased toward our own work in this unusual enterprise software sector. Each of the Forrester trends seems to us to be an extension of existing directions. For example, “search managers will initiate business conversations, not gather requirements.” Is that such a seismic shift? I’d bet a list of “requirements” will still be in that IT worker’s notes at the end of that meeting. Then there’s, “business leaders will dictate the scope of search.” Well, sort of. There is the commoditizing angle and the search enabled application movement. But business leaders are important if these management wizards pay attention to finding information within their organization. See the article for the other “trends.”
The write up observes:
As the industry standards for search evolve, the report predicts that vendors will change their products to adapt to new customer investment trends with changes in semantics capabilities and increased usage of search-based applications (SBA).
Well, that’s just business, isn’t it? Any company which fails to adapt is out of luck. Just because something has evolved doesn’t make it a new craze. We wonder: do some azure chip consultants recycle what’s in the Beyond Search blog? Please let us know if you spot any examples to sit along side the comment made to our beloved goose Stephen E Arnold about a certain azure chip consulting firm enjoining its new hires to read the free information available at ArnoldIT.com as prep for these talented art history majors’ advisory career in search technology.
Cynthia Murrell, September 12, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com, an company in Oslo, Norway that published Stephen E Arnold’s most recent monograph about enterprise search, The New Landscape of Enterprise Search. No trends it that report, however. Mr. Arnold confines himself to an analysis of what the six leading vendors’ search systems actually deliver. Which is the best? Mr. Arnold favors Exalead in his new Search 2012: The Incredible Shrinking Market for Search, available on site or via a webinar.
SAP Collaborates with Google Maps
September 12, 2011
Real-time access to location-based data via Google Maps is the goal behind the latest Google and SAP collaboration, as revealed in “SAP and Google Team to Put Big Data on the Map” at LBSzone.com. explains SAP’s Sanjay Poonen,
Today, more and more information is being geo-tagged, and it is unlocking an entirely new dimension for enterprise data. SAP’s work with Google marries powerful enterprise software with the world’s most popular mapping platform to create entirely new ways for people to understand and interact with business information. We aim to provide our customers the opportunity to tap into the power of business analytics combined with location intelligence through a geographic view and use rich, interactive analytics to respond to events as they unfold in real time.
Globally successful SAP specializes in mobile solutions, social technologies, and the wrangling of big data. Google Maps has become the most popular online mapping tool worldwide. The two companies have a history of working together; it must be going well so far.
Google has been inking deals with a number of companies which can give it leverage into the enterprise market. Once that’s accomplished, we wonder, will the love affairs last? Now can SAP get back into turbo charged revenue mode? How many other firms are using Google Maps to “collaborate”?
Cynthia Murrell, September 12, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com, publishers of The New Landscape of Enterprise Search
Open Source Faceted Search Solutions
September 12, 2011
There is little doubt that if you are handy with the bits and bytes, you can get quite a mileage boost from open source search technology.
Stephanie Lemieux shares her experience in “Open-Source Options for Faceted Search for the Budget Conscious User” at CMS Wire. Ms Lemieux was helping an organization improve their online document search, but the group couldn’t afford any of the big name faceted search solutions. Her research into alternatives produced some open source options.
First on the list is Apache Solr. Its simple faceting toolkit is good only for basic searches, Lemieux says, but can be expanded by a “savvy” IT department or consultants.
Sphinx is the next entry, which she points out is well suited for indexing database content, scales well, and boasts real-time indexing. However, the facet support takes some effort to implement.
Then there’s Drupal, which is a content management system. Lemieux recommends this one only if you’re starting a website from scratch, of course. A search API module enables faceting and can be applied to various backend engines, including the aforementioned Solr.
Lemieux cautions:
Keep in mind that open-source does not automatically equal easy or cheap: if you have complex requirements and end up hiring integrators to implement your solution, you still might end up with a somewhat pricey project. But open-source solutions do have large communities behind them, so development can be faster and less expensive than vendor professional services.
