Search vendors are spending less time releasing new offerings and more on stabilising and marketing existing products.
A recent report by independent analyst firm, CMS Watch, reveals that while enterprise search vendors underwent rapid change and technological development in recent years, they are now focusing on incorporating acquisitions and improving current technologies.
“Stability in the search technology market hasn't brought about serious consolidation, but we've finally arrived at a point where there are plenty easy-to-install and relatively well-performing solutions,” says Adriaan Bloem, an analyst for the report.
According to the firm's Search and Information Access Report 2009, which analysed 23 search technology products, some signs of stabilising include:
* Microsoft spending much of the past year honing and recently debuting a new strategy for its multiple search offerings, including Microsoft Office SharePoint Search and Fast ESP, while the products themselves changed little.
* Many vendors' “new features” in the last year consisting of well-tested and licensed content-type filters, connectors or natural language processing components from third parties.
* Few vendors debuting major releases in the last six months, instead choosing to focus on refining existing offerings and improving marketing.
According to CMS Watch principal, Theresa Regli, some may regard these developments as a sign that search technology is stagnating, or that vendors are innovating less. “In some ways that's true, but like so many other companies in this economy, search vendors have become more risk-averse, and are focusing on stabilising what they have and selling smarter.”
Joining forces
A move towards increased consolidation in the search industry was reflected in a recent IDC annual forecast, which predicts ICT trends in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan) for 2009.
Analysts from the market intelligence firm suggested the slowing economy and increasing importance of search technologies for businesses will drive consolidation among search vendors this year.
In April last year, Microsoft completed its $1.3 billion purchase of enterprise search developer Fast Search & Transfer, planning to integrate it with its SharePoint platform. The considerable investment indicates search technology has become a formidable force in the enterprise environment, especially in a period of financial turmoil.
“The significance of controlling the costs of information search within organisations has increased during these cost-conscious times, and, as a result, the enterprise search market has grown in strategic importance,” said the IDC prediction report.
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