SharePoint Consolidates Mobile Apps
December 11, 2013
SharePoint is bolstered by its acquisition of Yammer, and now a mobile app seeks to improve user experience of both components. EIN News Desk brings the news in their article, “Mobile Workers Can Now Tap Yammer and Microsoft SharePoint in One App.”
The article begins:
“With new integration of Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft SharePoint and Yammer, harmon.ie, the user experience company for the mobile enterprise, today announced the industry’s first comprehensive mobile collaboration app. Combining the most popular Microsoft document sharing and social applications into a single mobile app, harmon.ie now gives mobile business users the power to share documents and collaborate with colleagues using SharePoint Online or on-premise, SkyDrive Pro, email, telephone and, now, Yammer social within a single native app on iOS, Android and BlackBerry 10 devices.”
Mobile business tools are more and more valuable, improving user experience and satisfaction. Stephen E. Arnold, a longtime leader in search and the expert behind ArnoldIT, often covers SharePoint, its components, and promising add-ons. His recent coverage shows that SharePoint is turning more and more attention to mobile. We think this is a trend that will continue.
Emily Rae Aldridge, December 11, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Exploratory Search Trends Debated
December 11, 2013
An article titled The Changing Face of Exploratory Search on Linkedin presents the current trends in search. Exploratory search is distinct from navigational search, the latter searcher-type knows what she is expecting to get in terms of results. An exploratory searcher might know the search criteria but not how many results will meet their criteria, if any. The article claims that while navigational search exploded in the last fifteen years, exploratory search is still nascent.
The trends highlighted in the article include:
1.) Entity-oriented search. Search has moved beyond words as mere strings of text and increasingly focuses on entities that represent people, places, organizations, and topics.
2.) Knowledge graphs. Search is starting to leverage the network of relationships among entities: Google has its knowledge graph; Microsoft has Satori; and networks like LinkedIn and Facebook are fundamentally social graphs of entities.
3.) Search assistance. Google popularized search suggestions nearly a decade ago, using its knowledge of common queries to reduce effort on the part of searchers.
The article goes on to explain what will happen when faceted search (a mixture of entity-oriented and knowledge graph searches) expands, allowing for precision searches. The final step is faceted search combining with search assistance to mold something akin to Facebook’s graph search. The article touts these trends as new, but they sound awfully familiar. Didn’t Inktomi and Endeca approach search in this way in the 1980s? Perhaps this is just old wine in a new semantic bottle.
Chelsea Kerwin, December 11, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Future Looks Bright for Amazon Web Services
December 11, 2013
It seems Amazon has sprinkled fairy dust on its inability to control costs. ReadWrite informs us, “Amazon Web Services Worth $50 Billion by 2015, and That May Be Too Low.” Writer Matt Asay notes that while other cloud services bring in higher revenue multiples than AWS, Amazon’s strength lies in its long-term strategies.
He writes:
“AWS would almost certainly get a more bubble-esque valuation multiple if it operated more profitably. But as Amazon has done in retail, it generally favors pricing that gives it slim profits but a fat market share. It is pricing for future domination, in other words. So far this approach has ensured rapidly growing revenues, as Macquarie Capital estimates suggest.”
See the article for a graph of those Macquarie estimates. Asay points out that many have rejected the idea that AWS could be wildly profitable, saying that no one would take the service seriously.
The article clarifies:
“That is, serious enterprises would never trust important workloads to Amazon’s Infrastructure-as-a-Service offering, leaving AWS to scrape nickels and dimes off the floor. And yet, if anything, AWS has surpassed expectations, and has demonstrated an ever-increasing relevance for serious enterprise workloads.”
Why? Asay chalks it up to the developers. He points to the growing trend toward cooperation between development and operations departments, which our truncation-loving culture has dubbed DevOps. Amazon is apparently very good at this synthesis, and affording more respect to developers is translating into profits.
Hmm. Perhaps the company can improve its lot even more by extending this respectful attitude to its warehouse workers. Just a suggestion.
Cynthia Murrell, December 11, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Microsoft Resists Pressure to Shed Bing and Xbox
December 11, 2013
In an article that covers the argument against such a move, we learn that Microsoft is feeling pressure from some shareholders to sell off a couple prominent divisions. GeekWire reports, “In Final Shareholder Speech, Ballmer Defends Bing and Xbox as Key Parts of Microsoft.”
