Alternatives for Google Mini Search

Administrator — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 09:30:00 GMT

Google stopped selling its Google Mini Search (that bright blue hardware) appliance this summer, leaving many businesses searching for a new tool to power their site’s search function. Fortunately, Google will continue to provide technical support for businesses that signed up for the Mini, up to two years after the contract was first signed. After that, however, Google will no longer provide any support, replacements, or service updates.

This will leave businesses that choose to stay with Google Mini with no alternative or backup to the search software should something go wrong. For this reason, many are turning to Google’s suggested alternatives: the Google Site Search and the Google Search Appliance. Which is the better option? Well, that depends.

The Google Site Search is likely the preferred option for small- to mid-sized businesses, as it is inexpensive and easy to use. It is highly customizable for your brand, can contain unlimited content and the cost is based only on the number of queries recorded. Google branding itself remains optional and the Google Ads can be turned off as well. Best of all, there is no hardware or software to maintain.

The downside to Google Site Search is that it only searches on external websites and public outlets, not internally. Basically it is the same as Google.com, only within the website. It does not search for any secure or internal content at all. Because you are relying on Google, Site Search is also not ideal for websites with rapidly changing content. The service agreement allows for 24 hours for indexing, although it does typically get done quicker than that. Still, because of these limitations, as well as the pricing structure, Site Search works best with companies that have relatively low amounts of queries.

Google Search Appliance (GSA), on the other hand, provides greater flexibility and for that reason, is Google’s leading enterprise search solution. This enterprise search solution can do it all, housing hardware, software, and support all in one package. The GSA also has built in flexibility to meet almost any search need, working with any information, and scours through internal, secure, or external applications and sites. It is more robust and scalable than the Mini, and offers RAID support.

The biggest advantage to GSA is the ability to use relevance algorithms. Through Google employee work, GSA is able to keep up to date with relevance algorithms and consistently improve the user experience. The search process gets smarter and more efficient while competitor’s relevance typically degrades as time goes on.

Other key GSA features include highlighting the user’s preferred content, auto completion, search filters, people search integrating Sharepoint 2010 profile information, automatic spell check and user added results in which internal users can suggest the best results for specific searches. Finally, managers can set up custom security protocol to control what users are allowed to see.

With all these features, the biggest negative for small- and medium-sized business is the price. The GSA starts at $30,000, but there are possible discounts for Mini clients. Per the contract (usually two or three years), support, hardware replacement coverage, and software updates are all insured. However, when that license point ends, users will either have to renew their contracts or the GSA will no longer search or serve data.

Overall, Google is still very much dedicated to Search. They have no plans on exiting any aspect of the Search market, including enterprise search. Rather, they are eliminating dated technology and bringing in the new.

There are alternative options to Search functions but Google has long argued that they are more like toolkits and not full solutions. Google also argues their total cost of ownership of GSA (which includes hardware, software, configuration, implementation, maintenance and license) is far lower than the competitions.

For businesses still relying on the Mini, now is the time to start researching your next move. Failing to plan could result in an inexcusable search function letdown. As for the blue piece of Mini hardware, whether it ends up in a dumpster or as a coffee table is up to you.

Russ Klitchman is Director of Operations at Adage Technologies. Adage Technologies was formed in 2001 with a specific focus on driving business value through web technology. Today, Adage offers a wide variety of web development solutions, including custom software, content management, and mobile applications. The company provides business technology solutions across a variety of industries, including healthcare/medical, performing arts, and insurance.

Working with a Developer, a Balancing Act

Administrator — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 15:46:00 GMT

The most successful client-customer relationships are built on trust, and it takes finding the right balance of input from both sides to establish that trust. The same is true for successful business-developer relationships.

Typically, before a business begins working with a development partner on a new website or mobile application, the leadership team has a general idea of what it should look like and what functions it should be able to perform. And with little knowledge of the development process, they have probably even already outlined all of the various specs that their users require.

Since most developers have experience in a number of successful and not-so-successful launches, they often know which ideas are realistic and which may be unattainable. This makes it necessary for business leaders and their development partners to find the right creative balance, so that clients get their most important features, and developers are given the freedom to work in the most effective manner.

Here are a few tips to help find that balance:

Become an Expert
No matter the project, it’s always necessary for the primary developer contacts to know the ins and outs of the client’s business model. Getting the developer acquainted with the business should be the main focus of the initial meetings. With that said, it’s the responsibility of the client to clearly present its overarching business objectives, as well as specific goals for the project. This allows the developer to work effectively with the business, while ensuring that the new mobile application or website meets its requirements. This can be a difficult process, but it will keep the project on-track and on-time.

Establish a Two-Way Conversation
Too often, clients go into a project with little understanding of the development process, leading them to believe that their design will be a success, as long as programmers stick to the guidelines they give them; that is not always the case. In order to have a strong business-developer relationship, and a successful launch, businesses need to find a developer (or developers) who views their role to be just as much an adviser as a code writer. This encourages a two-way conversation where the business can feel comfortable asking the developer questions, and the developer feels comfortable using his/her creative freedom to accomplish the project’s goals.

Eliminate Unused Employee Creativity
In order for a partnership to be successful, a “lean philosophy” must be taken. Lean focuses on identifying and removing waste. One of the most important and often overlooked ways to eliminate waste is through “Unused Employee Creativity.” Unused Employee Creativity is when the project leaders don’t ask for feedback from the people doing the actual work. In order to ensure quality, it’s necessary to receive input from the programmers and coders working first-hand with the new website or app. This not only benefits the finished product, but it also helps inspire the programmers by giving them a greater sense of ownership over the project. It’s also important for business leaders and other stakeholders to elicit feedback from every developer working on the project. This allows leaders to always be up-to-date on the status of the new site or app.

In the end, the basis of a good long-term business-developer relationship is proper communication. Once an end goal has been established, communication streamlines the process and eliminates any misunderstandings that might happen along the way, resulting in a more successful product. Those who are able to find the perfect balance of ideas are guaranteed to find the development process enjoyable and mutually beneficial.

About the Author: Patrick Emmons is co-founder of Adage Technologies, and an accomplished technical architect with more than 15 years of programming and Web development experience. Prior to Adage, Patrick was a principle for another Web development firm and also worked as a developer and consultant for Ameritech, Motorola and Baker Robbins.

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Alternatives for Google Mini Search

Working with a Developer, a Balancing Act