She closes with an emphatic reminder that faceted search is only as good as the taxonomy and metadata that supports it. That’s a point that’s tempting to overlook, but crucial. Keep in mind that if your personal open source search guru heads for greener commercial pastures, you will have to pay to get the expertise to keep your open source search system singing a happy tune.
Cynthia Murrell September 12, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com, publishers of The New Landscape of Enterprise Search
Google and Its Star Fleet Plumbing
September 12, 2011
Data Center Knowledge declares, “Report: Google Uses About 900,000 Servers.” Recent estimates have put the number at over a million servers, states writer Rich Miller, but new data on energy usage reduces that speculative figure to about 900,000. The data has been compiled by Stanford professor Jonathan Koomey in this report.
Miller elaborates:
Google’s David Jacobowitz, a program manager on the Green Energy team, told Koomey that the electricity used by the company’s data centers was less than 1% of 198.8 billion kWh – the estimated total global data center energy usage for 2010. That means that Google may be running its entire global data center network in an energy footprint of roughly 220 megawatts of power.
Energy efficiency is a focus of the forward thinking Google, which is looking to employ many more servers in years to come. The company has designed a system called Spanner to automate management across data centers. Servers may reach from 1 million to 10 million computers.
It seems that, despite all its troubles, the GOOG doesn’t plan to go away any time soon.
Cynthia Murrell, September 12, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com, publishers of The New Landscape of Enterprise Search
Protected: How to Use Multi-Page Forms on SharePoint
September 12, 2011
Real Consultants and Real Analysts Take a Hit
September 12, 2011
The Washington Post must have had a bad experience with self appointed experts. Read “The investor’s Dilemma: Earnings, Valuation and What to Do Now.” As you work through the write up, think about Microsoft’s purchase of Fast Search for $1.2 billion, Oracle’s purchase of InQuira for an estimated $66 million, Palantir’s recent intake of another $68 million, and Hewlett Packard’s interesting $11 billion purchase price for Autonomy.
Now think about the write ups from the “real” consulting companies, the trade magazines with lists of “top” companies, and the speakers on some conference programs with three or more slots in a two day period. What’s going on? The write up in the Washington Post seems to have pinpointed an important change in “analyst” behavior. Here’s the snippet I noted:
… I suspect the error is about something else. Structural changes at Wall Street firms are just as likely to be the cause. Research analysts used to work for trading and asset management divisions of big Wall Street banks. Since the 1990s, they have mostly migrated to underwriting. That’s where all the money is made. This change has changed the job of the analyst. They do far less critical analysis and far more “cheerleading.” Robert Powell, editor of Retirement Weekly, confirms it: Regarding the stocks that make up the S&P1500, Powell noted that not a single one has a Wall Street consensus “sell” rating on it. This is pretty damning proof that forecasting errors may be because of inherent structural bias.
I have a simpler way of explaining what’s going on. First, in an effort to generate revenue, analysts are now in the “pay to play” business. But wait. Conferences are also selling speaking slots for booth / exhibit purchasers or sponsors who provide “bags” for give aways, drinks at receptions, or logos for giant banners that identify who is silver, gold, or platinum. What about lists? These are hooked in to speaking, ads, or the fraternity of the trade show.
Now keep in mind that I run content for clients. We even produce information services that explain the ins and outs of financial services, rocket science technology, and silliness about social media. When I give a talk, I get money, a free meal, and, if I am lucky, two nights at a hotel without stars.
The point is that I am an addled goose, dabbling in odds and ends. The folks touched upon in the Washington Post article try to generate an aura of analytic objectivity. None of these poobahs, satraps, failed Webmasters, and unemployed English majors would dare to suggest that their work is little more than a clumsy payola, old style advertorial, or flat out fluff.
The disconnect between facts and value is fascinating. Can one believe anything from anyone in the advisory business? I hope so. I think I can filter the goose feathers from the giblets. My hunch is that others cannot, will not, or do not think goose feathers are anything by gold. Believe me, goose feathers are not gold. Goose feathers can absorb a hit. Worth having a few around if you are a “real” consultant.
Stephen E Arnold, September 12, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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