Unleash Blog

Read the latest insights and tips on digital organization, workflows, productivity, and ways to unleash your potential.

Enterprise Search: The Missing Link for Information Silos

Productivity Knowledge Management vs Information Management: 5 Key Differences The average worker spends almost 20% of their time searching for information. For decades, organizations have been gathering data and creating vast information networks. Now that search engines and AI algorithms can help draw insights from this data, you can turn it into usable knowledge and information through proper management. To better understand the differences between knowledge management vs. information management, let's explore their definitions, purposes, and the unique benefits each can bring to your business. 5 Key Differences Between Knowledge Management and Information Management 1. Scope and Focus2. Nature of Assets3. Purpose4. Benefits5. Cultural Emphasis What Is Knowledge Management? Knowledge management is a systematic process where a company captures and organizes its internal know-how. The process helps create actionable strategies and make information more accessible. Beyond easily codified information that can be stored in documents, knowledge management also includes information that is harder to catalog, like tacit knowledge, expertise, and insights. The goal of capturing all this information is to enable your employees to improve their performance by accessing the knowledge. ✶ Check out these steps to developing a knowledge management strategy What Is Information Management Information management collects, organizes, stores, and disperses valuable data among employees. Data-driven businesses focused on record keeping frequently use it, as it helps them safely store information and change access to documents. It covers every source of data and information in the organization—including documents, records, and repositories. Once the data is collected, the information management system determines how the information will be dispersed within the organization. Search Made Easy You can find all your company resources in one place with Unleash. Our AI-powered search tool allows you to access your data easily and quickly to find exactly what you need. How Unleash makes your searches more efficient: Search Inside Documents: Find a file without remembering its actual file name, as Unleash brings up the most relevant results to your search inquiry.Advanced Filters: Get more personalized and intelligent results as Unleash learns user behavior and frequently accessed information.All-Around Calculator: Get instant answers for currency conversions, time zone differences, computations, temperatures, volumes, and distances.Search the Web: Search isn't limited to cloud-based applications and on-premise data—you can also search Google, Bing, Wikipedia, and DuckDuckGo directly from Unleash.Meetings: Organize and launch sessions all in one place with the calendar view. 5 Key Differences Between Knowledge Management and Information Management 1. Scope and Focus Knowledge management has a broader scope than information management because all its assets contribute to innovation and encourage discovery. On the other hand, information management makes accessing and retrieving documents within a system more accessible. It is more concerned with managing data and information and ensuring that records comply with regulatory standards. 2. Nature of Assets A knowledge management system contains more assets, including employee experience, tacit knowledge, and derived insights. Information management systems only have tangible data, such as document libraries and records. 3. Purpose Information management is meant to organize data in a way that ensures its security, accessibility, and compliance with regulations. Meanwhile, knowledge management helps promote a learning culture where employees actively discover new knowledge and acquire expertise through sharing information. 4. Benefits Knowledge management's benefits are improved collaboration, faster problem-solving, and more innovation. Information management brings efficient workflows, cost reduction, and data-driven decision-making. 5. Cultural Emphasis Both concepts promote different cultural attitudes within an organization. Knowledge management fosters a culture of learning and knowledge sharing, while information management promotes a culture of meticulous record-keeping and efficient data handling. ✶ Read more about knowledge management matrix and steps to improve team performance Integration and Synergy Knowledge management needs information management as a suitable way to store, sort, access, and distribute information. ✶ Learn more about knowledge management and how to use it Leveraging Knowledge and Information for Success Choosing between information and knowledge management systems depends on your organization’s requirements. The right approach leads to more efficiency and productivity, giving your company a strategic advantage. Unleash is an enterprise search tool that allows you to control the information in your organization and make knowledge accessible to everybody who needs it. It searches every folder and application in your company database to deliver the best results. Use Unleash to make your workers masters of knowledge management.

