Ikea Italy Selects Autonomy
March 28, 2012
Ikea Italy is giving its business to Autonomy: Market Watch informs us that “Autonomy Powers Intelligent Document Management and Process Automation at IKEA Italy.” It seems the deal cincher was the system’s single platform to be deployed across the enterprise. The write up reveals:
IKEA Italy needed a single, centralized repository where employees could quickly and efficiently access relevant business documents and improve the automation of its internal and customer-facing business processes. Furthermore, it needed to improve collaboration between different departments. IKEA Italy selected Autonomy WorkSite and TeleForm to fulfill these requirements. Autonomy’s solutions, built on the Intelligent Data Operating Layer (IDOL), provide IKEA Italy with a single platform for document management and business process automation across the company’s multiple repositories.
Other benefits for Ikea Italy include robust document management functionality; adequate scalability; and multi-language search capabilities. That last facet should prove very valuable; the company’s internal documents are in several languages.
HP bought Autonomy in 2011. The company, originally founded in 1996, is a leader in meaning-based information technology. They take great pride building tools that efficiently extract meaning from unwieldy tangles of unstructured data.
Originally founded in Switzerland, Ikea’s quality, customer-assembled furniture business now spans the globe. It arrived in Italy in 1989. Ikea arrived at Autonomy in 2012. What took so long?
Cynthia Murrell, March 28, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
New Alert Feature for Clarabridge Social Media Analytics
March 28, 2012
Social functions are refining their role in the business intelligence niche. The BrainYard reports, “Clarabridge Adds Alerts to Social Media Analytics.”
So what do you do with all that information your business collects from social media? A backlog in the analysis of time-sensitive data could cost a company in lost opportunities. Clarabridge now addresses this problem with automatic alerts. Writer David F. Carr explains:
Clarabridge 5.0 provides tools for collaborating around an analysis. By configuring more proactive notifications, Clarabridge users might also configure the system to automatically send alerts to the correct regional manager–or product manager, or department head–making it more likely that the organization will take action immediately after detecting a specific problem or opportunity. . . . ‘If somebody just tweeted, “I went into Kohl’s and slipped and fell, so now I’m going to sue,” if you’re Kohl’s you want to know that,’ [Clarabridge VP Sidra] Berman said.
Collaboration is the focus of Clarabridge 5.0, formally released March 20, 2012. After all, much of this data points to challenges that require action from multiple departments. Though the alert function is a useful tool, it is important to remember that it will take skillful action to make the most of the new feature.
Clarabridge aims to delve deeper into the meaning behind each piece of content than the competition. Having spent years developing its sentiment and text analytics technology, the company boasts that it is uniquely positioned to support enterprise-scale customer feedback initiatives.
Cynthia Murrell, March 28, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Connotate Acquires Fetch Technologies
March 27, 2012
I know, “Who? Bought what?”
Connotate is a data fusion company which uses software bots (agents) to harvest information. Fetch Technologies, founded more than a decade ago, processes structured data. The deal comes on the heels of some executive ball room dancing. Connotate snagged a new CEO, Keith Cooper, according to New Jersey Tech Week. Fetch also uses agent technology.
Founded in 1999, Fetch Technologies enables organizations to extract, aggregate and use real-time information from Web sites. Fetch’s artificial intelligence-based technology allows precise data extraction from any Web site, including the so-called Deep Web, and transforms that data into a uniform format that can be integrated into any analytics or business intelligence software.
The company’s technology originated at the University of Southern California’s Information Sciences Institute. Fetch’s founders developed the core artificial intelligence algorithms behind the Fetch Agent Platform while they were faculty members in Computer Science at USC. Fetch’s artificial intelligence solutions were further refined through years of research funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Air Force, and other U.S. Government agencies.
The Connotate news release said:
Fetch is very excited to combine our information extraction, integration, and data analytics solution with Connotate’s monitoring, collection and analysis solution,” said Ryan Mullholland, Fetch’s former CEO and now President of Connotate. Our similar product and business development histories, but differing go-to-market strategies creates an extraordinary opportunity to fast-track the creation of world-class proprietary ‘big data’ collection and management solutions.
