Get A Comprehensive Search Strategy Plan from Aspire
October 12, 2012
People tend to doubt the power of a good search application. They take it for granted that all out-of-the-box and Internet search engines are as accurate as Google (only the most powerful in the public eye). The truth of the matter is most businesses are losing business productivity, because they have not harnessed the true potential of search. Search Technologies, a leading IT company that specializes in search engine implementation, managed services, and consulting, is the innovator behind Aspire:
“Aspire is a powerful framework and application platform for acquiring both structured and unstructured data from just about any content source, processing / enriching that content, and then publishing it to the search engine or business analytics tool of your choice.”
Aspire uses a built-in indexing pipeline and propriety code maintained by Search Technologies high standards. It is based on Apache Felix, the leading open source implementation for OSGI standard. OSGI is built for Java and supported by IT companies worldwide. Aspire can gather documents from a variety of resources, including relational databases, SharePoint, file systems, and many more. The metadata is captured and then it can be enriched, combined, reformatted, or normalized to whatever the business needs before it is submitted search engines, document repositories, or business analytics applications. Aspire performs content processing that cleans and repackages data for findability.
“Almost all structured data is originally created in a tightly controlled or automated way.
By contrast, unstructured content is created interactively by individual people, and is infinitely variable in its format, style, quality and structure. Because of this, content processing techniques that were originally developed to work with structured data simply cannot cope with the unpredictability and variability of unstructured content.”
By implementing a content processing application like Aspire, unstructured content is “scrubbed,” then enriched, for better search results. Most commercial search engines do not have the same filters that weed out relevant content from the bad. The results displayed to the user are thus poor quality and are of zero to little use. They try to resolve the problem with custom coding and updates for every new data source that pops up, which is tedious. Aspire fixes tired coding problems, by using automated metadata extraction and manipulation outside the search engine.
As powerful as commercial search engines are they can often lack the refined quality one gets from a robust ISV. Aspire does not follow the same search technology path as its competitors, rather it has designed a new, original solution to provide its clients with a comprehensive search strategy plan to help improve productivity, organization, and data management.
Remember. Search Technologies is sponsoring a meet up at the October 2012 Enterprise Search Summit. More information is available at http://www.meetup.com/DC-Metro-Enterprise-Search-Network/
Iain Fletcher, October 12, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Content Targeting for Optimum Digital Customer Experiences
October 12, 2012
With so many possible outlets for engaging customers via digital resources, it may be difficult for companies to find the right mix of services for their digital initiatives. In “Eight Areas You’ll Invest in for Great Digital Customer Experiences” on the CRM Blog, we learn about steps brands are taking to deliver the best customer experiences with available digital resources.
A recent Forrester survey of Web content management (WCM) professionals shows that the focus is on mobile content delivery, video streaming, email tools, and content targeting.
The article elaborates on the importance of content targeting for authenticated users:
“WCM vendors have been pushing hard their vision and capabilities to help deliver customized and personalized content using their systems, and many are already providing strong capabilities in this area. For many marketers and content pros, however, the technical capacity of a WCM system to manage and deliver targeted content to customers, prospects, and partners is outstripping marketers’ ability to take advantage of it. This can be complex. You need a plan. You need people responsible for the execution of the plan. It’s an ongoing commitment.”
The challenge of content targeting and authentication is a key business information concern. A critical difference exists between enterprise information used to drive business decisions and Web content targeting that drives ads. A capable vendor, such as Intrafind, can help enterprises invest strategically to meet this challenge. Intrafind’s Topic Finder, for example, automatically filters and manages these kinds of information streams.
Andrea Hayden, October 12, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
SharePoint Training Essential to Success
October 12, 2012
The secret to a successful SharePoint implementation is in planning and training. Research and Markets has added new training pieces to their class offerings. Herald Online provides a full story in their article, “Research and Markets: Comprehensive Microsoft SharePoint Training – Manage SharePoint Sites like a Professional.”
Read about their latest SharePoint 2010 End User class:
The SharePoint 2010 End User class is for end users working in a SharePoint 2010 environment. The course teaches SharePoint basics such as working with lists and libraries as well as basic page customizations. The SharePoint 2010 Power User training class teaches students to manage SharePoint sites.
This class is hands-on and interactive, with exercises, presentations and readings to ensure students stay engaged and learn the material presented.
