My previous post outlined the problem with the ‘traditional’ approach to search scoping. To explore the problem and a solution that leverages Microsoft FAST search, I’ve invented a fictitious company called Canadian Financial . That gives us some context – it is a bank with multiple...

It is easy to create content. Fire up a Word document and post it, or create a sub-site on your Intranet and add pages. Even creating a new web site isn’t hard anymore – most business users can go through a process to launch one quickly. The benefit: quickly converting corporate knowledge...

If you’re looking for an internal search solution you’ve probably heard the term Enterprise Search kicking around.  It generally applies putting in an internal search solution that can broadly index content (file shares, email, SharePoint, etc) and provide a search interface for your employees....

A few weeks ago my colleague demonstrated a straight forward business case for the use of search technology as the means to reduce the hard costs associated with internal customer support centres in the retail banking environment . Using ‘back of the napkin math’ and relying on a few core...

I am a runner. As a reflex, when I think of who I am, I think of myself first in the context of when I am at my best. In my mind, that is when I am out for a run. The Boston marathon is 1 month today. I am consumed with excitement. I have no lofty expectations for myself with respect to performance....

Recently I have found myself in client meetings raising the topic of search as a strategy. A critical distinction I have to make, time and time again, is that search as a strategy does not equate to search as a product. As I reflect on these conversations, I cannot help being reminded of a former colleague...

Is your head spinning trying to figure out the different search options from Microsoft? With six different choices available today, I can relate. How do you know how they are different? I’ve pulled together this diagram to help. The following describes how search functionality expands as you go...

We’ve talked in earlier posts about search-as-a-strategy instead of as-a-feature. In the feature world, there are several low-cost options. Install a Google Search Appliance. Fire up a Microsoft Search Server. Both options can deploy with an extensive audience for under $30,000. Box checked. With...

A posting by Kara Swisher reveals a sneak peak at Kumo, a potential update to the Live Search experience. Part of the posting includes three sample screen shots of the beta search experience. I want to highlight a key difference: the left-hand side of the mockups now include a FAST-like navigation experience...

I have a tendency to think and speak in analogies. I can’t help myself I am a story teller by nature. Sometimes my stories are in the form of anecdotes and sometimes they are pictures I draw on scraps of paper scattered around my desk. Inevitably, whatever the topic, whatever my point, I will find...