Planning for the future of search
-
Upload
murphy-moreno -
Category
Documents
-
view
20 -
download
0
description
Transcript of 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
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
www.intranetfocus.com
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
www.intranetfocus.com
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
www.intranetfocus.com
www.intranetfocus.com
Enterprise Search and Findability Study 2012 www.findwise.com
www.intranetfocus.com
www.intranetfocus.com
www.intranetfocus.com
www.intranetfocus.com
http://www.emc.com/collateral/about/news/emc-data-science-study-wp.pdf
www.intranetfocus.com
Life is different in ERP Land
www.intranetfocus.com
http://www.computereconomics.com/article.cfm?id=1690
www.intranetfocus.com
IT Business
Big DataContent Analytics
SentimentAnalysis
BusinessIntelligenc
e
MobileSearch
SocialSearch
EnterpriseSearch
Cloud Search
HELP!
www.intranetfocus.com
Future-proofing search
12 Critical Success Factors
From ‘Enterprise Search’, O’Reilly Media 2012
CSR 1
www.intranetfocus.com
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
www.intranetfocus.com
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
www.intranetfocus.com
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
www.intranetfocus.com
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
www.intranetfocus.com
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
www.intranetfocus.com
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
www.intranetfocus.com
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
www.intranetfocus.com
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
www.intranetfocus.com
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
www.intranetfocus.com
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
www.intranetfocus.com
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
www.intranetfocus.com
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.
www.intranetfocus.com