Attivio Offers Attractive Security Options
January 7, 2013
Attivio makes a very strong case for its own security solution in “The Pitfalls of Early Binding, Late Binding and Hybrid Security Models.” The well-organized article begins by describing each model and its pitfalls. For example, early binding requires constant content reprocessing, while late binding tends to slow response times considerably. The hybrid model, naturally, retains flaws from both its parent models. This section would actually make a good primer on the subject.
Next, the piece explains Attivio’s unique approach, which began by looking at how organizations actually used access controls. Steve Bower, director of client engineering and author of the post, discusses his company’s method:
“The first thing we came to understand was that changes in access control are primarily changes in access to sets – sometimes large – of content, as well changes to the user/group structure itself. . . .
“At the root of our Active Security model is the idea of breaking up the access control problem into its constituent parts; users, groups, documents and ACLs. To accomplish this, Active Security models documents, ACLs and user/group hierarchies as independent records within the Attivio universal index, enabling discrete control by allowing for independent updates to any part of the system. At query time these pieces are brought together, in a single query execution, using a combination of Attivio’s patented JOIN operator and Attivio’s GRAPH operator.”
Bower states that this innovative approach results in improvements over the traditional options, including latency reduction and a reduced load on security systems. He also lauds the platform’s scalability, simplicity, and extensibility.
Headquartered in Newton, MA, Attivio also has offices in the UK and Germany. The company offers high-performance, cost-effective approaches to the complex data challenges faced by government agencies and their defense and aerospace colleagues. Attivio prides itself on innovatively integrating enterprise search, intelligence, and analytic capabilities to provide the best solutions.
Cynthia Murrell, January 07, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Established Search Providers Like Intrafind Design a Big Data Future with Results
November 23, 2012
What is Big Data and what can it do for businesses today? That seems to be the billion dollar question, as businesses literally spent billions on Big Data programs, software and projects this past year. The irony is that despite all the headline hype and the funds being invested, companies are still not sure what they are getting out of Big Data according to Business Insider’s article “Enterprises Are Spending Wildly On ‘Big Data’ But Don’t Know If It’s Worth It Yet”.
This is not to say that corporations do not have Big Data designs in mind for the future:
“Big Data” means scooping up large quantities of information, often from nontraditional, server-busting sources like Web traffic logs or social media, and using it to make business decisions in real time. Including things like watching competitors, monitoring their own brands, creating new services that they can sell, and tracking product and pricing information.”
With over $4.3 billion spent in 2012 and an estimated $34 billion expected in 2013 it is no wonder that Big Data has been generating a lot of buzz. However, all the hype means nothing without an eventual increase in efficiency and ROI. When it comes to finding the right data, companies would benefit from the use of an established search provider like Intrafind that offers rich tagging features and secure search within the enterprise.
Jennifer Shockley, November xx, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Enterprise Content Management in the Big Data Era is Complex
November 6, 2012
The evolution of ECM through the past years can be tough to follow, and the future can be even harder to predict. The challenges range from digitizing paper documents to constant process changes. The article “Maturing ECM Technology Tested by Increase in Data” on PropertyCasualty360 speaks on the various problems that can arise in the Big Data era, like analyzing and managing content in data warehouses and the cloud.
The article continues and elaborates on the future of enterprise content management:
“Through web services, carriers will call out to the ECM systems to restore, retrieve, and search through documents. They are not necessarily interacting with the ECM solution, but the new core system as the front end.
‘There are different approaches being taken and the effort going forward and finding how these systems work together and how the workflows work together is proving to be a big job for carriers,’ says [David Packer, a principal for the technology consulting group X by 2.]”
Enterprise content management has multiple layers and they are complex, and the systems are likely to remain elaborate. Working with vendors such as Intrafind that offer secure access and robust search is a good business practice that can help alleviate some of the complexity.
Andrea Hayden, November 6, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Google Search Appliance Updates for the Enterprise
November 2, 2012
The shiny new 7.0 version of Google Search Appliance has been updated for the enterprise, now allowing administrators to add information to the cloud, various social media outlets, and other online storage sites. According to the article “Enterprise Tools Added to Google Search Appliance” on PC Advisor, the upgrade includes a new Entity Recognition feature with auto suggestions for searches as well as a document preview feature.
