Information Retrieval  - more than just search

The proliferation of information within enterprises and in public sources has resulted in a growing need to manage and access these valuable resources.  Although the techniques and technologies to access the structured data held in databases are mature, the capabilities necessary to retrieve information held in documents, e-mail and other unstructured formats are still in their infancy.  Unstructured information typically needs more than one method to discover it, some contextual background to assist its retrieval and some form of presentation that reveals the complexity of its relationships to other information held.  Current search, document and content management solutions have poorly integrated retrieval tools which are limited in their ability to find required information.  However, more sophisticated methods and tools are starting to emerge and this white paper presents both the current situation and key trends for the immediate future.

Read the full article