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Search-based application

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Sue Feldman (talk | contribs) at 00:50, 5 November 2010 (→Pre-Conditions: Replaced definition with one that is more commonly accepted. I defined this type of software application first, so feel it should adhere to the definition I have been using sinc). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Search-based applications (SBA) are software applications in which a search engine platform is used as the core infrastructure for information access and reporting. SBAs use semantic technologies to aggregate, normalize and classify unstructured, semi-structured and/or structured content across multiple repositories, and employ natural language technologies for accessing the aggregated information.

Pre-Conditions

Search based applications are fully packaged applications that:  Are built on a search backbone to enable sub-second access to information in multiple formats and from multiple sources  Are delivered as a unified work environment to support a specific task or workflow, for example: eDiscovery, financial services regulatory compliance, fraud detection, voice of the customer, sales prospecting, pharmaceutical research, anti-terrorism intelligence, or customer support.  Integrate all the tools that are commonly needed for that a specific task or workflow, including:  Multi-source information access  Authoring  Collaboration  Business process  Reporting and analysis  Alerting  Visualization  Provide pre-configured data integration with multiple repositories of information in multiple formats as appropriate for the application domain.  Integrate domain knowledge to support the particular task, including industry taxonomies and vocabularies, internal processes, workflow for the task, connectors to specialized collections of information, and decision heuristics typical of the field.  Provide a compelling user interface and interaction design that eliminates the need for users to “pogo stick” or continually jump from one application to another. This buffers the user from the complexity of operating separate applications and enables them to focus on getting work done.  Are quick to deploy, easy to customize or extend, and economical to administer

Source: Worldwide Search and Discovery 2009 Vendor Shares and Update on Market Trends, IDC #223926, July, 2010 by Susan Feldman and Hadley Reynolds.

Practical Uses

SBAs are used for a variety of purposes, including:

  • Web Applications: Typically, B2B, B2C and C2B applications that mash-up data and functionality from diverse sources (databases, Web content, user-generated content, mapping data and functions, etc.)
  • Database Offloading: In this case, SBAs are used to provide an alternate means of accessing database content that is non-intrusive to source systems
  • Data Migration: SBAs are sometimes used as a temporary platform to ensure continuity of information access during large scale migration projects

The use of a search platform as the core infrastructure for software applications has been enabled largely by two evolutions in search engine technology: 1) the capability of later generation engines to retain and exploit the semantics embedded in structured data, and 2) the integration of mathematical and statistical processors to provide reporting, analysis, and, occasionally, geospatial capabilities.

Search engines are not a replacement for database systems; they are a complement. They have been optimally engineered to facilitate access to information, not to record and store transactions. In addition, the mathematical and statistical processors integrated to date into search engines remain relatively simple. At present, therefore, databases still provide a more effective structure for complex analytical functions.

References

See also

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