When implementing an enterprise search solution one of the keys is effectively integrating
the search solution into the other systems and workflows in the
organization. What recommendations do you have as to how this can be achieved?
The first thing to consider when looking at integrating a search solution into
existing systems and workflows is understanding the existing systems and workflows,
and what is required of the search solution. A search solution should have the
flexibility to be tailored to existing and future workflows. A well documented
interface to the search solution will make it easier to integrate both from the
data acquisition side, as well as being able to provide results where they are
most needed.
Beyond that is ensuring that the search solution can meet the business requirements
of the workflows. Some business requirements to consider there include security models
ensuring only authorized people see sensitive information, being able to use all the
available information including meta data, structured data from databases along with
the unstructured information, how quickly new data should be available to searchers,
and what type of searches are possible.
To get your questions on search answered please email
.
Customer Quote
"I've used the software before while working at NASA a couple years ago, but
I was also quite impressed by a couple new features such as the admin interface for
indexing the site. Anyway, Webinator remains an amazing product -- very relevant search
results without much effort and customizable scripts to still somehow improve on
precision. People were really impressed with the generic script I downloaded to create
a site index."
Thunderstone Software LLC was selected as "one of the 100 Companies That
Matter in Knowledge Management" by KM World.
John Turnbull (Thunderstone President & CEO) and Derek Matthews (Lead Knowledge
Architect, Ariba, Inc.) co-presented a conference session entitled "Enhance Search
With Structured Data: Bringing Together Business Intelligence and Search" at the
AIIM 2008 Exposition & Conference in Boston.
John Turnbull (President & CEO) and Peter Thusat (Communication Director & CMO)
conducted an analyst briefing with Roger Whitehead (Senior Analyst for Search and
Collaboration, Bloor Research.)
We will be exhibiting at FOSE, the largest trade show designed for government
technology professionals in Washington DC April 1-3 2008.
The exhibition is open from 10am to 4pm daily at the Walter E Washington
Convention Center and you can visit us at booth 2635.
Enterprise Search Summit 2008
The Enterprise Search Summit in New York City May 19-21 is focused on extending
search as a major computing platform. It is held at the Hilton New York, and
Thunderstone is a Gold Level Sponsor.
If you are going to be in town for any of these events please let us know and
we can schedule some time to get together and make sure we are serving you as well
as possible.
You can attend the FOSE Exhibition for FREE, compliments of Thunderstone Software
LLC. Be sure to visit Thundertone's booth 2635, April 1 - 3 at the Walter E.
Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC.
Just register online (http://www.fose.com) using the VIP CODE: FEX169, and you'll
receive a FREE, all-access pass to:
the entire FOSE show floor
keynote speeches
all show floor education sessions.
Plus, when you enter the VIP CODE: FEX169 you'll also be automatically entered to
win the VIP Attendee Package. (See FOSE.COM web site for details.)
Thunderstone's Fred Harmon and Peter Thusat look forward to seeing you at the FOSE
2008. Call us at +1 216 820 2200 if you'd like to schedule a time to meet with us at
booth 2635.
Spring is upon us, although the snow on the ground in Cleveland suggests otherwise.
Are your search users not getting the hits they want? Are your administrators having
trouble getting the right data into the rotation or spotting where problems are?
Maybe your organization's Webinator or Search Appliance users could benefit from
Thunderstone-provided training on how to maximize the value of search queries that
utilize:
Special pattern matchers (regular expressions, quantities, fuzzy patterns)
Document similarity searches (Doc Surfing)
In Context result listings, including within Acrobat Reader for PDF results
Link reference reports
Relevance ranking
Proximity controls
Natural language
Set logic.
Or perhaps your Thunderstone search solution administrator(s) would like to learn
more about:
indexing multiple sites into one common index
providing detailed verification and logging of document linkages
indexing/updating documents while the database is in use
allowing multiple databases at a site
customizing Texis Web Script (Vortex) for complete flexibility
collecting and analyzing query logs
using a SQL query interface to the database for maintenance and reports
allowing remote sites to be copied to the local file system
running multiple index engines concurrently against a common database
delegating administration selectively so that sub-administrators have access only to special settings and collections
some feature, interest, need or concern that your organization wants to address in a special training session with Thunderstone's software engineers.
Call Fred Harmon at +1 216 820 2200 (or email him at
)
and ask how you can save as much as ten percent (10%) on Thunderstone's customized
training programs conducted this Spring.
Quote of the Month
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who
have not got it."
While the most common way to index data with the Thunderstone Search
Appliance is to crawl the data from a website, file server or database,
you can also push data into the appliance using the DataLoad API.
The DataLoad API lets you create connectors from data sources such
as content management systems to keep the appliance in sync with the
repository. The search will reflect the updates you make in real time,
so as soon as you add a document it will be searchable. Make sure to check
our updated list of existing connectors in this issue or on our website
before building your own to save effort.
The API is available both as an XML API using a simple HTTP POST with
the data, or there is also a SOAP API available if you are creating a web
services application. The Appliance Manual has full details on using the API.
The data you insert is comprised of all of the fields the appliance knows
about, and you can choose to either insert the plain text of the document to
be searched or the original binary file (e.g. PDF, HTML or MS Word,) and let
the Appliance process the file normally.
When configuring the DataLoad API you need to make sure that the server that
is sending the data to the Thunderstone Search Appliance has been configured as
a Cluster Member in the System Wide Settings Page as the appliance will reject
updates from unknown servers.
.
)
and ask how you can save as much as ten percent (10%) on Thunderstone's customized
training programs conducted this Spring.