Knowledge management vs document management: a graphic

Productivity Knowledge Management vs Document Management: Key Differences We live in a data-driven world. Statista predicts that by 2025, global data creation is projected to grow to more than 180 zettabytes. A single one equals one trillion gigabytes, so that is a massive data volume. To grab information out of the sea of files and folders, you need a proper tool like knowledge or document management. They are related concepts separated by a few key differences, and knowing the difference can assure your company's success, so let's dive into their nuances. What Is Knowledge Management? Knowledge management involves capturing, organizing, and applying all the knowledge within your company to improve performance. The three broad categories of knowledge you can organize are: Explicit knowledge: The information that can be quickly recorded via documents. Implicit knowledge: Informal networks with information that may need to be codified. Tacit knowledge: Experience acquired through practice. ✶ Learn more about knowledge management and how to use it Knowledge Management Benefits The benefits of knowledge management from formal and informal information sources are: Preservation of knowledge and expertise Improved collaboration Faster decision-makingInnovation ✶ Check out these steps to developing a knowledge management strategy What Is Document Management? Document management takes care of document, file, and record organization. It is better suited for users familiar with the information within the system because it lets them find it quickly. Document Management Benefits Document management has many benefits for organizations that handle massive volumes of structured data, including: Compliance with regulations Efficient workflowImproved organization Key Differences Knowledge Management Knowledge management enables easier information discovery, maximizing the value of the company's intellectual assets. It prevents the formation of data silos, leading to more transparency, innovation, problem-solving, and decision-making. ✶ Read more about knowledge management processes for an effective strategy Document Management Document management helps companies sort, categorize, and safely store vast data. It also makes the information easily accessible to employees through an interface. Integration and Synergy Storing and sharing information are two sides of the same coin, forever linking document management with knowledge management. The combination makes knowledge creation easier since you have a framework for quickly retrieving documents. ✶ Understand knowledge management matrix and steps to improve team performance Ensuring Organizational Excellence Enterprise search engines help companies make the most of their organizational knowledge. An enterprise search solution like Unleash combines the benefits of knowledge and document management to make your search more efficient, productive, and streamlined. It searches every folder and application, delivering relevant results quickly.

How to Rebuild Your Search Index on Microsoft Outlook 365

Productivity Role AI Plays in Enhancing Search Efficiency Data ease of access is critical to any organization because it improves employee workflows and productivity. According to a report by McKinsey & Company, workers spend more than 20% of their week looking for information. With the help of rapidly evolving AI technology, enterprise search has become more efficient, learning preferences and providing personalized results. So, let's delve into AI's role in improving search efficiency. Understanding Enterprise Search Enterprise search software helps organize, index, and search your company's data across formats and servers. It makes retrieving information easier, assisting employees so they have more time to focus on crucial tasks. ✶ Find more about unified enterprise search across all workplace applications AI Advantage in Enterprise Search Natural Language Processing NLP helps computers understand your query by mimicking human conversation, understanding context cues, and decoding word relationships. Thanks to advancements in Natural Language Processing (NLP), AI is now capable of delivering more accurate results. Predictive Search and Recommendations As you use AI over time, it learns your preferences, creating predictive algorithms based on your previous search queries. Companies like Netflix and Amazon have tailored suggestions and recommendations to users based on their viewing and shopping histories. ✶ Learn how enterprise search can boost knowledge management success Intelligent Search Indexing AI-Powered Indexing Algorithms AI search engines are optimized to handle large volumes of data. This is because they can apply advanced models and algorithms to analyze the data, no matter which format or content the information is stored in. Faceted Search Faceted search features can enhance the user experience, but AI-powered faceted search takes things to the next level. This technology stores user information and performs tasks such as automatically selecting relevant facets based on search terms or pre-loading characteristics based on a user's search history. The outcome is accurate results, making searching for information an easy task. Voice and Visual Search Voice Search Integration Speech commands make enterprise search software more accessible to more users, eliminating the need for queries and making the search faster. Visual Search and Image Recognition Data comes in various formats, including media like images and video. With AI, you can already search a knowledge database using images in your queries to find what you are looking for. ✶ Discover the top enterprise search engines that can help navigate through complex data Unlocking Efficiency and Innovation The future of enterprise search is intrinsically linked to AI. Unleash is a tool that harnesses the power of AI to make information retrieval and knowledge management simpler. It’s easy to use and searches every folder and application within an organization. Try Unleash and streamline your productivity with a robust solution.