Okay, standard stuff. But here’s the paragraph that caught my attention:
Big data, social media and cloud-based computing are major drivers of complexity for business operations in the 21st century,” said Keith Cooper, CEO of Connotate. “Connotate and Fetch are the only two companies to apply machine learning to web data extraction and can now take the best of both solutions to create a best-of-breed application that delivers inherent business value and real-time intelligence to companies of all sizes.
I am not comfortable with the assertion of “only two companies to apply machine learning to Web data extraction.” In our coverage of the business intelligence and text mining market in Inteltrax.com, we have written about many companies which have applied such technologies and generated more market traction. Examples range from Digital Reasoning to Palantir, and others.
The deal is going to deliver on a “unified vision.” That may be true; however, saying and doing are two different tasks. As I write this, unification is the focus of activities from big dogs like Autonomy, now part of Hewlett Packard, to companies which have lower profiles than Connotate or Fetch.
We think that the pressure open source business intelligence and open source search are exerting will increase. With giants like IBM (Cognos, i2 Group, SPSS) and Oracle working to protect their revenues, more mergers like the Connotate-Fetch tie up are inevitable. You can read a July 14, 2010, interview with Xoogler Mike Horowitz, Fetch Technologies at this link.
Will the combined companies rock the agent and data fusion market? We hope so.
Stephen E Arnold, March 27, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
The Invisibility of Open Source Search
March 27, 2012
I was grinding through my files and I noticed something interesting. After I abandoned the Enterprise Search Report, I shifted my research from search and retrieval to text processing. With this blog, I tried to cover the main events in the post-search world. The coverage was more difficult than I anticipated, so we started Inteltrax, which focuses on systems, companies, and products which “find” meaning using numerical recipes. But that does not do enough, so we are contemplating two additional free information services about “findability.” I am not prepared to announce either of these at this time. We have set up a content production system with some talented professionals working on our particular approach to content. We are also producing some test articles.
Until we make the announcement, I want to reiterate a point I made in my talks in London in 2011 about open source search and content processing:
Most reports about enterprise search ignore open source search solution vendors. A quiet revolution is underway, and for many executives, the shift is all but invisible.
We think that the “invisible” nature of the open source search and content processing options is due to four factors:
Most of the poobahs, self appointed experts and former home economics majors have never installed, set up, or optimized an open source search system. Here at ArnoldIT we have that hands on experience. And we can say that open source search and content processing solutions are moving from the desks of Linux wizards to more mainstream business professionals.
Next, we see more companies embracing open source, contributing to the overall community with bug fixes and new features and functions. At the same time, the commercial enterprises are “wrapping” open source with proprietary, value-added features and functions. The leader in this movement is IBM. Yep, good old Big Blue is an adherent of open source software. Why? We will try to answer this in our new information services.
Third, we think the financial pressure on organizations is greater than ever. CNBC and the Murdoch outfitted Wall Street Journal are cheering for the new economic recovery. We think that most organizations are struggling to make sales, maintain margins, and generate new opportunities. Open source search and content solutions promise some operating efficiencies. We want to cover some of the business angles of the open source search and content processing shift. Yep, open source means money.
Finally, the big solutions vendors are under a unique type of pressure. Some of it comes from licensees who are not happy with the cost of “traditional” solutions. Other comes from the data environment itself. Let’s face it. Certain search systems such as your old and dusty version of IBM STAIRS or Fulcrum won’t do the job in today’s data and information rich environment. New tools are needed. Why not solve a new information problem without dragging the costs, methods, and license restrictions of traditional enterprise software along for the ride? We think change is in the wind just like the smell of sweating horses a couple of months before the Kentucky Derby.
Our approach to information in our new services will be similar to that taken in Beyond Search. We want to provide pointers to useful write ups and offer some comments which put certain actions and events in a slightly different light. Will you agree with the information in our new services? We hope not.
Stephen E Arnold, March 27, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Harnessing a Strong ROI for your SharePoint Investments
March 27, 2012
Return on Investment (ROI) is no doubt a main focus for both IT and financial officers in the organization. Technology investments can be heavy on the front end and hard to measure as the system develops. The topic is addressed in, “Why is Measuring a Hard ROI for SharePoint Just so Hard?”
