Proactive intelligence not reactive searching
While the search technology described in this article is undoubtedly useful, it's important to recognise that the ability to "proactively" deliver relevant, actionable and timely information to front-line workers based on their job functions, provides far more value than expecting or hoping they search for it.
Search engines within a business environment often struggle to deliver measurable ROI because the technology generally assumes that the end-user knows within some parameters what they should be looking for and that they're inclined to search for it in the first place.
For example, Sales Intelligence solutions interrogate data in back-office systems, analyse customer buying patterns and proactively alert sales people to new opportunities or issues within the customer base. I can guarantee that very few sales people would search for that type of information, regardless of how good the search technology was, or that any business would want their sales people searching rather than selling.
In summary, I'd recommend that companies look into these types of "operational business intelligence" solutions, not search technologies, if they want some bang for their buck.
Julian Cook
VP Product Marketing, Vecta
www.vecta.net
Biting the hand that feeds IT