The article tells us why the need for such an update is necessary for the enterprise:
“IDC analyst David Schubmehl said users would like enterprise searches to be as easy as Web searches, noting that slow searches can hurt productivity. A 2009 IDC study found that the time spent searching for data averaged 8.8 hours per week per employee, at a cost of $14,209 per worker per year.”
We believe Google Enterprise offers some great features, including the option for employees to add their own search results to existing results. However, if secure search and access is an enterprise priority for your corporation, then we would recommend a careful examination before opting for Google Enterprise. A company such as Intrafind offers a secure option for searching structured and unstructured enterprise data.
Andrea Hayden, November 2, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Secure Cloud Platform Product Addresses Search Woes
October 25, 2012
Cloud platforms present an interesting issue for those attempting to search across such siloed cloud applications in real-time. OneLogin, cloud identity management specialists, recently released a product to help businesses facing these woes. In the article “OneLogin Launches First-Ever Federated Cloud Search” on The Herald, we learn about the Cloud Search product which allows users to search across public cloud applications like Google Apps, Box, and Zendesk.
We learn more about the necessity and benefits of this type of search product in the enterprise:
“‘Employees at cloud-centric enterprises have to navigate a variety of cloud applications every day, yet they are unable to search across these applications with Google-like searchability,’ said Thomas Pedersen, founder and chief executive officer of OneLogin. ‘Cloud Search is a revolutionary product that provides users with actionable insights into products, projects and customer issues. It is also the realization of our platform vision to help CIOs securely leverage their cloud application portfolio.’”
OneLogin Cloud Search is also tied to an enterprise’s existing security model. This ensures that employees only have access to content that is authorized for them.
We are happy to see new players explore secure search. For a product that has been tested and in use for a longer period of time, Intrafind is a secure choice. Intrafind allows for users to search structured and unstructured enterprise data securely with a wide range of connectors.
Andrea Hayden, October 25, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Search Appliances Developing to Fit Expanding Enterprise Needs
October 15, 2012
Google has recently launched two new plug and play appliances with the Google Search Appliance Version 7.0 boxes. According to the article “Google Launches New Enterprise Search Appliances” on eWeek, these new tools will help users search content in large stores of data to find specific information within their enterprise. The appliances offer features such as document preview, language translation, and a smaller physical footprint and can search information from over one billion documents.
Google explains the necessity for these types of search tools in the article:
“‘You might be searching for last quarter’s sales goals, product launch materials or your colleague’s telephone number—but there isn’t one simple search box to help you find all the information you need,’ Matthew Eichner, general manager of Google’s enterprise search unit wrote in an Oct. 9 post on the Google Enterprise blog. ‘When 60 percent of corporate workers say that it’s hard to find information within their organization, something needs to change.’”
Google is attempting to make that necessary change for enterprises, but they are not the only ones making an impact on the industry. One example is Intrafind, which offers enhanced search features that include secure expert identification and semantic associations within an organization’s data repositories. With these types of high-performance enterprise search features, organizations can be sure that information is secure as well as accessible.
Andrea Hayden, October 15, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Centrifuge Releases Latest Version of Visual Networks Analytics Platform
September 24, 2012
Centrifuge recently published “Centrifuge Delivers Scalable Big Data Analytics With Visual Networks Analytics Version 2.7” which discusses a new solution that minimizes the need for data scientists while accelerating discovery across disparate data points. Sounds pretty cool…and complicated.
According to the news release, Centrifuge, a provider of Big Data analytics and visualization solutions for fraud, security and risk, announced the availability of the latest version of its Visual Networks Analytics platform. It addresses the need to derive context intelligence and pattern discovery in big data by delivering powerful technology that addresses the growing need to quickly filter, sift and understand large amounts of data.
