The Search for Search Stops Here
Time is wasted on employee training sessions to teach use of complicated search solutions that nonetheless fail to yield optimized results. When searches repeatedly fail, users begin to resist the system and stop conducting searches in order to avoid continued frustration and fruitless results. Which is to say, every failed or limited search return is a deterrent to future searches.
The best way to woo and soothe and wow and satisfy users is via simplicity that is not technically “simple” behind the scenes, but comes across as utterly approachable, usable and rewarding. An optimal search solution is like a swimming duck, which appears to be gliding effortlessly across a pond’s surface. In fact, beneath the water that duck’s feet are paddling non-stop, moving moving moving toward the final destination. But an onlooker sees only swiftness and senses only serenity. So should be the case when conducting a search. The search solution is moving, non-stop, through the deep pond of information but the user sees only the swift, graceful “gliding” of fast, relevant query returns accessible via a simple interface.
Challenge: Keeping a Lid on the Confidential Stuff
Search has come a long way in bringing hidden knowledge to light, making it fully accessible to employees who need it. Solving search problems, however, opens the door to another challenge. When users suddenly have full access to all relevant data across every information silo in a company, security becomes an issue. It therefore becomes crucial to make certain that confidential information does not accidentally slip into the mainstream and that these documents in the enterprise remain available only to those who should have access to it. These confidential documents include financial statements, human resource files and engineering plans.
The challenge to continue to fully protect sensitive documents while utilizing a unified search raises the following questions:
- Can a system really return a maximum number of results with a minimum—which is to say zero percent—number of confidential data breaches?
- Can sensitive information be available to Group A employees who have the clearance and need to access it, while simultaneously being shielded from members of other groups?
- Can such a challenge be met without causing the IT team to gnash its collective teeth?
With the right search solution, the answers are: Yes, Yes and Yes. Not only that, but the right search solution performs control checks in real-time, always guaranteeing that only authorized users view protected information even as information is updated. A best-case scenario for IT means that such a system utilizes technology that integrates seamlessly with existing authentication and authorization systems to provide secure searches, leveraging existing access control investments. This eliminates the need to create a new set of user identities or user access control lists (ACLs), which means granular security levels; document-level security is possible with no additional security systems or access control policies required. This set-up gives every user a unified search across every single relevant document to which they are entitled access while simultaneously preventing access to any information they are not cleared to view.
Google’s Enterprise Search Solutions
Because the collective wisdom of a company is woven into a complicated tapestry of information, every thread counts. The best search tool examines the whole cloth and scrutinizes every stitch along the way. Just as Google.com offers such a thorough examination of Internet contents, Google’s enterprise search solutions offer equally thorough and relevant searches for a company’s data stores.
The user satisfaction that comes with knowing every search will be easy to conduct, return highly relevant results and be utterly thorough means that more employees feel encouraged to regularly seek out the most information they can find before moving ahead with decisions that can literally be valued at tens of millions of dollars. And consistent, enthusiastic usage of search by all employees throughout a company means that even if they are in different hemispheres, they’ll still always be on the same page.
On the IT side, ease-of-installation, ease-of-maintenance, system flexibility and integrated security frees up time and delivers significant value. Consequently, IT time can be spent on more pressing issues. Ultimately, such all-around enthusiasm means increased morale, more productivity, and greater achievement on all levels.
Google (
www.google.com/enterprise );is a public and profitable company focused on search services. Named for the mathematical term “googol,” Google operates Web sites at many international domains, with the most trafficked being www.google.com. Google is widely recognized as the “world’s best search engine” because it is fast, accurate and easy to use. The company also serves corporate clients, including advertisers, content publishers and site managers with cost-effective advertising and a wide range of revenue-generating search services. Google’s breakthrough technology and continued innovation serve the company’s mission of “organizing the world’s information and making it universally accessible and useful.”
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