Take Search Further

What would these search users like to do next with search for their enterprises? Sheehan is considering implementing search actively, not waiting for users to ask questions. The idea: The search engine pulls relevant information into a window as the user types — for instance, providing links to other cantilevered bridge designs if a user is writing a proposal for that kind of structure. "For me, this is the future of search," he says.

Morrison & Foerster's Haraf looked at such active search capabilities a few years ago, but rejected the then-current offerings because they interrupted users' work with alerts. "Users' initial reaction was: 'That would drive me crazy; please make it go away'," she recalls. But a non-invasive approach that suggested relevant cases or subject experts as an attorney was writing a brief or memo? "That would be interesting," she says.

SIDEBAR: Where Search and BI Blend

High-end search platforms such as those from Endeca Technologies and Fast Search & Transfer are beginning to blur the lines with business intelligence (BI) systems. Some bring in analytics capabilities and let you save searches, essentially creating canned reporting capabilities from what started as free-form searches.

What does this kind of capability look like in action? Communications equipment maker Harris uses Endeca's search platform to bring "BI 2.0" capabilities to its supply chain management system, says Janice Lindsay, director of supply chain management.

That means using analytics and business rules so that search steers decisions — such as recommending preferred suppliers, or advising engineers that a part is near the end of its lifecycle.

These analytics also help engineers predict costs versus budget as they investigate parts and manufacturing approaches, and help monitor compliance to goals such as choosing parts with lower defect rates.