Training is important for complicated enterprise solutions, but there are some third party options that focus on intuitive ease of use. Fabasoft Mindbreeze offers Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise, one such smart third party solution. Data is given meaning and is made more easily retrievable. Therefore, training is still important, but becomes less urgent. Usability is brought down to the level of a more common user, meaning small or medium size businesses can save time and money on both training and specialized developer positions.
Emily Rae Aldridge, October 12, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext.
RenewData Adds Clearwell to Technology Quiver
October 12, 2012
RenewData, a full-service eDiscovery provider, has announced that Clearwell Systems has been added to the company’s quiver of technology. According to the recent article on Compliance Week, “RenewData Adds Clearwell e-Discovery Software,” the company has joined forces with the eDiscovery platform Clearwell, which helps organizations identify, collect, analyze, and review data. This software combination will allow users to achieve maximum value in the eDiscovery process.
We learn more about the RenewData technology addition in the article, which tells us:
“‘The complexities and amount of data involved in eDiscovery today dictate that there shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all approach to review,’ said RenewData Vice President of Marketing Joe Garber. ‘The addition of Clearwell Systems, along with our company-specific offerings like Language-Based Analytics, allows our clients a combination of speed, transparency, precision and insight into data as well as review cost reduction.’”
The technology should allow clients to make more informed decisions by finding the relevant information they need. However, it appears that government compliance and constant changing regulations are fueling an interest in content solutions as users hustle to comply. The large collections of data and shifting regulations offer a motive to find a valid content and big data solution.
Andrea Hayden, October 12, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Connotate Adds PDF Extraction Function
October 12, 2012
PDF files often pose challenges for those extracting data from these types of documents, but Connotate is announcing added capabilities that will make this process easier for users. According to the article “Connotate Expands Automation Solution to Include Precise PDF Extraction” on Market Watch, the provider of automated data solutions is expanding capabilities that will allow data extraction from unstructured flat-file documents and transform them into higher-value structured content.
The article informs us about the changes at the company and the need for the technology in the market:
“‘In listening to our customer base, we heard very clearly the need for automated collection and transformation of more types of data — and PDF extraction was at the top of the list,’ said Isai Shenker, vice president of product management for Connotate. ‘We are delighted to offer a proven solution to meet this need by working with our partner, Khemeia Technologies.’”
This PDF extraction function will benefit numerous industries, as these documents are used often in financial reporting, legal services, publishing, and government documentation. We applaud Connotate in the unique and highly demanded technology, which will enable organizations to process higher volumes of data, likely reducing costs and generating revenue.
Andrea Hayden, October 12, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Managing Information Overload with Simple Strategies
October 12, 2012
Challenges that accompany tackling the massive amounts of data that are available online may often seem to outweigh the benefits. Many businesses realize there is value in the information at their disposal on the Web, but may not believe it is worth the hassle. These companies may find solace in the recent article, “Five Ways to Win the Battle Against Information Overload” on Digimind’s blog. The blog post informs readers of how to manage the constant streams of data to find the information that is needed.
The post suggests prioritizing key sources, visualizing data, organizing information into folders, and removing duplicate sources and recurring information.
We also learn about the benefits of filtering out the noise:
“Reduce the amount of irrelevant information you receive on a daily basis by putting filters in place to remove low-quality, high-frequency sources. For example, instead of getting all the news from your RSS feeds, exploit a tool which will check that the articles behind your RSS feeds include your selection of keywords (competitors names, technologies…). Your information stream should provide you with regular, insightful data pertaining to your industry and tailored to your specific needs. Everything else is just noise and will distract you from your main mission.”
This post offers some simple tips that provide some sanity in the attempt to cope with information overload. Companies do not always have to invest in costly Big Data solutions to make the most of the available data; efficiency and productivity can come from small changes in daily processes.
Andrea Hayden, October 12, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Familiar Architecture and Improvements in SharePoint 2013
October 11, 2012
J. Peter Bruzzese, a writer for InfoWorld’s Enterprise Windows blog, takes a look at what he terms welcome enhancements for SharePoint 2013 in his InfoWorld post, “SharePoint 2013: A Low-Key Update You’ll Love.” Bruzzese first points out that architecturally, the upcoming SharePoint release is similar to its predecessor, but with added benefit of increased support for touch based devices. He has this to say about the overall improvements:
SharePoint 2013’s social networking enhancements provide more interaction options for people in a company, such as via community sites and portals that offer a forum-style experience within SharePoint. The My Sites user interface…has been streamlined. New microblog and newsfeed features allow for shorter conversations and quick updates, similar to what Yammer provides.
