Gartner
analyst Whit Andrews suggests asking yourself the following eight
questions when choosing from the seemingly endless number of vendors
that sell enterprise search engine technology:
1. Do you want a hardware appliance or conventional search software?
2.
Is finding a hosted solution the best choice for your enterprise? If
not, would it be a tolerable choice or one that is completely
unacceptable?
3. What is the likelihood that the chosen vendor will be used for future projects, as well as for this implementation?
4. What is your budget for an enterprise search solution, and what is its business value?
5.
Can you identify vendors whose products you already use extensively and
are happy with that also offer attractive enterprise search solutions?
6.
Have you evaluated the limitations of any OEM-style versions of search
software you already use in applications? Also, have you identified
what licenses for fully fledged search engines you already own?
7.
What document repositories and business applications are you planning
to address with your choice of enterprise search engine?
8.
Have you identified the security systems with which integration is
necessary and the level of sophistication required for doing so?
