Autonomy joins desktop search battle

By Jessica Twentyman

Searching for information held on corporate networks, the web and on desktops is a time-consuming and frustrating task that occupies much of the working day for many employees. With that in mind, enterprise-search specialist Autonomy launched a new product in November 2004, IDOL Enterprise Desktop Search, aimed at speeding up and improving the accuracy of that process.

The product identifies the task that an employee is working on at any given time and alerts them to other relevant information held on the company’s network or on the internet. Related data is then listed in ‘Active Folders’ that are automatically updated, putting the information in context for the user.

This process negates the need for the user to proactively search for information, says Ian Black, managing director of Autonomy’s Aungate division. “Most search systems rely on users remembering where they left stuff or use keywords. And the fact is that most users only look for information when they think they need it,” he says. “By contrast, Active Folders constantly monitor what I’m doing, searching for relevant material and pushing it to me.”

That puts it in a different class from the desktop-search system recently announced by Google, which uses keyword searches to retrieve data from files and e-mails held locally on PCs. While free to download, the tool is largely aimed at consumers and may not be appropriate for enterprise use, say analysts at IT market research company Meta Group. “Companies must be aware of potential security risks posed by enterprise installation and must adopt appropriate end-user guidelines, based on testing within standard corporate end-user environments,” the group warns.

Autonomy's product, however, comes at a premium in that it must be run in conjunction with Autonomy’s back-end IDOL Server search software. Pricing for this, says Black, depends on the size of the company and which parts of the IT systems are searched. Autonomy is targeting the product at companies that have already implemented that system.

Unlike Google, IDOL Desktop Search offers the advantages of built-in security, including advanced authentication procedures that enable an administrator to disable a remote Active Folder if authentication is not received; for example, if a laptop is lost or stolen.

Unlike most other desktop-search solutions, Autonomy’s product can search enterprise applications such as document-management and customer-relationship-management systems.