He adds that overall SharePoint 2013 is an improvement, but also has this to say:
I only wish that SharePoint was released more frequently, not tied to the three-year cycles of the Office and server lines, so it could better keep up with the rapid changes in social networking, mobile, and other user technology spaces.
Bruzzese points out that greater scalability and integration of FAST Search, rather than being a stand-alone program, are also two improvements. But when it comes to taking advantage of social capabilities and search, we know that FAST has its gaps and users need efficient and easy access to information. Fabasoft Mindbreeze offers Enterprise Search with SharePoint Connectors so to easily snap into your existing farm. In addition to all-inclusive search, Mindbreeze creates relevant knowledge by storing data according to type and relevance while processing data in a comprehensible form.
Philip West, October 11, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext.
Connotate Partners for Crowdsourcing
October 11, 2012
Crowdsourcing.org recently reported on a new crowdsourcing partnership in the article, “Connotate and CrowdSource Partner to Offer Comprehensive Solutions for Capturing Competitive Intelligence Data for the Web.”
According to the article, Connotate and CrowdSource, two leaders in the fields of automated data collection and crowdsourcing, have chosen to collaborate to to offer more options for companies seeking cost-efficient ways to leverage Web data for business advantage.
Matt Jacobson, VP of Channels and Operations for Connotate, said of the partnership:
“We are seeing a real surge in demand for Connotate to collect competitor pricing and product data from the Web. In cases where product matching is particularly complex, crowdsourcing complements Connotate’s automated approach — and the resulting combination produces a superior solution. Our partnership with CrowdSource allows us to offer our customers a wide range of options to best meet their needs.”
By combining crowdsourcing with automated data collecting, these two companies will be able to offer solutions that accomplish formerly labor intensive tasks at unprecedented speeds and quality.
Jasmine Ashton, October 11, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Digimind Provides Insights Regarding Customer Experience
October 11, 2012
Digimind, a competitive intelligence software provider, has a lot to offer in the field of information management and analysis. This is why when we stumbled upon this, “Q&A With Yann Guilain, Customer Care Director At Digimind” we thought it could be useful to our readers looking for some best practices in customer experience.
Despite having to juggle a variety of different elements and challenges in order to keep customers happy, Guilian’s ten years of experience in the field have provided him with some best practices concerning how to make a project successful.
Guilian states:
“I have so much to say on this point! If I could only keep one single point, I’d have to say that the most important is “hunt down added value”. What I mean by this is that you have to focus a maximum of effort into deliverables, CI watches, subjects, analysis that will bring added value to key decision makers. Everything about the way we organise a CI project, all our efforts can then be focused on this objective, once it has been well-identified. At the end of the day, there’s only one question that counts: “What’s it for?”
Digimind has built its reputation by instilling trust in its customers. By investing in predictive analytics tools and other search solutions, businesses can gain valuable insights from their data and better serve the needs of their clients.
Jasmine Ashton, October 11, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Datameer Receives Third Year of Funding from RedPoint and Kleiner Perkins
October 11, 2012
Tech Crunch recently reported on the big data and hadoop analytics company Datameer in the article, “Analytics Company Datameer Raises $6 million From Redpoint Ventures and Kleiner Perkins.”
According to the article, After raising $2.5 million from Redpoint in 2010 and $9.25 million led by Kleiner Perkins in 2011, Datameer has raised $6 million as of September 25. This year’s primary donors were Redpoint and Kleiner Perkins.
Why are these two companies so interested in investing in Datameer? It may have something to do with the fact that Datameer makes a spreadsheet-style interface for Apache Hadoop and makes the big data analytics platform easier for non-developers to use.
The article states:
“That may sound simple enough, but Hadoop can be very difficult to use, especially for business users who typically work in Excel or business intelligence dashboards and don’t necessarily need to perform computationally complex problems. To help those users out, Datameer has developed an interface for Hadoop that uses a familiar spreadsheet model. It also sells a desktop edition that will enable users to run Hadoop on a single desktop machine, with no need to run a big cluster anywhere. The standalone desktop version obviously isn’t comparable to a big cluster of servers, but it can be used as an analytics tool in its own right. For more details on the company’s offerings check out Curt Monash’s analysis.”
Big Data analytics solutions are becoming a more and more integral part of strategic planning. Those companies who are interested in getting the most of their data, should look into investing in one of these solutions.
Jasmine Ashton, October 11, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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