The author explains the issue,
“The reality is that all businesses have soft costs such as turnover, lost productivity, low morale, lost sales and missed opportunities. And any combination of those might drive soft cost dollars in your organization which can have big impact on your bottom line — sometimes just as much as the hard costs and other times even more. Many organizations simply don’t measure these types of costs because they don’t understand it or simply don’t have the capability to measure them. Or perhaps people are just focused on meeting deadlines without questioning the value or impact to the customer. Meanwhile, project management within many organizations seems like chaos, deadlines get missed, decisions are delayed, tiger teams get formed, and the insanity of our day to day work life continues.”
Budgets are tight and the economy has been shaky for a while. Everyone is taking a close look at dollars coming in and out of the business. The brief article may be worth a read to help you develop a roadmap for measuring ROI. The piece is part of a larger series of articles on measuring ROI that you may want to check out.
To boost your ROI now without the need for training and studying, consider adding an intuitive third party solution, like Fabasoft Mindbreeze. Here is a highlight:
“The Fabasoft Mindbreeze Appliance is the optimal basis for highly efficient enterprise-wide search and easy configuration. To utilize the full potential of a software solution it is essential that hard- and software are fully aligned. Even more, the required time for deployment to the user is critical for gaining the highest ROI. The Fabasoft Mindbreeze Appliance components have been optimally synchronized in numerous tests. The Fabasoft Search Appliance cuts down the time-to-user dramatically.”
A strong ROI is imperative for the sustainability of your enterprise search investments. Learn more about the Fabasoft Mindbreeze solution at http://www.mindbreeze.com/.
Philip West, March 27, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Overcoming Perceived SharePoint Barriers with Mindbreeze
March 26, 2012
Over at the AIIM.org SharePoint Experts Blog, Rich Blank confronts the tensions between SharePoint adoption, social technologies, and business goals in, “Is SharePoint an Obstacle in Your Organization.”
Blank summarizes:
“Bottom line is that SharePoint is not the obstacle. SharePoint has simply forced organizations to focus on real underlying information management, governance, compliance, service delivery, and cultural change issues at scale. In fact, if you view things holistically, the vast Microsoft ecosystem provides all the capabilities, security, and compliance required for effective communication, collaboration, news/information, team sites, communities, social, search, ECM at an attractive total cost of ownership.”
Blank suggests that organizations can focus on delivering collaboration as a service in order to introduce capabilities to users. He also warns against rushing into the hype of social business without carefully considering the overall architectural vision and basic information management principles.
This is not the first discussion on SharePoint out-of-the-box capabilities not meeting collaboration expectations in the organization. One way to make your SharePoint system accessible and more powerful is by integrating a third party solution. We like the feedback we’ve heard from customers of Fabasoft Mindbreeze. Mobility and Cloud search capabilities are just some of the Mindbreeze benefits. With information pairing, Mindbreeze allows you to connect valuable business knowledge with the right people:
“It sounds easy at first glance but it’s technologically highly complex. 6 years of research and development work later, Fabasoft Mindbreeze has the answer: Information pairing. This involves the boundless networking of company relevant information within an enterprise or organization and placing it in the Cloud. In my opinion acting in this way in all business issues is reliable, dynamic and profitable – the basis for competitive advantage.”
Read more about the full suite of solutions at http://www.mindbreeze.com/.
Philip West, March 26, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Publishers Pose Threats to Text Mining Expansion
March 26, 2012
Text mining software is all the rage these days due to its ability to make significant connections by quickly scanning through thousands of documents. This software can recognize, extract and index scientific information from vast amounts of plain text, allowing computers to read and organize a body of knowledge that is expanding too fast for any human to keep up with. However, Nature.com recently reported on a some issues that have developed in this growing industry in the article “Trouble at the Text Mine.”
According to the article, text mining programmers Max Haeussler and Casey Bergman have run into trouble trying to get science publishers to agree to let them mine their content.
The article asserts:
Many publishers say that they will allow their subscribers to text-mine, subject to contract and the text-miners’ intentions, and point to a number of successful agreements. But like many early advocates of the technology, Haeussler and Bergman complain that publishers are failing to cope with requests, and so are holding up the progress of research. What is more, they point out, as text-mining expands, it will be impractical for individual academic teams to spend years each working out bilateral agreements with every publisher.