At the company’s recent shareholder meeting, outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer discussed those products:
“While he didn’t directly address calls for the company to spin off its Xbox and Bing businesses, he called out those divisions as key parts of Microsoft’s broader vision. Referring to the new Xbox One, he cited the integration of products including Bing and SkyDrive as examples of the unified strategy that is bringing together the company’s various devices and services. Microsoft this morning released new details about how Bing will integrate with Xbox One for natural language search in the new console. Xbox One is ‘a reflection of what is possible when a company, our company, is unified under a common vision,’ Ballmer said. He also noted that Bing is key to helping test and improve the company’s Windows Azure service.”
It is no surprise these days to hear a tech CEO sing the praises of product integration. It is also not surprising that Ballmer celebrates the recent deal to acquire Nokia‘s mobile division. Some shareholders expressed concern about making such a large investment, especially in the face of flat share prices. In response, Ballmer cited the need to occasionally take risks, focusing on long-term growth over short-term profits. Whether shareholders were moved by this delayed-gratification logic is not revealed in the article.
Cynthia Murrell, December 11, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Verity 2005 Profile Now Available
December 10, 2013
If you have found the “frozen” enterprise search vendor profiles interesting, you may want to check out the Verity 2005 profile. From 1988 to 2005, Verity was one of the leading providers of information retrieval solutions. Verity was purchased by Autonomy in late 2005, and since that deal closed, the Verity brand has been less and less visible. Some young search mavens are unfamiliar with the Verity system I learned in November 2013. Would you believe that one of the people who had huge Verity gaps in his knowledge works for the company that owns Autonomy. Perhaps my free profiles will help the new wave of search experts appreciate the past and the sameness of systems and the predictable boom and bust cycles of the enterprise search market.
The profile provides a snapshot of Verity, its innovations, and its marketing trajectory during the firm’s salad days. The company moved in on a market sector carved out by the now almost-forgotten Fulcrum Technologies. Verity moved through the now-standard trajectory of government sales and some big deals, OEM licensing and partnerships, shifting from search to allegedly higher-value concepts like “knowledge,” acquisitions to get a grip on certain market sectors, and then to its sale to Autonomy, arguably the big fish in the enterprise search pond in 2005.
You can access the index page for the free profiles at http://xenky.com/vendor-profiles/.
Please, remember the caveats that were ignored by one poobah last week. You can correct, comment upon, and criticize the “frozen” draft of a report I prepared for a client years ago. Please, use the comments section of the Beyond Search blog. I am not too interested in parental email, smarm, or “wow, that’s great” inputs. A Beyond Search editor will make sure the comments are in bounds, but no direct inputs to the Xenky.com site are supported at this time.
Next up? Fulcrum Technologies. Believe it or not, the firm’s technology is still in use today. When was that technology rolled out? You will have to wait for the next free, frozen profile if you do not know. (I had forgotten until we selected a draft report to post.)
Stephen E Arnold, December 10, 2013
Video App for SharePoint 2013
December 10, 2013
Add-ons for SharePoint are popping up left and right. SharePoint is a huge platform with lots of capabilities, but it does not offer every capability for every enterprise. Qumu adds their name to the long list of add-on providers with their Qumu video app. Advanced Television covers the story in their article, “Qumu launches Qumu Video App for SharePoint 2013.”
The article begins:
“Qumu provides SharePoint users with a superior video streaming experience, comprehensive video transcoding, advanced filtering, unrestricted scalability, live video webcasting and more. The Qumu integration focuses on leveraging native SharePoint services, such as SharePoint workflows and content retention policies, allowing SharePoint to treat video content as a unique content type, minimising IT complexity and cost.”
Stevphen E. Arnold of ArnoldIT, a long time leader in search, often covers SharePoint – its strengths as well as its shortcomings. And while SharePoint may not yet be all things to all people, Arnold has noted that customization does improve adoption and satisfaction. Add-ons may be the sustaining force for SharePoint 2013.
Emily Rae Aldridge, December 10, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Bridgestone Tires Sues IBM Over Failed System
December 10, 2013
Those of us who have worked in IT have an idea just how complicated and frustrating computing systems are to set up and maintain. To the rest of the world, though, it seems like the process of implementing even a large system should be much more straightforward than it is. Those tasked with having a certain infamous healthcare website built can probably sympathize with the plaintiff in a case Business Insider calls to our attention in, “Bridgestone Sues IBM for $600 Million Over Allegedly ‘Defective’ System that Plunged the Company into ‘Chaos.'”
According to Bridgestone‘s suit, the huge system they paid IBM $75 million to build for them suffered from “system-wide failures” from day one, and has cost the tire company greatly in cash and hassle. For its part, IBM insists the problems resulted from Bridgestone failing to hold up their end. Not only did the company try to implement the system before it was ready, says Big Blue, they were guilty of “repeated failure” to do what IBM told them needed to be done for the system to work properly. (The article does not specify what, exactly.)
