Where Search and BI Blend

High-end search platforms such as those from Endeca Technologies and Fast Search & Transfer are beginning to blur the lines with business intelligence (BI) systems. Some bring in analytics capabilities and let you save searches, essentially creating canned reporting capabilities from what started as free-form searches.

What does this kind of capability look like in action? Communications equipment maker Harris uses Endeca’s search platform to bring “BI 2.0” capabilities to its supply chain management system, says Janice Lindsay, director of supply chain management.

That means using analytics and business rules so that search steers decisions—such as recommending preferred suppliers, or advising engineers that a part is near the end of its lifecycle.

These analytics also help engineers predict costs versus budget as they investigate parts and manufacturing approaches, and help monitor compliance to goals such as choosing parts with lower defect rates.