Three graphs showing the use cases of knowledge graphs

Productivity 5 Apache Solr Alternatives for Powerful & Advanced Search If you find yourself spending too much time searching for information, it may be a sign that your company's knowledge management system is not functioning properly. The Apache Solr search engine is specifically designed for enterprises to simplify the process of finding information. Leading companies like Adobe, Netflix, eBay, and AOL are just a few examples of organizations that use Apache Solr for their search functions. It’s so popular that it accounts for a 25.91% market share in the enterprise search category. Developers created this open-source search engine in Java back in 2004. Although popular, It focuses solely on on text-based searches and requires SolrCloud and Zookeeper for scalability. A Quick Look at the Best Apache Solr Alternatives Depending on your requirements, these Apache Solr alternatives can add value to your knowledge management strategy. Best overall software for powerful and advanced search: UnleashBest software for AI-powered workplace search: GleanBest software for quick integration: SlapdashBest software for fast navigation: Command EBest software for Organization: Workona 1. Unleash: Best Overall Software for Powerful & Advanced Search Price: Standard plans start at $5 and go up to $15, with custom pricing for the Enterprise packageEfficacy: Easily search through every file, folder, and application in your organization's knowledge library.User Experience: Easy to use across departments and integrates with multiple company platforms Unleash is an enterprise search software with many features in common with search platforms like Solr. It is one of the best Solr alternatives because of its ability to search every folder and application in the company library. These comprehensive, AI-enhanced search results improve discoverability no matter the information. ProsAI-enhanced searchCollaboration hubMulti-layer securityConsSubscription costsLimiter features for lower-priced plans 2. Glean: Best Software for AI-Powered Workplace Search Price: Quotes available on requestEfficacy: Has natural language understanding capabilities to deliver relevant search results from across all company appsUser Experience: Designed to boost workplace productivity Glean is the top Solr competitor for workplace productivity. It helps you find information across all applications and secures sensitive data from unauthorized access. ProsUses deep learning modelsDelivers personalized resultsAI-suggested recommendationsConsClunky UI/UXGolinks must be manually created 3. Slapdash - Best Software for Quick Integration Price: Has a free version, and the paid version costs a monthly fee of $12 per active user Efficacy: Boasts features like speedy app integration, zero-latency calendars, and easy navigationUser Experience: Offers users a fast, cloud-based search experience Slapdash integrates with more than 20 enterprise apps, including Slack, Gmail, Github, and Asana. The low-latency search delivers quick results across all apps your organization uses ProsDelivers fast resultsSimple, understandable UIIntegrates various appsConsBrowser-basedLimited app integrations 4. Command E - Best Software for Fast Navigation Price: Has a free version and custom pricing on requestEfficacy: Uses data encryption to protect privacy and delivers contextual resultsUser experience: easily accessible through the desktop app and user-friendly, minimal design Command E delivers fast search results. It works equally well on Mac and windows since it is a browser-based application. Command E allows you to quickly find and launch relevant documents. ProsUses cloud storageSecurely encrypts dataHigh-speed searchConsOnly supports English queriesLacks organizational features 5. Workona - Best Software for Organization Price: Individual Pro Plan at $7 per month and Enterprise Team Plan at $8 monthly for each active user Efficacy: Creates dedicated workspaces for employees engaged in fast-moving, dynamic projectsUser Experience: Improves collaboration by bringing together all apps currently in use on a project If you often work with multiple tabs and apps and struggle to keep your projects organized, Workona is the perfect solution for you. With its Spaces feature, you can easily combine all the tabs, documents, and links required for a specific task. This is especially useful if your team is working on the cloud, as it allows you to gather information from various sources and bring it into one cohesive space. ProsOrganize multiple tabs efficientlyBrowser, Google Drive and cloud integrationScales across departmentsConsDoesn't use tags in search queriesNo preview feature for results Boost Your Productivity with Enterprise Search Your enterprise search solution must be easy to use for all employees. Unleash is a user-friendly software with a simple design that removes the need for technical expertise. Adopting it can improve your knowledge management strategy and alleviate concerns.

