planning for the future of search

Intranet Focus Ltd

Planning for the future of search

Enterprise Search Fall 2012

Martin WhiteManaging Director, Intranet Focus Ltd.

[email protected]@intranetfocus

mailto:[email protected]

www.intranetfocus.com

Introductions

Impact of mobile solutions In the enterprise

Development of information managementand intranet strategies

Development of governance and implementation strategies for Microsoft SharePoint

?Specification, selection and implementation of enterprise search applications

Chemist and information scientist

Co-authored ‘Intranet Management’ in 1998

Set up Intranet Focus Ltd in 1999

Visiting Professor, iSchool, University of Sheffield since 2002

Business experience in 35 countries

Agenda Search – the good news and the bad news Information mis-management Search is about people, not technology Everything is changing at the same time Future-proofing search; 12 critical success factors


Enterprise search – the good news The HP, Oracle, IBM and Lexmark acquisitions

raised the visibility of search to CIOs in late 2011 The Big Data hype machine is causing companies

to consider whether they have the capability to find business-critical information

Microsoft is cleaning up the SharePoint search options

Apache Lucene-Solr is becoming the default open-source search application

A number of surveys have been published which provide useful justification for investment in enterprise search


Enterprise search – the bad news The IBM etc. acquisitions removed the search mid-

market options, leaving 60+ companies with revenues of probably less than $30M

Big Data remains hype Microsoft SharePoint search does not scale across

the enterprise Outside of Apache-Lucence there are very few

open-source options The surveys confirm the low level of investment in

technology and in search support



Enterprise Search and Findability Study 2012 www.findwise.com


http://www.emc.com/collateral/about/news/emc-data-science-study-wp.pdf



Life is different in ERP Land


http://www.computereconomics.com/article.cfm?id=1690


IT Business

Big DataContent Analytics

SentimentAnalysis

BusinessIntelligenc

e

MobileSearch

SocialSearch

EnterpriseSearch

Cloud Search

HELP!


Future-proofing search

12 Critical Success Factors

From ‘Enterprise Search’, O’Reilly Media 2012

CSR 1


Invest in a search support team

Before you do anything else set up a search support team with the skills, enthusiasm, organizational knowledge and networks to get the best of the current search application(s).

Even if the team is initially a team of one put the budget, headcount and job descriptions in place so that it can grow ahead of the requirements for support.

CSR 2


Get the best out of the current investment in search

There is usually much that can be done to improve the current search applications once the search team and the search vendor focus in on options and priorities.

The information gained from search log files is a very important element of defining search requirements and setting benchmarks for any new search application

CSR 3


Enterprise search is an approach and not a technology

Implementing one single all-encompassing search application is unlikely to be successful and usually carries more risks than benefits.

Enterprise search is about creating a managed search environment that enables employees to find the information they need to achieve organizational and/or personal objectives.

CSR 4


Set search within an information management context

If the organization does not see information as a business asset it will never invest enough into search and is very susceptible to competitive and reputation risks.

An information management strategy owned by a senior manager is an essential prerequisite to successful search.

CSR 5


Content quality is essential for quality search

Current search technology can cope with poor quality content but there should be guidelines for content and metadata quality.

It is of little benefit to the organization if a search lists twenty relevant documents with a content quality that renders them unfit to be trusted.

CSR 6


Understand user requirements and monitor user satisfaction

Relevance is a personal measure of information value. Basing a business case on anecdotal information about the current search application and what other organizations have achieved with a particular piece of technology is not a suitable basis for an investment decision.

It could be your career prospects that suffer.

CSR 7


Search then browse then alert then search then alert.....

Users need to be able to search when needed, browse when needed and set up alerts as needed.

These three processes need to be linked together to provide an effective information discovery environment.

CSR 8


Provide location-independent search

The search application should be as effective via remote access desktops, smartphones and tablets as it is on a large screen monitor in the IT department.

Not all search vendors have recognized the need for innovation in user interfaces for mobile devices.

CSR 9


Undertake intelligent log analysis

Search log analysis needs to be conducted on a regular basis by a team that understands the activities and language of the business so that emerging issues in search failure can be identified at the earliest possible opportunity

CSR 10


Search is a dialogue

Aiming to get the most relevant documents at the top of the search results list is a waste of effort.

In an enterprise environment users will have complex queries that require them to be able to refine their query and re-evaluate the results with the minimum of effort.

CSR 11


Procure value not functionality

When the time comes to invest in a new search application specify requirements on what you expect the search application to deliver and not on what features you would like to have supplied.

CSR 12


Search is a journey

The process of ensuring that search is meeting user requirements never comes to an end.

Every day there are new employees, new business challenges, new business opportunities and new developments in search technology.

Questions and suggestions?


[email protected] @intranetfocus

mailto:[email protected]

planning for the future of search

Documents

search team

visibility of search

search vendor

search requireme

search support team

current search applications

timefutureproofing search

search log files