The search technology marketplace is getting much more specialized, with important implications for you the customer.<\/p>\n
There are at least two different ways that software can specialize: Functionally and Vertically. Functional specialization — sometimes referred to as "horizontal" specialization — entails targeting a particular, well-known business use-case, such as e-discovery, that spans multiple different industries. Verticalization happens when a product gets tailored for a specific market "vertical" or industry segment, such as Manufacturing. (Verticalization typically implies functional specialization of some kind as well, but different industries beget different types of functional needs.)<\/p>\n
In the opposite direction, some vendors try to create omnibus platforms, making a product or product family more broadly capable, and therefore theoretically applicable to many different verticals and business scenarios. This can be an effective strategy, but at some level is the opposite of specialization. An example of this in the WCM<\/a> world is Ektron<\/a>‘s Web CMS, which started out essentially as a rich-text editor and has broadened, functionally, in a manner that would make the designers of the Swiss Army knife proud. Many other WCM and ECM<\/a> tools have followed a similar path.<\/p>\n The search marketplace has been quite different. Our latest Search & Information Access Research<\/a> has found such specialization more the rule than the exception. In fact, it is a major — maybe the<\/em> major — industry trend right now.<\/p>\n For example, when a vendor such as Recommind<\/a> continues to tailor its products in ways that favor addressing enterprise e-discovery use-cases and the legal marketplace, that’s an example of of both functional and vertical specialization.<\/p>\n Other examples of functional and vertical specialization in search are legion.<\/p>\n For more examples, consult our newly updated Search & Information Access Research<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n