Colorful graphics of various work symbols stacked in a triangle shape

Productivity How to Rebuild Your Search Index on Microsoft Outlook 365 Is Outlook not searching emails? A simple restart or configuration in the settings often works. If it doesn't, you may have to rebuild your search index. Outlook is a powerful tool that many offices rely on for its useful features, including Mail, Task Manager, and Calendar. One of its most powerful features is the search box, which allows you to quickly find messages, contacts, tasks, and calendar items using keywords. However, when this feature malfunctions, it can be frustrating and significantly impact team productivity. Fortunately, rebuilding the search index is easy. Here’s a quick guide on how to fix indexing in Outlook. ✶ Missing the search bar in Outlook? Here's how to add it back The Need for Rebuilding Your Search Index Here are two main reasons why rebuilding your search index is so important: 1. Institutional Memory According to statistics, corporate and consumer emails were projected to hit 347.3 billion per day during 2023. Considering that the average person sends and receives 121 business emails daily, you can just imagine how many your organization collects in a year. Corporate emails often collect important information like vendor communications, price quotes, and license agreements. This is called "institutional memory," and it's what keeps all the teams and processes running smoothly. Rebuilding your search index ensures your company’s institutional knowledge is always available when needed, helping prevent data silos and facilitating knowledge management. 2. Types of Searches When searching for information, most businesses have the option of using federated search or enterprise search. While the first type of search pulls results from both internal and external sources, the second type can only pull results from a single source. Both federated and enterprise searches are usually queries. Rebuilding indexes will not only help optimize query times but will also help get rid of fragmentation, bring back lost storage space, and reorder index rows. It's worth mentioning that organizations should have secure enterprise search so that sensitive and high-value information doesn't get lost or fall into the wrong hands. ✶ Here are key features your enterprise search tool should have What Will Come From Rebuilding the Search Index? Check if you’re encountering any of these issues below: Outlook search returns 0 resultsOutlook search does not show all resultsOutlook search fails to find old or recent emailsOutlook search can’t find any matchesThe search tab is grayed out (applicable for Outlook 2016) If yes, then either you have a corrupt index, or Outlook just hasn’t finished indexing your files. This means you may need Outlook to rebuild the index. It's frustrating when you need to check up on old messages, complete an outstanding task, or find a contact, but Outlook won't help you do any of those things. In most cases, rebuilding the search catalog will re-index your data files and resolve this issue. Outlook will begin re-indexing as soon as you rebuild the database in the background. Remember that searches may not work during the rebuilding process, so wait until it's complete. When rebuilding is complete, restart your computer and reopen Outlook. When you search this time, you should get the expected results. ✶Want to make the most out of your search? Federated search can help How Long Does Rebuilding an Index on Outlook Take? There’s no specific duration for how long rebuilding your index could take. It depends on the volume of items being indexed and your system's processing power. Reports show it can last as long as 12 to 24 hours. Schedule rebuilding at a time when you won't be using your computer much, as having other applications running will lower the indexing speed. If you want to check the status, look at the top of the Indexing Options box. Once the rebuilding is complete, you can run some searches to determine the difference, if any, in terms of speed and functionality. Steps to Rebuild the Search Index on Microsoft Outlook 365 If you have an Outlook indexing issue, here's how to quickly rebuild the search index. Rebuild Index for Windows For rebuilding the search index on Windows, you'll have two possible solutions that you can use: Solution 1: Using Programs and Features Start by launching the Control Panel. Just type "control" into the Windows search box and click on it