Search is ubiquitous. The ability to search for anything, anywhere is assumed in today’s workplace. Yet, the perception is not the reality. Despite the explosion of digital content and the popular use of search engines on the Web, successfully finding information that is located in internal and external data repositories is one of the major challenges of today’s business organizations. Martin White will define enterprise search and discuss how you can establish search and findability as key elements in your content management and integration strategy.

This briefing on how site search engines work provides a foundation for the next 2 days of intensive instruction. It introduces the technical functions of enterprise search engines and what they can — and cannot do — and how metadata and classification fit in the picture. Elements include the special issues of user-facing search versus intranets, robots and other content gathering, index structures, query processing, free-text retrieval, faceted metadata search, relevance ranking, user interfaces, APIs, and log analysis.

The Enterprise Search Showcase features tabletop displays and demonstrations by leading enterprise search software and solutions vendors. Attendees are invited to browse the displays and compare the features of the different products by talking with knowledgeable support staff from each company.

Comparing industrial-strength search engines and their advanced features is difficult unless you can see them in action. During Enterprise Search Summit, the Enterprise Search Clinics will present in-depth tutorials and demos of eight enterprise search engines and tools taught by product experts from the sponsoring companies. Attendees will gain a basic understanding of how each works and their key features and capabilities.

In this firsthand example, find out how one company made the enterprise search engine decision. Get behind the scenes and understand how they put together a project team, set the strategy, determined their requirements for search functionality, and evaluated the options. Learn their decision points and the facets of putting it all together, all the way to implementation and deployment. Get a sneak peek at their next steps as they explore how to enhance and improve their search solution with metadata and classification initiatives.

Join your colleagues and the Enterprise Search Summit instructors and sponsors for lunch and thought provoking discussions. Table topics and hosts will help you meet and interact with others who have similar interests. Share questions, experiences, and problems, and maybe find some answers while you enjoy a delicious lunch.

It’s a complex decision! How do you determine which search engine is best suited to handle your content? Which of the myriad of products can meet your needs, both for today and as your organization grows? Shopping is difficult, one size doesn’t fit all, and there are no return policies. In this practical session, learn how to determine your requirements and develop an RFP that will help you make the right choice. Get an overview of the enterprise search engine marketplace and learn which products excel for which types of applications and which ones specialize in searching certain kinds of content. Martin White will compare and contrast features, analyze strengths and weaknesses, and discuss the pros and cons of enterprise search engine software products on the market today, creating a helpful set of guidelines for working through this challenging selection process.

Using case studies and snapshot examples, Steve Arnold will profile pace-setter search solutions and share the principal findings of a recent analytical report on enterprise search systems. The report identifies best-of-breed enterprise search solutions that are especially appropriate for large-scale commercial enterprises. All share a number of “must have” features that will serve as checkpoints to guide any enterprise search selection process.

Learn more about how to make search engines work effectively by networking with your colleagues and the Enterprise Search Summit faculty and sponsors. Take advantage of the chance to ask questions and find out what’s new and what’s in the pipeline, and build new relationships by continuing some of the discussions that began during the day’s sessions.