Hoping to End Enterprise Search Inaccuracies
May 1, 2015
Enterprise search is limited to how well users tag their content and the preloaded taxonomies. According Tech Target’s Search Content Management blog, text analytics might be the key to turning around poor enterprise search performance: “How Analytics Engines Could Finally-Relieve Enterprise Pain.” Text analytics turns out to only be part of the solution. Someone had the brilliant idea to use text analytics to classification issues in enterprise search, making search reactive to user input to proactive to search queries.
In general, analytics search engines work like this:
“The first is that analytics engines don’t create two buckets of content, where the goal is to identify documents that are deemed responsive. Instead, analytics engines identify documents that fall into each category and apply the respective metadata tags to the documents. Second, people don’t use these engines to search for content. The engines apply metadata to documents to allow search engines to find the correct information when people search for it. Text analytics provides the correct metadata to finally make search work within the enterprise.”
Supposedly, they are fixing the tagging issue by removing the biggest cause for error: humans. Microsoft caught onto how much this could generate profit, so they purchased Equivio in 2014 and integrated the FAST Search platform into SharePoint. Since Microsoft is doing it, every other tech company will copy and paste their actions in time. Enterprise search is gull of faults, but it has improved greatly. Big data trends have improved search quality, but tagging continues to be an issue. Text analytics search engines will probably be the newest big data field for development. Hint for developers: work on an analytics search product, launch it, and then it might be bought out.
Whitney Grace, May 1 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
SharePoint Release Delayed and Criticized
April 28, 2015
SharePoint was lauded earlier in the year for committing to a new on-premises version of SharePoint Server 2016. However, since then the rollout has been beset by delays and criticism that on-site installations will continue to play the ugly stepsister to the cloud. The United Kingdom’s The Register provides a cynical assessment of the latest news in their article, “SharePoint’s Next Release Delayed Until Deep into 2016.”
The article begins:
“Exchange Server 2016 will be not much more than a rollup of features already deployed to cloud Exchange . . . Redmond’s also revealed that SharePoint server won’t get another refresh until the second quarter of 2016. There won’t even be a beta – or technical preview as Microsoft likes to call them these days – to play with until 2015’s fourth quarter . . . But all those cloudy bits may not be so welcome for the many smaller organisations that run SharePoint, or for organisations waiting for an upgrade. SharePoint 2013 was released in October 2012, so such users are looking at nearly four years between drinks.”
Every SharePoint rollout seems to be plagued by trouble of some variety, so the delay comes as little surprise. The test will be whether tried and true on-premises customers will settle for what increasingly seems to be little support. We will withhold ultimate judgment until the release is made available. In the meantime, head over to ArnoldIT.com to keep up with the latest news. Stephen E. Arnold has made a career out of following all things search, and his dedicated SharePoint feed keeps you informed at a glance.
Emily Rae Aldridge, April 28, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Ignoring Search Updates are a Security Risk
April 23, 2015
Searching is an essential function for basic Internet use and it is a vital function in enterprise systems. While searching on the Internet with a search engine might not seem like a security risk, the comparable action on enterprise search could be potentially dangerous. Security Enterprises points out the potential security risks in the article, “SearchBlox Vulnerabilities Underscore Importance Of Updating Enterprise Search Tools.”
Recently the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute CERT Division compiled a list of all the security risks from SearchBlox’s software. They included ways for hackers to view private information, upload files, cross-site (XSS) scripting, and cross-site request forgeries. Enterprise security developers can learn from SearchBlox’s vulnerabilities by being aware and repairing them before a hacker discovers the information leak.
The problem, however, might come from within an organization rather than out:
“Of all the possible threats, the ability for cybercriminals to conduct XSS attacks from within the product’s default search box is likely the most concerning, Threatpost reported. On the other hand, anyone trying to take advantage of such SearchBlox vulnerabilities would need to be an authenticated user, though there is no shortage of stories about insider threats within the enterprise.”
The article alludes that SearchBlox’s vulnerabilities came from day-to-day activities that keep an organization running. Using SearchBlox as an example, other organizations with enterprise systems will be able to learn where their own products need patches so the same issues don’t happen with them. So what do you take away: most hackers are probably insiders and look for holes in the ordinary, everyday routines.
Whitney Grace, April 23, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Improving the Preservica Preservation Process
April 17, 2015
Preservica is a leading program for use in digital preservation, consulting, and research, and now it is compatible with Microsoft SharePoint. ECM Connection has the scoop on the “New Version Of Preservica Aligns Records Management And Digital Preservation.” The upgrade to Preservica will allow SharePoint managers to preserve content from SharePoint as well as Microsoft Outlook, a necessary task as most companies these days rely on the Internet for business and need to archive transactions.
