Business Versus Consumer Search: Myths and Realities

This IDC Presentation discusses why enterprise search engines require a different set of capabilities from those found in Web search engines. While both types have become powerful tools for consumers and enterprises, these differences often confuse enterprises that are trying to improve information finding within their organizations. Users of Web search engines often demand the same tools they use in their personal information finding for their enterprise use, exacerbating this problem. This presentation delineates the differences between consumer and business search applications. It makes the case for an extended search platform that adds technologies such as categorization and text mining to a basic search engine. It reviews the types of information tasks that must be supported within the enterprise, and it concludes with a list of questions that enterprises need to answer before they can go shopping for an appropriate search platform. This presentation was given as a Webcast for "KM World" on November 21, 2006.