from the results.Once the window opens, select Programs > Programs & Features.Scroll down and choose Microsoft 365.Select Change from the top menu.You’ll be able to choose from Quick Repair or Online Repair. If you don’t have an internet connection, you can go with Quick Repair.Wait until it's done, and then restart your computer. Solution 2: Using the Index Repair Menu Option in Outlook Open Outlook, then select File > Options > Search.Choose Indexing Options, then click Advanced. Keep in mind that this step may require administrator access.You should find the delete and rebuild index option in the window. Click Rebuild, then OK.Restart your computer once the rebuilding is done. Rebuild Index on Mac Here is the best solution for rebuilding the search index on Mac: Go to System Preferences from the Apple menu.Select Spotlight and then click the Privacy option.Add a folder to the list of non-indexed folders by clicking the plus sign (+).Choose your Home folder (it usually has a house symbol beside it).If a confirmation window appears, choose OK.After a minute, click the item you just added and remove it with the minus symbol (-).Close Spotlight preferences. Remember that rebuilding Outlook 365 indexing can take a while, especially when you have a high volume of contacts and emails. Once it’s done, go back and do a search to check if functionality has returned. Rebuilding the Exchange Search Index If you’re using an Exchange account, you may have to do an Exchange search index rebuild. Here are three ways how you can do it: Option 1 Use the Start-MailboxAssistant command, which is available with the Exchange Server 2019 Cumulative Update (CU) 11: Start-MailboxAssistant -Identity <mailbox> -AssistName BigFunnelRetryFeederTimeBasedAssistant Find the logs for the Big Funnel with this path: C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\v15\Logging\MailboxAssistantsSlaReportLog Option 2 Use the two commands from Microsoft’s support website. First, run the following cmdlet to create a setting override: New-SettingOverride -Name "Big Funnel Permanent Retry" -Component "BigFunnel" -Section "BigFunnelFailedItemsQuerySettings" -Parameters @("ExcludePermanentFailures=false") -Reason "Re-Index Messages" -MinVersion "<Build Number>" -MaxVersion "<Build Number>" Then, update the configuration with the following cmdlet: Get-ExchangeDiagnosticInfo -Process Microsoft.Exchange.Directory.TopologyService -Component VariantConfiguration -Argument Refresh Option 3 The last solution is to move the mailbox to another database. Use the New-MoveRequest command: New-MoveRequest <usermailbox> -TargetDatabase <databasename> Then confirm the move from the Exchange Management Shell (EMS) was successful with the move statistics command: Get-MoveRequest <usermailbox> | Get-MoveRequestStatistics What to Do if Rebuilding Didn't Work? There are a few instances where rebuilding won’t work. One is when the search engine isn’t indexing Outlook for search. Here’s how to check: Go to Outlook, and click File > OptionsFrom the left navigation pane, click SearchGo to the Sources section > Indexing OptionsMicrosoft Outlook should appear in the Indexing Options dialog box. If Outlook isn't listed, select Modify, check Microsoft Outlook, then click OK Sometimes email indexing in Outlook fails when the filter type for email messages isn't selected. To check: Go back to Indexing Options, and click Advanced > Files tabCheck if the file extension msg is selected. Next, go to the How should this file be indexed? Section, select Index Properties and File ContentsHit OK If everything else fails, your Outlook may be outdated. To see if you are using the most recent version, check the following: Go to Outlook, and click File > Office AccountClick Update OptionsChoose Update Now from the dropdown menuIf there are updates, Outlook will inform you. Install when available Optimize Your Search With Unleash Rebuilding the search index in Microsoft Outlook is a simple but effective solution to various search-related issues. It can also help maintain your organization's institutional memory and enhance your company's search capabilities. Nevertheless, it's important to note that having a powerful enterprise search tool like Unleash in place is essential. This ensures that all your data remains secure and easily accessible. So, before rebuilding your Outlook search index, make sure to invest in a reliable search tool that can provide comprehensive and secure search solutions for your business needs.

