Trading an old search solution for a new one

The U.S. International Trade Commission knew from a survey that users had difficulty finding information on its website. The independent federal agency wanted to replace its search software to improve its functionality, and sought a solution that would fit its needs and budget, as well as be easy to administer. After reviewing a number of options, the Commission chose CloudView from Exalead.

Joel Moeller, e-business division manager at the U.S. International Trade Commission, says, "We picked Exalead to support searching our website because it met all of our requirements. Our production systems run on different platforms, some Windows and some Linux, which CloudView supported. Our user feedback now indicates that the search functionality on our site has improved and information is easier to find."

The solution is being deployed in two ways at the Trade Commission:

• It powers the search functionality of its website, which offers users access to more than 40,000 documents in a range of formats including PDF, spreadsheets, Microsoft Word and Word Perfect files.
• The Commission is expanding the implementation so that staff members will use CloudView internally, allowing them to search file systems, folders and data repositories.

According to Exalead, its solution:

• increases the value and range of information;
• boosts system performance and reduces costs via database offloading, work force decentralization and customer self-service;
• increases agility with a scalable SOA architecture and support for standard Web technologies; and
• simplifies usage with Web-style speed and ease.