Enterprise Search Sourcebook 2008

PUBLISHER’S NOTE HAPPY ANNIVERSARY a s far as the Enterprise Search Sourcebook goes, the impressive volume that you now hold in your hands (physically or virtually) is our second go at producing an annual enterprise search treatise. However, we are celebrating a significant “enterprise search” anniversary. Enterprise Search Summit East, to be held May 20–21, 2008, in New York City, will be 5 years old this year. In an era where technologies come and go very quickly, 5 years is significant. It shows that what we had hoped for when we launched in 2004 is true: The ability to search for and find information across the enterprise is not only an important technology, but also a corporate imperative. They say that time flies. In this instance, it couldn’t be more true. Five years of producing the Enterprise Search Summit has been quite a whirlwind. What started as a singular event has grown into a full-fledged group of information products designed to help identify strategies, software, and solutions to solve enterprise search challenges. We now offer two events, Enterprise Search Summits East and West (we hope to see you at one or the other). We publish this Sourcebook, an annual white paper on enterprise search, and we produce numerous related webinars and a website devoted entirely to the subject (www.enterprisesearchcenter.com). In the past 5 years, we’ve also seen the enterprise search industry grow (and change) as well. We’ve seen many new players enter the field, and we’ve seen a few (although not as many as one might think) merge with, or be acquired by, other companies. Most recently, and perhaps most notably, the purchase of FAST Search & Transfer by Microsoft placed the enterprise search market front and center in the technology news. While it has yet to be determined what effect this acquisition will have on the overall marketplace, it certainly validates the industry in some ways. From a consumer perspective, however, let us hope that this does not signify the beginning of a phase in which solution choices dwindle as larger companies try to dominate the landscape. Personally, I am amazed at the innovations that many of the smaller enterprise search companies have driven. I expect those companies to continue to prompt change in this industry and maintain, or expand, their positions in the marketplace even as larger players vie for a bigger piece of the pie. In producing this family of products over the past 5 years, we’ve had a great vantage point from which to observe this industry, and—to toot our own horn a bit— that means that you’ve come to the right place for your enterprise search needs. Now it’s up to us to deliver the goods. Just as our conferences are, the Sourcebook is designed to give you as much insight as possible into the decision-making process of choosing, purchasing, and implementing an enterprise search solution. This year’s edition of the Enterprise Search Sourcebook has more than 20 in-depth articles, including case studies, commentary, and features. They offer insights into the depth and breadth of the business case for enterprise search and the critical decision-making process. Of particular interest are the case studies. Nowhere will you find a better look into how your peers are deploying search technologies to solve business problems. These case studies are drawn from a variety of business types (from small to large, from hospitals to manufacturing to law firms) and demonstrate a range of technology solutions. We’re very proud of this publication, and special thanks and congratulations go to Michelle Manafy, editor of the Enterprise Search Sourcebook, and to our entire editorial and production team. Their work has yielded a fine result. I’d also like to thank all of our many contributing expert authors who have filled these pages with amazing content. Lastly and importantly, I’d like to thank our advertisers and vendor participants. We truly rely on them to make the Enterprise Search Sourcebook—and all of our efforts to support this industry—possible. One other more personal note about the significance of this anniversary: The reason I remembered that we are celebrating our fifth year of the summit is that it corresponds with the anniversary of my wedding. I was married shortly after the first Enterprise Search Summit in 2004, but the other day (don’t tell my wife), I couldn’t remember in what year we’d gotten married. Then it came to me that it was the same year as the first Enterprise Search Summit. So I went in my files and pulled out the info—an excellent marker of these milestones. Thank you Enterprise Search Summit for helping me never forget again; and for another reminder that time sure does fly. Enjoy the Sourcebook. We plan to publish it again next year, so if you have any comments or suggestions about how to make it even better, please let us know. Tom Hogan, Jr. PUBLISHER 10 ENTERPRISE SEARCH SOURCEBOOK 2008 http://www.enterprisesearchcenter.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Enterprise Search Sourcebook 2008

Enterprise Search Sourcebook 2008 Contents Editor’s Note Publisher’s Note Findings and Figures Why Enterprise Search Will Never Be Google-y Searching for Search Usability Your Users Are Talking to You What’s Your Search Story? Search Is Dead—Now What? Delivering on the Promise of Enterprise Search Taming Multiple Search Engines in Your Organization Enterprise Search: Trends for 2008 Enterprise Search Seen From the Inside Open Source Search: Elixir or Poison? Avoiding the Big Mistakes in Search Semantic Search Takes Root in the Enterprise E-Discovery Essentials: The Rules You Need to Know SharePoint Search: An Enterprise Contender? Integrating Security Into Your Enterprise Search Infrastructure Engineering a Better Search Infrastructure Letting End Users Ask the Questions, Stat! The Power of Knowledge Legal Research Using Enterprise Search: A Developer’s View From Treading Water to Full Steam Ahead Pulling Out All the Stops With Midas A Natural Search Solution An Incremental Approach to Improving Enterprise Search The Enterprise Search Sourcebook Showcase Directory Index to Advertisers and Companies Mentioned

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