Research Report Beyond Search: What to do when Your Enterprise Search System Doesn't Work April 2, 2008 by Stephen E. Arnold Gilbane Group Inc. 763 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139 USA Tel: 617.497.9443 Fax: 617.497.5256 [email protected] http://gilbane.com Table of Contents List of Figures ........................................................................................................vi List of Tables....................................................................................................... viii Preface .............................................................................................. x Executive Summary............................................................................ 1 Fixing a Broken Search System.............................................................................1 How Do You Avoid Common Mistakes?...............................................................1 Beyond Key Words............................................................................................... 2 The Next-Generation Search Market................................................................... 2 The Market Layout............................................................................................... 4 Beyond Search at a Glance....................................................................................5 I. Introduction: Setting the Stage....................................................... 9 Search 2008 ........................................................................................................ 11 Does Your Organization Have Search Flu? ........................................................ 11 Maintaining Legacy Search Systems .................................................14 Fixing a Search System .......................................................................................14 Avoiding Some Common Pitfalls ........................................................................18 Getting to More than Key Words...................................................... 32 The Symbiosis of an Interface and Search Technology..................................... 33 Identifiable Trends............................................................................................. 39 Payoffs and Liabilities of Rich Text Processing................................................. 46 Market Context.................................................................................51 The Superplatforms ........................................................................................... 52 Autonomy, Endeca, and Fast Search (The Big Three) .......................................55 Up-and-Coming Vendors................................................................................... 63 More Choices, More Functionality .................................................................... 68 What’s Next? ...................................................................................................... 70 Google and Dataspaces .....................................................................73 Semantic Technology at Google..........................................................................73 Transformic: A Meta-Meta Approach to Content ..............................................75 Possible Impact of Google’s Dataspace Technology...........................................81 II. Tracking the Players ....................................................................83 A Snapshot of the Beyond-Search Market......................................................... 83 The Beyond Search Market Map........................................................................ 86 III. Vendor Profiles .......................................................................... 91 1. Access Innovations....................................................................... 92 MAIstro Suite ..................................................................................................... 93 Technology ......................................................................................................... 95 Customers............................................................................................................97 Benefits............................................................................................................... 98 Downside............................................................................................................ 99 © 2008 Gilbane Group, Inc. - i - http://gilbane.com Net-Net............................................................................................................... 99 2. Attensity Corporation ................................................................ 100 The System in Action ........................................................................................102 Technology ........................................................................................................103 The SDK - Attensity Integration .......................................................................107 New Features.....................................................................................................107 Upside................................................................................................................107 Downside.......................................................................................................... 108 Net-Net............................................................................................................. 108 3. Bitext SA ..................................................................................... 110 The Bitext Data Suite .........................................................................................111 Technology ........................................................................................................ 113 Upside................................................................................................................ 114 Downside........................................................................................................... 114 Net-Net.............................................................................................................. 114 4. Brainware, Inc............................................................................ 115 How Brainware Works...................................................................................... 116 Associative Memory: The Brainware Innovation............................................. 117 Features.............................................................................................................118 The System in Use.............................................................................................120 Upside................................................................................................................120 Downside...........................................................................................................120 Net-Net.............................................................................................................. 121 5. Cognition Technologies, Inc. .......................................................122 Examples of the System in Use.........................................................................124 The Knowledgebases.........................................................................................125 Key Features......................................................................................................126 Upside................................................................................................................127 Downside...........................................................................................................128 Net-Net..............................................................................................................128 6. Connotate Technologies..............................................................129 A Content Processing Riff .................................................................................129 Connotate’s Agent Approach ............................................................................ 131 Professional Services.........................................................................................133 The System in Action ........................................................................................133 Upside................................................................................................................134 Downside...........................................................................................................135 Net-Net..............................................................................................................135 7. Dieselpoint Inc............................................................................ 137 Key Features......................................................................................................138 Open Pipeline ....................................................................................................139 Technology ........................................................................................................142 Dieselpoint in Use .............................................................................................143 Upside................................................................................................................143 Downside...........................................................................................................144