Preservica wants to become a bigger part of enterprise system strategies such as enterprise content management and information governance. One of their big selling points is that Preservica will archive information and keep it in a usable format, as obsoleteness becomes a bigger problem as technology advances.
“Jon Tilbury, CEO Preservica adds: ‘The growing volume and diversity of digital content and records along with rapid technology and IT refresh rates is fuelling the need for Records and Compliance managers to properly safe-guard their long-term and permanent digital records by incorporating Digital Preservation into their overall information governance lifecycle. The developing consensus is that organizations should consider digital preservation from the outset – especially if they hold important digital records for more than 10 years or already have records that are older than 10 years. Our vision is to make this a pluggable technology so it can be quickly and seamlessly integrated into the corporate information landscape.’ ”
Digital preservation with a compliant format is one of the most overlooked problems companies deal with. They may have stored their records on a storage device, but if they do not retain the technology to access them, then the records are useless. Keeping files in a readable format not only keeps them useful, but it also makes the employee’s life who has to recall them all the easier.
Whitney Grace, April 17, 2015
Stephen E Arnold, Publisher of CyberOSINT at www.xenky.com
Mobile Office 365 Usage on the Rise
April 16, 2015
A recent study by harmon.ie has found that Mobile Office 365 is growing quickly among its users. Mobile is a huge consideration for all software companies, and now the data is proving that mobile is the go-to for even heavy-hitting work and enterprise applications. Read more in the AppsTechNews article, “The state of mobile Office 365 usage in the workplace – and what it means for SharePoint.”
The article begins with the research:
“24% of harmon.ie mobile users are now using mobile Office 365 in the cloud, compared to 18% six months ago. Not surprisingly, the most popular activity conducted by business users on mobile devices was online and offline document access, according to 81% of the vote. 7% most frequently use their mobile devices to add a SharePoint site, while 4% prefer to favourite documents for later offline access.”
Retrieval is still proven to be the most common mobile function, as devices are still not designed well for efficient input. To keep up with future developments regarding mobile use in the enterprise, stay tuned to ArnoldIT.com. Stephen E. Arnold has made a career out of following all things search, and his SharePoint feed is an accessible place to stay tuned in to the latest SharePoint developments.
Emily Rae Aldridge, April 16, 2015
Stephen E Arnold, Publisher of CyberOSINT at www.xenky.com
The Evolution of SharePoint Online Collaboration
April 14, 2015
SharePoint Online is quickly playing catch up to the on-premises version, but the fact that they weren’t identical from the start is still perplexing. Tech Target explores the topic further in their article, “Following the SharePoint Online Collaboration Evolution.”
The article sums up the current situation:
“To an outsider, it would appear that SharePoint would have been the perfect one-to-one on-premises and cloud server option, considering it’s a Web-based option. However, it’s more complex than a move in data center location that’s local to Microsoft. And in terms of development, much of the effort has gone into the option that will drive the migration to Office 365 and the revenue from such a move, which is Exchange Online.”
Hybrid enablement is one area that SharePoint 2016 watchers are keeping a close eye on, as part of an overall focus on bringing more Office 365 experiences to on-premises customers. On the other side of the coin, certain online features are being strengthened by their reliance on SharePoint on-site under the hood. Look for Delva, Office 365, and OneDrive for Business among others. Overall, the future of SharePoint is exciting but still coming into focus. Keep an eye on ArnoldIT.com, a Web service run by a longtime search expert Stephen E. Arnold. His SharePoint feed will make additional SharePoint news accessible as it becomes available.
Emily Rae Aldridge, April 14, 2015
Stephen E Arnold, Publisher of CyberOSINT at www.xenky.com
Microsoft Streamlining Update Process for SharePoint 2016
April 9, 2015
One of the most frequent complaints from SharePoint users and administrators is the cumbersome update process. It seems that Microsoft is listening and finally responding. Read more in the Redmond Channel Partner article, “Microsoft To Revamp Update Process for SharePoint 2016.”
The article sums up the news:
“The process of updating SharePoint Server will become less cumbersome in the next version of the product, according to a Microsoft executive. Speaking about the upcoming SharePoint 2016 during an IT Unity-hosted talk last Friday, Bill Baer, a Microsoft senior technical product manager and a Microsoft Certified Master for SharePoint, said that IT pros will get smaller updates and that applying them will entail less downtime for organizations.”
Less downtime for organizations will be a welcome change. Stephen E. Arnold is a longtime search expert, and has followed SharePoint through its ups and downs. He often finds that though SharePoint is the most widely adopted enterprise solution, its complicated nature and poor user experience often lead to perceived failures. Keep up with the latest SharePoint news on ArnoldIT.com, specifically the dedicated SharePoint feed, to determine if the streamlining of updates leads to higher marks for SharePoint.
Emily Rae Aldridge, April 9, 2015
Stephen E Arnold, Publisher of CyberOSINT at www.xenky.com
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