Personally, I am inclined to sympathize with IT pros, even those at the biggest firms. However, I think we must acknowledge that the convoluted nature of computing systems sets the tech category up for trouble in a world where consumers expect quick-and-easy service with a smile.
The article reminds us:
“When it comes to massive multimillion custom-built computer systems, problems frequently happen. Half of IT projects with budgets of over $15 million dollars run 45% over budget and are 7% behind schedule, according to research from McKinsey. IBM seems to have its share of troubled projects. In August, Pennsylvania killed a contract with IBM because, as of July, the project was $60 million over budget and over three years late.”
Will IBM find a way to overcome such troubles? Perhaps Watson can help find the answer.
Cynthia Murrell, December 10, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Language Software Joins Battle Against Cancer
December 10, 2013
Natural language processing software is a boon to physicians who are required to keep immaculate documentation. Hispanic Business reports that the “Huntsman Cancer Institute uses Linguamatics I2E To Automatically Extract Insights From Clinical Pathology Documents.” The Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) is located at the University of Utah. By using the Linguamatics I2E natural language processing software, HCI will turn its unstructured data in EMRs into actionable information to conduct better research and seek new insights in cancer treatments and outcomes.
The article states:
“HCI is using Linguamatics I2E with its in-house clinical informatics infrastructure to extract discrete data from the unstructured text contained in surgical, pathology, radiology, and clinical notes related to hematology oncology disease areas such as Leukemia and Lymphoma. The resulting data is loaded into an integrated biobanking, clinical research, and genomic annotation platform. This enables HCI’s clinicians and principal investigators to harness the richest possible set of data for research into patient outcomes, comparative effectiveness, and genetic drivers of disease. Analysis at this scale can find information that would often be missed when reading documents one at a time. In addition HCI has a better range and quality of data to support clinical trial matching and increase numbers of patients on trials.”
There is a wealth of medical information available in unstructured data and it is one of the biggest markets for big data. Medical professionals spend hours studying patient records. The I2E gives medical professionals analytics that frees their time, improves research processes, and patient outcomes.
Whitney Grace, December 10, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Self Service Mashups Arrived For Endeca
December 10, 2013
Oracle is in the business of acquisitions and upgrades lately. They are ramping up the headlines before 2014 and Rittman Mead Consulting reports that “Oracle Endeca Information Discovery 3.1 And Self-Service Data Mashup Capability.” The new Oracle Endeca Information Discovery (OEID) 3.1 moves Oracle toward providing its clients with better self-service discovery capabilities.
The article states:
“OEID 3.1 now enables its non-technical users to securely run agile business intelligence analysis on variety of data sources in much easier way and without need to IT. On the other hand the integration with Oracle Business Intelligence is now even more tight to the extend that Oracle announced OEID 3.1 as ‘the only complete data discovery platform for the enterprise.’ The product data sheet is accessible here and in the same way as older versions of OEID, this software is downloadable via Oracle e-Delivery website which is the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud where you can find downloads for all licensed Oracle products.”
The new version allows users to join data sources together, such as files, databases, and pre-built Endeca servers. Files no longer have to be solely in Excel format and the added geocode features allow users to map data. Users will not have to rely on IT to deliver enrichment for unstructured data, because there is a new option to find hidden entities, sentiment, and more. Managing data is easer with the application settings.
Oracle OEID 3.1 empowers the average user to become a data expert. The user-friendly UI and upgraded features are the software’s biggest selling features.
Whitney Grace, December 10, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
SkyDrive Pro with SharePoint 2013
December 9, 2013
SharePoint 2013 offers several usability improvements, and chief among them is SkyDrive Pro, although it is often misunderstood. Redmond Magazine helps clear up some of the confusion with their article, “How To Configure and Secure SkyDrive Pro in SharePoint 2013 and Office 365.”
The article begins:
“SkyDrive Pro is a critical addition to SharePoint 2013. It lets you synchronize specific document libraries in SharePoint to your desktop and interact with them locally or online. As the use of tablets, smartphones and multiple computers fueled by the ‘bring your own device’ movement, SkyDrive Pro promises to become an increasingly more important component of SharePoint and Office.”
Ultimately, SkyDrive Pro is a personal library useful for organizing and storing your work documents. Mobile functionality is definitely a feature that more and more organizations want to integrate into their existing enterprise platform, so SkyDrive Pro will be a draw. Stephen E. Arnold of ArnoldIT often covers SharePoint, and one of his frequently noted weaknesses is mobile capability. It seems Microsoft is making small steps in the right direction.
Emily Rae Aldridge, December 9, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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