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Google Appliance Doesn't Cut Enterprise Mustard
In the 2008 version of the Enterprise Search Report, our friends at CMSWatch evaluated 18 major enterprise search offerings and the biggest loser is…
I know what you’re thinking: “What kind of world do we live in where the most dominant internet search engine gets anything less than top marks when compared to other enterprise search offerings?”
The answer is simple: Enterprise content consists of more than just web pages.
When we covered the release of version 5 of the Google Search Appliance (GSA), we bought into the marketing spin that the new connector framework would support searching for content within existing enterprise content management systems.
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Unfortunately, after CMSWatch spent some quality hands-on time with the GSA, there are some significant gaps in functionality.
For example, the GSA has substantial difficulties collecting and indexing content that resides within a SharePoint repository. Considering the blistering proliferation of MOSS 2007 installs, this is an alarming blindspot for Google.
Along with the SharePoint woes, the much bally-hooed connector framework depends on the available of an external web application to access content. Furthermore, the GSA also lacks advanced tuning controls that have become par for the course in enterprise search.
The lead analyst of the Enterprise Search Report, Adriaan Bloem, described the situation like this: “Customers report that once you reach the limits of the appliance, you’re pretty much stuck”.
Google’s reputation proceeds them. Because of this, there are many soon-to-be MOSS 2007 shops that are implementing a GSA on faith alone. Let’s hope this information gets out in time to keep them from having to rip out and re-implement.
If your organization is in the market for an enterprise search solution, we encourage to procure a copy of report.
Along those lines, we would love hear about your experiences with the Google Search Appliance, scroll down and share your thoughts.
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Comments
You don't need to go to the big boys to get real power. There's plenty of smaller players who have mature enterprise search software which you can load onto your own box. They have all the 'connectors' to index your content regardless of where it is, plus the ability to specify Best Bets (administrator-specified results) and the such-like.
You just need to do some research to work out which product is right for you.
There's a list of the main companies at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_search
The more affordable ones are listed under 'Specialized Search Players'.
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on January 1, 2008 10:27 PMAdd a Comment
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I'm not a GSA customer, but have talked with people who have implemented it and who are pretty happy.
My view is that it probably covers most of what you need for low-end, basic intranet/enterprise search. The fact that the software comes bundled into the hardware is a bonus in terms of speed to implementation. The name is also a positive for users, who tend not to understand the difference between internet and enterprise search.
Also it has query boost (sponsored links) functionality which, given the typically uneven distribution of queries is a definite plus. Query boosting is well worth the effort because it allows the human administrator to over-rule the software's relevance rankings when necessary for common and/or important searches when it doesn't bring back the "right" page at the top of the results list.
I think the GSA supports url-limiting queries (a bit like the site: parameter on Google internet search) - in which case you can probably build basic taxonomy functionality as well (assuming your intranet's URL structure is reasonably logical....)
However, for higher-end stuff I think you are still going to be looking at the big boys like FAST and Endeca etc.
Posted by: Ben Anderson on December 20, 2007 6:45 AM