Renee Lorton, Centrifuge CEO, explains:
“Corporate Information security is a big data analytics challenge that cannot be addressed with traditional data mining, BI, or legacy analytics approaches. The sheer volume and complexity requires a powerful investigative discovery approach that is easy enough for a non-data scientist to use. Machine data, for example, is one of the fastest growing segments of big data, generated by websites, applications, servers, networks, mobile devices and other sources. Now, discovering patterns in Big Data is both easy and cost effective with Centrifuge’s powerful interactive data visualization.”
With an increasing number of organizations being hacked, information security is becoming a higher priority. A variety of industries would benefit from this technology.
Jasmine Ashton, September 24, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
HP Security Believes Stability is Overrated
September 13, 2012
The likely assumption for those working in information technology systems is that stability is an ultimate goal. However, according to HP Software Security Evangelist Rafal Los in the article “Three Steps for Introducing More Chaos Into Systems (Yes, That’s a Good Thing),” on ZDNet, too much stability is a bad thing. Los warns that too much stability would cause IT departments to lose their edge by encouraging complacency and resistance to change. Los argues that in smoothly running departments, if something goes wrong, it will be more difficult to recover.
The article reads:
“‘Every organization I’ve ever been a part of has spent countless dollars and immeasurable energy striving for stability in which everything is predictable,’ [Los] says. ‘Unfortunately, these are the organizations that recover slowest when the inevitable, unpredictable catastrophe hits.’ An apt comparison may be ‘a search-and-rescue team that sits idle for too long can become rusty under pressure without constant drilling and practice.’
Instead of striving for stability, IT executives should strive for more resiliency, Los says. In essence, be a little more of a ‘chaotic’ enterprise.”
His suggestions for “chaos?” Allowing some components to fail on purpose and not building completely unbreakable systems. We disagree with his thinking that chaos should be a goal. A strong and steady flow in an organization is something we think should be strived for as opposed to a chaotic environment.
Andrea Hayden, September 13, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Reuters Blog and Twitter Hacked
September 2, 2012
The Next Web recently reported on the recent hacking of the blogging platform of the Reuters website after a false posting appeared in the article, “Reuters Hacked, Again.”
According to the article, not only is this the second time that the blog has been hacked in recent weeks, but the news sites Twitter account was also recently infiltrated. The content of the Tweets were changed from technology news to focusing on the Middle East and pro-Syrian government. Similarly, the recent blog hacking included a false posting saying Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal had died.
Despite still not knowing the identity of the hackers, Reuters commented:
“Although the identity of those hackers is not known either, there is an intensifying conflict in cyberspace between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Saudi Arabia has emerged as a staunch opponent of Assad.”
It is difficult to determine whether or not the hacking was a practical joke or part of a political overtaking. Regardless, we hope that Reuters gets its story straight and puts in some security measures.”
Jasmine Ashton, September 02, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext.
Baidu Employees Caught Deleting Posts
August 28, 2012
Oh, my. Objective information has just taken a new turn on its winding path. TechWorld reports, “Baidu Workers ‘Found to be Deleting Posts for Cash’.” Apparently, the practice of illegally deleting controversial or negative posts for pay is common in China, where Baidu is the dominant Web search engine. Writer Sophie Curtis reports:
“Chinese search giant Baidu has fired four employees after it emerged that they may have accepted bribes to delete posts from its website.
“Three of the former employees have also been arrested for accepting cash to delete forum posts. Baidu’s spokeswoman Betty Tian told BBC News that the sums involved amounted to ‘tens of thousands of yuan’ (thousands of pounds).”
Baidu asserts that they have always taken a firm hand with such behavior, promptly reporting it to authorities. This breech has been discovered less than a year after the search firm pledged to ramp up self-regulation efforts. Baidu, along with 38 other top Chinese IT firms, made that pledge in response to government pressure; China is determined to control the evolution of the Internet within its borders.
Baidu, founded in 2000 and headquartered in Beijing, is by far the largest Chinese-language search engine. It also boasts of hosting the largest blog system in China, Baidu Space. Their name, which literally means “hundreds of times,” comes from a poem written during the Song Dynasty describing the persistent search for the ideal within chaos. An apt name for a Web search engine, I think.
Cynthia Murrell, August 28, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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