Cartoon man sitting on comfortable chair with laptop

Productivity How Enterprise Search Improves Sales Productivity In The Team Ever wondered what is the biggest productivity obstacle for sales teams? Forrester's sales activity studies have consistently shown that "finding content and information is a significant productivity obstacle for sales teams." Sales reps have built their lives around the excitement and the energy of the office environment. In a viral blink of an eye, the world took a hiatus, everyone went remote, and sales leaders and teams had to develop new ways to be productive outside of their natural working environment. By transitioning from a world of paper files to a world of digital tools, each carrying out a different function in their everyday task, sales reps struggled to fully find all the information they needed to understand and close a prospect. Before sending that first email to launch a sales cycle, sales reps would have had to switch between a plethora of tools first. However, you can get rid of this barrier and compress your sales cycle with fast searching across your company. You can improve your sales team's productivity by making it easier for them to access all the content on these tools to cut down the process of diving deep into a lot of apps to find information. Eliminate Content Silos With a Unified Access Point One of the blockers hindering the sales team's productivity is the inability to easily access important information and content that their marketing counterparts create. 81% of sales leaders mentioned "content search and utilization" as the top area for improving productivity. Only 46% of sales reps believe that they have enough data and insight into a prospect's intent. Data silos frustrate employees by creating multiple bottlenecks. Sales reps often struggle with putting in their very best because they don't know the information available to them and how to find it in the company's shared database. It's even worse when another department, like product or marketing, creates and stores the content. Content silos refer to the practice of storing information or data in isolated systems or applications that are not easily accessible or shareable with other systems or applications. This can lead to inefficiencies and difficulties in collaboration, and missed opportunities for leveraging data across the organization. Adopting an enterprise search tool makes it easy for sales reps to access data and other forms of content. It serves as a single, searchable home for all your content assets. It's not enough to organize content by factors such as sales stage, industry, persona, or segment. Having a single point of access to all prospect and customer data can heavily contribute to the productivity of your sales team. With one click, they should be able to access all the information they need on: Accounts, Leads, Product updates, Etc. For example, HubSpot's implementation of a sales enablement platform resulted in a 32% increase in closed deals. A unified access point eliminates content silos by providing a centralized platform for all relevant content, which increases productivity and efficiency. Having quick access to all necessary information, results in faster sales cycles and increased revenue. When it becomes easier for sales reps to find relevant content and data to use in their everyday activities, it saves time and money. They can stop spending time on repetitive tasks, like constantly scrolling through the company's database. Instead, they can spend that time focusing on creating pitches, drafting follow-up messages, and building winning sales strategies. Get a 360-View of Prospects and Clients According to another HubSpot's Sales Enablement Report, prospects' buying habits have changed in a post-pandemic world, and sales reps now have to close deals virtually instead of in person. Transitioning to a remote operation model came with incorporating even more tools to understand the prospect and their behaviors. In fact, 72% of salespeople say they need to have at least three screens with multiple tabs open to get that 360-view of their prospects and leads. A 360-degree view of prospects means having a complete understanding of a potential customer by considering all available data and information about them, which helps sales teams to personalize their outreach better and increase sales. A unified search platform can provide a centralized location for all relevant data, helping sales reps find the information they need to personalize their outreach and increase conversion rates for prospects and clients. With businesses already using many apps to document prospect information and behavior, sales reps have to know the exact location of every piece of information if they want to get to it quickly. Before picking up the phone to make that sales call, they need to conduct an appropriate amount of research, and searching for this information can take more time than expected. With a better search tool, they can quickly type in one keyword, e.g., the prospect's name, and get all the necessary information. For example, a B2B sales rep can type in the name of the company they're trying to close and get a full view of them and how they've interacted with the brand. Quickly Find Answers to Urgent Questions Marketing, customer success, product, and sales teams work cross-functionally to convert prospects to retained customers. In most cases, the prospect doesn't interact with the sales team until much later in the buying funnel, after having multiple interactions with the brand. When a sales rep is on the phone with a prospect, it is important that they have all the information relating to that prospect in front of them to make the call go smoothly. The rep can get questions that only the product team can answer on a sales call, but the prospect wants an immediate answer. If the sales rep can't immediately do a quick search and get answers to a prospect's questions, it reduces the confidence in the product, and the company can lose that lead. Using a unified search platform provides sales reps with easy access to relevant information from different systems and departments. With efficient and effective contextual search, sales reps can instantly find answers to urgent questions. Contextual search helps sales reps search for data without having to remember the exact title of a document to locate it. For example, a sales rep wrote a prospecting email template in one of their monthly reports. With contextual search, they don't have to remember the exact report; they can easily search for some words in the template to find it. Unleash Your Sales Productivity One productivity problem facing sales teams stands out above the rest: fast, easy access to all the resources and data they need. Thankfully, this is a situation you can solve with a better company-wide search tool! With a one-click intranet search tool like Unleash, your sales team can change how they approach the information they need. Instead of navigating many tools and apps to find different bits of information, they can easily download one tool and search their entire tech stack at once. Unleash provides a Google-like search solution that enables everyone in the organization to find every piece of information in one spot. It connects with more than 30 apps and quickly brings you the data and content you need. Learn more about how Unleash can significantly improve your sales team's productivity problems.

