Google is not the leader of Enterprise Search

source: technewsworld

Many corporations had hoped that enterprise search systems would improve when Google, which has become the firm synonymous with search, made a major foray into the enterprise search market in June 2004. But while Google has generated buzz about enterprise search, the company has not emerged as the market leader -- at least not yet.
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While Google has generated buzz about enterprise search, the company has not emerged as the market leader -- at least not yet. "Initially customers were excited about Google getting into the enterprise search business, but many of them have been disappointed with the company's products," said Gartner Group's Andrews.

Some of the complaints center on the product's Internet-centric design. Google's PageRank search technology, which determines which items are displayed to users, does not categorize company data as well as it does Web information. The product does not offer corporations robust filters so they can fine tune searches. An aerospace company may want to break a term like satellite into four or five subcategories but the search engine may only support the two or three categories.

Security is a high priority issue for enterprises. In health care companies, access to patient data has to be protected, and a growing number of laws have made it clear that businesses need to protect financial data. In some cases, users are not able to set search engine security parameters so they are in sync with corporate policies.

There are also organizational items that Google needs to address. The firm's business has been built with a paper thin support system. "Enterprise users are willing to pay extra for software as long as they are assured that the vendor will support it," noted Gartner Group's Andrews. Google has not spent much time developing indirect channels, such as systems integrators and value added resellers, to help market and support its products.

The end result is enterprises in need of a search engine are often left with unfulfilling options. "Enterprise search products have been improving, but additional enhancement are needed for them to meet the needs of many companies," concluded Forrester Research's Brown.