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Links/ Further Resources
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Product Review;
Google Search Solutions; GSA 6.8
Product Description;
Google Enterprise solutions are one
company that offer a product designed to provide a search
facility for both websites and company intranets. The Google
Search Appliance 6.8 (GSA 6.8) is the latest Search Engines
software release which claims to
provide ‘fast relevant search for your intranet or website’.
Product Features;
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Indexing most internal systems
filtering results using based on metadata attributes
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Universal search functions for
intranets, portals, file shares, databases, content
management systems and business apps.
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Ability to search other Google
applications such as Gmail, Google Docs and Google Sites
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People search – to search profile
information about people in the organisation
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Secure universal sign on and log
in system handling multiple logins across multiple
systems.
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A familiar easy to use search
facility recognised around the world.
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Allows for combined search
options for both secure and public
documents
(Google Enterprise
Solutions, 2011).
Evaluation
There are many elements of the new GSA 6.8 that
ensure it is a popular and successful software solution that
has the potential for a broad range of applications. To begin
with the name Google is a universally recognised and trusted
brand whose products are familiar to many users. The single
familiar search box supports multiple search options
including, keyword search, browsing, related queries and
advanced Boolean searching. The simple to use interface and
familiar search facilities support smoother navigation and
improve the overall usability of the application. By allowing
for more than one search strategy the application caters for a
wider range of search capabilities among users and increases
the likelihood of returning relevant search results. In
addition to public internet searches, GSA 6.8 has the
capability of simultaneously searching public documents (such
as the internet) and private documents contained in databases
and intranets. Search functions, security settings, and
interface displays can be individually tailored to suit
specific needs increasing the potential for broad
applications. Once a contract is entered in to, there are no
additional costs for software, maintenance upgrades or
support.
However, this application has a minimum contract
term of two years with pricing and licensing calculated on the
number of documents returned. With a long list of ‘big
company’ names as clients it would seem that this particular
application is better suited to larger companies or sites with
higher document search/retrieval needs. Although Google do
offer a smaller package called which calculates costs on a
lower level of search returns. In reference to search
facilities, the GSA 6.8 uses full text searching to retrieve
documents which is useful when searching for specific titles
or known resources but may return search results that are too
broad for some purposes. Similarly for subject related
searches, browsing results may in fact be too time consuming
reducing the level of findability within content. This
software also supports searching across social media sites
such as facebook twitter and blogs as well as other Google
applications such as Gmail, Googledocs and
Googlesites.
References;
Google Enterprise Solutions
(2011).Google Search Appliance GSA
6.8. Retrieved 19
May, 2011, from http://www.google.com.au/enterprise/gsa/
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