Productivity Enterprise Search: The Missing Link for Information Silos Are information silos killing employee productivity at your organization? Chances are the answer is yes, even if you don’t realize it. Companies today are increasingly using more apps: Studies from the last three years found enterprises, on average, now use between 100 and 288 SaaS apps. Switching between so many apps makes it harder for employees to find information when they need it. But before you decide to cut back on the number of apps you use, consider using a tool that bridges your apps together by searching everything at once. You need an enterprise search tool that’s built for today’s SaaS-centric workplace. Enterprise search simplifies the process of tracking down information across many disparate information sources, reducing employee legwork, and increasing access to institutional knowledge. Information Silos Create Bottlenecks and Frustrate Employees Employees are tired of clunky software that wastes their time and makes tracking down the information they need a hassle. In fact, an Oracle survey uncovered a major problem for employee engagement and productivity when they talked to salespeople about their experience at work: “72% need to have at least three screens or windows open at once.” That’s not ideal, but it’s not the end of the world. Switching between windows could get irritating or slow employee productivity, but it’s not, in and of itself, a crisis. However, when you consider the employee experience, it’s clear many organizations have a lot of work to do. In the same survey, when Oracle asked these respondents what they would rather do than deal with the software they have to use at work, the answers revealed a major problem. Two-thirds said they would rather go to the dentist, wait in line at the DMV, or clean the bathroom (among other unpleasant tasks). It’s no wonder employees are having trouble tracking down information when the software they use each day is comparable to a root canal. If the software you provide for your employees is so frustrating to use they would rather do some of the most universally-hated chores, you need to rethink your tech stack. Sadly, this issue isn’t new. In fact, information silos have been helping companies shoot themselves in the foot since at least 2007. And the problem has made plenty of headlines over the years and has been the subject of many surveys and polls, like this poll from 2012 that found “the unnecessary replication of pre-existing work is the biggest productivity challenge among engineering and product development teams.” So if this has been a problem for a long time, why hasn’t it gotten better by now? The short answer is that the tools available to tackle this issue haven’t measured up until now. And other issues have contributed to the challenges employees face. ✶ Learn how making the most out of Dropbox search can help with knowledge hoarding Cloud Sprawl Scatters Information Across SAAS Apps Adding to the problem of information silos is cloud sprawl – the increasing number of cloud-based applications and storage options organizations of all sizes are using. Specialized apps are perfect for adding new tools and functionality for employees, but they make it even harder to find the information employees need. Cloud sprawl is making the problem of information silos worse, and tech leaders are looking for a better way: “Since the beginning of IT, there’s been a history of unused space, underutilized compute, unchecked storage growth, and limitless levels of virtual systems that weigh down organizations financially and expose them to security risks. The cloud was created, in part, to mitigate this waste, but cloud sprawl has created new challenges due to lack of governance and strategy.” If enterprises are already using hundreds of apps, what happens when employees at these organizations are looking for specific files or numbers? How long does it take them to find what they’re looking for? They have to already know which of the 100+ apps contains the data they need or search apps one by one. Unfortunately, while the general issue of cloud sprawl is increasingly being addressed, the issue of search is rarely part of the conversation. This is a big missed opportunity — the core problem is accessing and sorting information in the many SaaS apps, not the existence of the tools themselves. The Right Enterprise Search Tool Makes Information Easy to Find Most enterprises will not be able to stop using cloud-based applications altogether, nor should they. Apps provide too much value to be replaced at this point in time. Instead of attempting to restrict the number of apps and services you use, it’s more efficient to simply change the way you approach finding information. With a good enterprise search tool, organizations don’t need to perform regular tech stack audits to cull SaaS tools to prevent overwhelming their employees. They simply need to download the tool and connect their apps. Within minutes, they can search across the entire tech stack at once. This general concept isn’t new. In fact, one of the most successful brands of all time has tackled this issue in another context: Google. When they started in the late ’90s, Larry Page and Sergey Brin were on a mission to organize the world’s information through search. They recognized that even though the internet had only just reached widespread use, it was already quickly becoming cluttered with web pages and no good way to sort through them. Google is a good example of how a smart approach to search can simplify finding information. With just the internet, enterprises can quickly amass a lot of information without an easy way for people to find what they need. One well-designed tool can change everything. If you want high employee engagement and the ability to attract highly qualified applicants, make sure your systems and processes aren’t draining employee morale and productivity. ✶ Learn how to deal with GitHub issues quickly Unleash Is Your Single Source of Search With Unleash, you can give your employees a central place to search everything across the enterprise. That includes searching inside emails, documents, calendars, and more. Unleash provides a Google-like search solution that enables everyone in the organization to find every piece of information in one spot. We save each of our users about 1.5–2 hours a week searching for information because Unleash adapts to the way you already work. For a 100-person organization, Unleash could save up to 200 hours every single week. Our AI-driven search technology connects SaaS applications and isolated data silos, like Slack, Notion, Jira, G-suite, Confluence, GitHub, Salesforce, AWS, Microsoft365, and many more. Detailed search filters let you browse through your information just as quickly as searching. The comprehensive index the search engine builds, combined with our advanced relevancy and ranking algorithms, creates a seamless, personalized search experience for each employee that gets better the more they use it. Unleash also includes features outside of search to make your day even easier — you can search and then launch applications or compose a new document in just a few clicks. Unleash provides a wide variety of client experiences, from desktop to mobile, browser extensions, instant spotlight search bar, a Slack bot, intranet embedding, and more. No matter how you work, Unleash can accommodate your workflows. Learn more about how Unleash can solve the search problem at your organization.

