nuts and bolts_kehoe_ess_ny_2008
DESCRIPTION
Large organizations seem to change enterprise search platforms every few years. Why? Perhaps the search platform doesn't match their requirements. Maybe they just don't see that it takes ongoing effort to make search work 'just like Google' - even if your platform is a Google Search Appliance! This presentation, first given at Enterprise Search Summit in New York in the Fall of 2008, addresses both possibilities, and remains as relevant today as it was then.TRANSCRIPT
Are you sure it’s your vendor?
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Leading Vendors: Gartner Quadrant 2007
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Leading Vendors: Forrester Wave 2008
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Maybe it’s not the technology
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It may be your methodology
Good reasons to change vendors/technologies
Solution cannot scale as you grow• Document count / Update frequency
• Queries per Second
• Distributed Architecture
No support for Enterprise Search 2.0• Vendor only offers POST
• No dynamic navigation & result promotions
• No access for Business Owners
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Bad reasons to change vendors/technologies
Lack of resources to fix the problem• Can’t build expertise in-house
• No budget for consultants
• Unhappy users, unhappy management
‘Social Compatibility’ Issues• History with vendor personnel
• New management directive
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Still want to switch vendors?
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Lessons to Remember
‘Start with the end in mind’
Identify internal and external resources
Identify and prioritize requirements
Post Implementation
TRUST YOUR USERS
Other Issues
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Know your content
Inventory your data sources & search activity• Document structure & overall organization
• Security by collection/document
• What are your top searches?
• What best bets/promotions do you have defined now?
Review by search guru• What’s important may not be obvious to you
• Identify system/server issues well in advance
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Evaluation
Analysts• Helpful in starting due diligence• Remember many analysts are paid by vendors and clients• User referrals are worth their weight in goldSales Staff• Sales guys are sales guys: a great SE is your best friend• Price is always negotiable• Get license and consulting quote split outSpecify Needs/Select ‘Short-List’ Vendors• Identify what you need in your language: Know your success criteria• Be specific but rank your ‘A/B/C’ priorities• Be sure to understand why you didn’t select other leading vendors
Proof of concept is nice, but remember it’s a demo
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Know your requirements
Inventory your data sources• Document structure & Overall organization
• Security by collection/document
• How many documents do you expect?
• What analytics do you expect to track?
Review by search guru• What’s important may not be obvious to you
• Identify system/server issues well in advance
Know your success criteria in advance
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Implementation
Indexing• Good indexing required for good searching
• Understand how to mark-up content during indexing
User Interface• Single-shot relevancy is flawed: Use dynamic navigators
• Plan for the future
• Be aware of potential security issues
Relevance• Almost always need tuning
• Use context: User/Document/Query
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Post-Install
Verify It Works• Did it meet your success criteria? • Monitor search, not just hardware
Trust but verify• Did you get all your data?
Are users finding content?• Review search activity• Update content/thesaurus as needed
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Ongoing Operation
Review search activity periodically• What are people looking for?
• What are your top failed searches?
Update Taxonomy to match activity• Behavior Based Taxonomy -
not just content or subject taxonomy
Watch for trends• Know what is getting hot
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Other Search Challenges
• Access to multiple data sources w/ federation
• Insure search respects corporate security policies
• Organize your company for search: SCOE
• Minimizing central support: SaaS in the corporation
• Integrating taxonomies: which is most important?
• Tracking the ‘Top 100’
• Why not just use a Google appliance?
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Resources
Search Dev Newsgroup:
www.SearchDev.org
Newsletter & Whitepapers:
www.ideaeng.com/current
www.ideaeng.com/wp
EnterpriseSearchBlog.com
Blogs:
SearchComponentsOnline.com
Forrester Wave: Enterprise Search Platforms 2006
Leading Vendors: Forrester
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Leading Vendors: Gartner
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Resources
Search Dev Newsgroup:
www.SearchDev.orgNewsletter & Whitepapers:
www.ideaeng.com/current
www.EnterpriseSearchBlog.comBlog: