Federated Search – a golden promise to find what you are looking for?
There are a number of “ideals” in the content management industry. In talking with vendors regarding our content management needs, I have heard terms like “content models” and “metadata classifications standards” in reference to building out solid ways to think about putting data in systems. What does that really mean? Basically what you need to know is what stuff do you save, where should you save it, and how do you get to it once it’s saved?
Federated search is supposed to answer the third question. In simple terms, it means searching everything for which you have access to find what you are looking for. Email, documents, records, client contact information—all are a “mouse click away” in a federated interface. At Boomer Consulting, we have five main applications that hold information related to our business. You may have more or less, but the ability to search across them all to find the history of a client would be priceless.
Sound familiar?
Some of you may think this sounds familiar, and it is. Google Desktop, MSN Desktop Search, Copernic and others have brought federated search to the desktop. Many of these solutions work well on a personal machine, but are not designed to work across a network. More expensive solutions are available that can pull data together across a network. New releases of many content management solutions are touting federated search as a feature. SharePoint 2007, for example, will be able to aggregate email, files, tasks and more through its search feature. You may even have a solution in place today.
Personally, I am excited about the potential of being able to search once and retrieve all information related to a client or vendor. It’s technically feasible, and vendors are supporting the concept like never before. And this is where the gap comes in—technically feasible versus realistic. Here are a few suggestions that will strengthen your data now, and prepare you for federated search in the future.
Use naming and storage standards
Most client record systems have strong naming practices, but how well do you define naming and storage standards for data that is not accessed on a regular basis? Part of your content standards should define how files should be named, and, if you have access to metadata for your records, what additional information is stored. Diligence now will pay off in quality search results later.
Consolidate duplicate records
Do you have systems in place that duplicate data? Are there ways to reduce the duplication? If your client contact information is stored in both a CRM and your tax package, both results will come up in a federated search. It may not be possible to consolidate, but it’s a good thought experiment to see where overlap may lie in your information stores.
Consolidation is also very important where file storage is concerned. Do you have contracts stored in two locations? Are scanned returns placed in more than one area? Do you maintain an archive of email with attachments that are also on the network? All of these can turn up as results, and should be addressed.
Use versioning if you have it
Does your Document Management System (DMS) support versioning? If so, use it. This allows you to track changes on a document in progress, see who worked on a particular file, and reduces potential duplication across a network that might show up in a federated search. In addition, any workflow you may implement can use versioning to track progress through the firm.
Address compliance to policies
It may not be easy, but everyone in the firm should buy into the fact that diligence now can, and well, mean easier retrieval later. It is hard to see immediate results in daily business, and a whole firm buy in is ideal to keep information easily retrievable.
As more and more client information gets stored, it becomes easy to see where federated search fits in a firm. Keeping on target now with proper content management procedures will keep your data ready for the next big step in finding what you are looking for.
