The latest version of knowledge discovery platform RetrievalWare 8.0 combines proven enterprise search and categorisation capabilities with a new dynamic classification methodology to help organisations automate knowledge management and discovery processes. This is according to Piet Dempsey, managing director of information asset management solution provider Knowledge Focus, the sole distributor of RetrievalWare on the African continent.
"By providing a single integrated platform where users can personalise search results through the use of dynamically generated classifications, RetrievalWare 8.0 organises and delivers enterprise content in the context of the request, regardless of the format, language or storage location of the retrieved data," he says. "With dynamic classification, businesses can slice-and-dice search results, which allows users to discover hidden information by identifying previously unknown relationships among data entities."
The new search platform offers a 360-degree view of all content stored within its databases and the ability, through the use of sub-categories, to `drill down` into result sets until very specific information is uncovered.
"Consequently, RetrievalWare 8.0 is particularly effective in driving knowledge discovery in multinational corporations," Dempsey continues. "Evaluating a word in a different language as a concept ensures that employees in remote worldwide offices have access to all critical product and company information on one corporate portal, without having to unnecessarily translate everything on the system."
Graham Charlesworth, vice-president and general manager of European Operations at Convera, the US-based developer of Convera, comments: "Burgeoning information quantities, regulatory compliance requirements and competitive drivers for speedier, more accurate data analysis continue to drive the need for better knowledge management processes. Effective knowledge management also drives enterprise information dissemination vehicles such as portals, content management systems, visualisation and analysis tools - all key elements of an organisation`s information technology architecture. For businesses to survive in an information world they need to be implementing knowledge discovery tools. Enterprise search is fundamental to the success of these initiatives."
"Designed with specialised vocabulary, the new taxonomies match an enterprise`s disparate unstructured data with intuitive industry categories that users in the industry already understand and utilise," says Dempsey. "Combined with the taxonomy editing capabilities of the new taxonomy workbench, these vertical-focused category trees ensure that the highest level of search results `drill down` is available for every sector."
To aid fast start-up and return on investment for businesses implementing knowledge discovery platforms, Knowledge Focus supplies a range of off-the-shelf category trees (taxonomies), which provide organisational data structures for more than a dozen industries, including finance, e-government, defence and life sciences.
Early adopters of RetrievalWare solutions in SA include M-Net`s kykNET, the National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa (NEMISA), Eskom and Kumba Resources.
According to The Seybold Report, RetrievalWare raises the bar in categorisation. "Convera has made impressive strides in its categorisation and classification techniques," the report states. "There are new tools for importing, creating and editing taxonomies, a new categorisation engine and impressive display options for end-users. This is the first system we`ve seen that lets users mix and match taxonomies in their search results, even to the point of showing search results classified in a table along two user-definable axes at once, like showing the search hits by topic and geography."
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