Fishbowl Solutions recently conducted a webinar in which we discussed our Google Search Appliance (GSA) Connector for Oracle Universal Content Management (Oracle UCM). We had a great turnout for the event with over 100 registrants and 80 attendees. The high-level of interest made it apparent to us that enterprise search continues to be an issue within organizations. These issues are typically user-driven, and the frustrations center around not being able to quickly and easily find the information they need to do their jobs. However, the bigger and more concerning issue is the inability for users to find information in those systems where they have been directed to store their documents, spreadsheets, images, PDFs, and any other content resulting from their job tasks. Those systems where contribution is relatively easy, but consumption can be arduous, and well, frustrating. Those systems are Enterprise Content Management systems.
Enterprise Content Management (ECM) systems provide the most value when content can be easily found, accessed, and shared from within them. Devoid of these traits however, users start storing content on their desktops, external storage devices, file shares and the like. Quite often, this leads to outright ECM system avoidance, which can quickly manifest into decreased collaboration and knowledge sharing as well as increased security concerns. So frankly, this all starts with search. If the native or 3rd-party search system does not perform as users expect, providing them with accurate, relevant search results and links to content items they know exist in the system, avoidance will indeed ensue and widespread ECM adoption will not be achieved.
When it comes to search, one size does definitely not fit all. There are currently over 12 enterprise search systems on the market today, and some of these are specialized offerings that fit within specific verticals. All ECM systems include some level of search functionality, but 3rd-party vendors like Google have found that ECM users want other options. Take Oracle UCM for example. It comes with native search capabilities provided by OracleTextSearch, which leverages the powerful Oracle 11g database. However, to achieve the desired level of satisfaction, organizations may find that a lot of administration is necessary to manage the index of the database. Furthermore, the user experience leaves a little to be desired. So, what are organizations looking for when it comes to the search functionality within Oracle UCM? Based on the questions asked and the follow up conversations we had, these 4 qualities were most important:
- Easy to use – does not required a skilled knowledge worker to perform searches
- Results are accurate and relevant
- Customizable or can be “tuned” to meet organizational needs (Single-Sign-On integration, etc.)
- Limited administration
The Google Search Appliance delivers on all of these and more. It truly takes the power of Google.com and brings it within the firewall, providing organizations with the world’s most popular search engine for searching content across their websites, intranets, portals and file servers. Fishbowl’s GSA Connector for Oracle UCM extends these capabilities to UCM users by providing them with an alternative for searching the content server and any UCM-based website. Fishbowl Solutions is ready to help your organization stop searching for information and start finding it. We offer a GSA Connector Jumpstart Package which includes the GSA Connector software component plus 40 hours of consulting services. Fishbowl is also a Google Enterprise Partner, so we can provide you with the GSA device and help you install, configure, and start using it.
For more information, please explore the following GSA Connector pages on Fishbowl’s website:
You can also contact us directly at 952-465-3426 or [email protected].