While some publishers are getting on board the text mining train, many are still trying to work out how to take advantage of the commercial value before signing on. Too bad it takes more than a degree in English to make text mining deliver useful results. Bummer.
Jasmine Ashton, March 26, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Quid: Another Analytics Player
March 24, 2012
There’s a new player in content processing. Quid enters the market with big names and solid financing, too. The product description specifies:
Quid software is used by decision-makers running companies, NGOs, banks, and funds. It captures data, structures it, and enables people to visualize and interact with the information, to understand the global technology landscape. Teams can immerse themselves in and play with the data, optimizing decision-making about what to build and where to invest or partner. Quid software augments your ability to perceive this complex world.
Sounds like a valuable tool for those looking to invest in the next big thing. The software provides the ability to: map emerging technology sectors and identify rising stars; track tech R&D and breakthroughs; analyze white spaces for opportunities; and discern co-investment relationships in order to craft solid investment strategies.
We admire the company’s Origami-inspired way of explaining math and analytics. Very creative. Also, the “Life at Quid” page is well designed to entice potential employees.
Quid is one to watch as the company continues to move forward.
Cynthia Murrell, March 24, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Google Filtering Tool Ushers YouTube into Classrooms
March 23, 2012
Good filtering makes for good teaching? Perhaps, as the New York Times suggests in “YouTube Subtracts Racy and Raucous to Add a Teaching Tool.” Primary and secondary schools have long been hesitant to tap into YouTube’s free and often quality educational videos, afraid of what other content their students might encounter along the way. Last December, though, YouTube owner Google provided a portal to content that has been vetted for student use and scrubbed of their unpredictable comments sections. Teachers and school officials seem pleased at the development. Journalist Stephanie Strom writes:
At a time when financially ailing states are slashing public education budgets and there is mounting evidence of a widening achievement gap between rich and poor students, schools can ill afford to turn off a free source of credible, often premium, educational tools. Robert Gulick, director of technology in the Washington Local Schools in Toledo, Ohio, said, ‘If we didn’t have a system for filtering it, we couldn’t partake, but we do now, and at a time of declining resources, it is a great way to find additional materials.’
That may be, but is this sophisticated censorship really the way to go? Censorship by another other name still makes it tough to search what is not there. That might not be so bad when we’re talking about minors who just need to make sense of the periodic table, but to what other uses might this technology be put in the future?
Call me old fashioned, but I like books in the classroom.
Cynthia Murrell, March 23, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Accessing Unstructured Data across Various Platforms of Digitally Published Content
March 23, 2012
One of the key components to successful collaboration is the accessibility of the digitally published content in the information environment, whether it is a wiki, portal, document, blog, etc. In “Communities vs. Portals, Blogs, Wikis, Documents, and More,” the author weighs-in on the issue as it relates to providing relevant and dynamic information to users in an effective way.
The author had this to say:
Communities encourage participation by definition as much as they allow for consumption. And activity streams provide an easy and efficient way to aggregate, consume, share, and engage. With that said, some people like to see a bunch of boxes on a web page in a dashboard / newspaper type view. Fair enough…Of course the value of that information in the portal becomes much less because people can only consume in a traditional portal vs. taking some type of action to collaborate on or share the information & knowledge you have just gained.
The author argues for providing all users, even the ones that don’t yet embrace social business and stick to static publishing, with the ability to subscribe and share. If you have vast amounts of unstructured data in your organization, look to increase the value of your information assets with a third party solution, like Fabasoft Mindbreeze.
No matter where your information is held, on-premise or in the Cloud, Mindbreeze search allows users to easily find and access business knowledge. Here you can read about the user-friendly interface that your tech-laggard users will appreciate.
The Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise user interface is based on Web 2.0 technology and combines simplicity with elegance. The operation is self-explanatory. Work just as you are used to. Access your data from anywhere. Also on smartphones and tablets. Elegant design, easy operation. With you wherever you are. Find and access your enterprise and cloud information straight away.
So while experts in the field continue to discuss ways to increase user adoption through dynamic portals, Fabasoft Mindbreeze is a comprehensive search solution with an intuitive interface out-of-the-box that you can deploy now.
Philip West, March 23, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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