A drawing of a woman with a VR interface using personalized search

Productivity 4 Alternatives to Elasticsearch That Are Powerful & Effective Managing an organization’s entire data library is a Herculean task. A study by the McKinsey Global Institute found that office workers spend as much as 19% of their entire workweek just gathering the information they need for their tasks. Ultimately, employees need an effective way to navigate this expanse of data, which is where enterprise search engines come in. One of the most widely used ones is Elasticsearch. Elasticsearch has become a central component in the ELK (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) tech stack, which many companies use to search and analyze their data. But that doesn’t mean Elasticsearch is your only choice for enterprise search engines. Several Elasticsearch competitors offer products and services that make enterprise search functions a breeze. Let’s look at some paid and free alternatives to Elasticsearch. What is Elasticsearch? Elasticsearch, introduced as a tool for developers and teams, enables the creation of search-powered applications. This distributed, open, and accessible search and analytics engine is adept at handling various data types, from textual and numerical to geospatial. By setting up an Elastic Cloud account, users can choose tools and design their own implementation, optimizing search experiences and analyzing user behaviors. However, limitations in certain functionalities like customization, security, and data source support have prompted businesses to look for Elasticsearch replacements. So, why the surge in interest for alternatives? Elasticsearch has been a staple since its inception in 2010 as free, open-source software, but when it transitioned to a proprietary license in 2021. Long-standing users took this change as a signal that there's a need to explore other technologies. Our Top Picks for the Best Elasticsearch Alternatives The enterprise search market in the US is witnessing a period of growth. It was valued at $4.21 billion in 2022, and research points to compound annual growth of 8.9% annually until 2030. Here are some reliable Elasticsearch competitors as more companies recognize the importance of efficient enterprise search engines. Best Smart Enterprise Search Engine: UnleashBest Search Solution for E-Commerce: AlgoliaBest Robust Open-Source Text Search Engine: SolrBest Precision-Oriented Text Search Engine: Spinhx Unleash: Best Smart Enterprise Search Engine If you’re seeking a paid enterprise search engine better than Elasticsearch, look no further than Unleash. It streamlines productivity in your organization by making information more discoverable than ever. The Unleash search engine connects a company’s entire knowledge base across platforms and devices. Say goodbye to data silos in your organizational knowledge! By delivering quick search results, Unleash saves employees’ time and energy for more critical tasks. Some features that make Unleash stand out as better than Elasticsearch and other competitors include its semantic searchability. This means the search engine is smart enough to consider synonyms and related concepts when providing results for your queries. Enhanced with AI capabilities and the ability to integrate into company portals seamlessly, Unleash searches every folder and application, standing out as the best in its league. ProsSemantic search understandingAI-enhanced capabilitiesSeamless company integrationQuick search resultsConsPotentially costly for some organizations Algolia: Best Search Solution for E-Commerce Another popular alternative to Elasticsearch, Algolia, is an AI-powered search and discovery platform. Its powerful application programming interface (API) platform lets users quickly search for content. App developers and companies can use the Algolia API to build their own native search experiences for users. This makes it popular with software engineers and e-commerce businesses. ProsAI-powered searchRobust API for custom experiencesFast search functionalityConsExpensive for small businessesLimited customization in search parameters Solr: Best Robust Open-Source Text Search Engine If Elasticsearch’s former open-source nature was part of its appeal for you, Solr is a worthy replacement. It’s even older than Elasticsearch, first launching in 2006, and despite its age, it remains supported open-source and is still supported by a strong community today. For companies that need a robust search engine that focuses on text searches and related operations, Solr is a good fit. The only drawback is that scaling up search operations through Solr is complicated and can only be accomplished using affiliated products like SolrCloud and Zookeeper. ProsOpen-sourceStrong text search capabilitiesLong-standing supportConsComplex scalingSteep learning curve Sphinx: Best Precision-Oriented Text Search Engine Sphinx is an open-source, full-text search engine that is a notable competitor to Elasticsearch. Not only can it function as a storage engine or a standalone server, but its indexer also creates a comprehensive index on all hosted data, ensuring precise data retrieval based on its index. Sphinx has attributes linked to the data it manages, making it easy to integrate with user applications. However, while it excels in text searches, it might not be the best fit for more diverse use cases. ProsOpen-sourceComprehensive indexingEasy integration with applicationsConsLimited to text searchesCan be challenging to set up Choose the Right Enterprise Search Engine for Your Business A smooth integration with your company's infrastructure is crucial for an effective enterprise search engine. Difficulty accessing information can discourage users, both internal and external. That’s why it’s essential to find a solution that’s flexible, scalable, and reliable. If you’re looking for a speedy way to access all your company’s knowledge in one place, try Unleash. It’s an enterprise search engine built for the modern workplace and will unlock new productivity levels in your organization.