Hummingbird SearchServer

(Formerly Fulcrum / Open DOCS)

Product Information
see also SearchTools Knowledge Management Report, SearchTools Intranets/Enterprise Information Portals Report

Price: $4995 and up
Platforms: Unix: AIX, HP-UX, Linux, SINIX, Solaris, DEC (OSF1), Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98/95

Features

• Highly scalable, can work on distributed servers
• Indexes and searches European languages, as well as Korean and Japanese and Unicode documents
• Uses Stellant filters to index over 200 document formats, including PDF, Microsoft Word, Excel etc.
• Searching features include proximity, similar items, wildcards and term varients
• Search term highlighting and navigation in results
• Development toolkit in C, Visual C++, Visual Basic and Java
• Can broker internal and external searches, providing metasearch functionality
• Works with Hummingbird Enterprise Information Portal

Articles

• Stemming Evaluated in 6 Languages by Hummingbird SearchServer(TM) at CLEF 2001 Proceedings of the Cross-Language Evaluation Forum (CLEF) 2001, Darmstadt, Germany, September 2001 by Stephen Tomlinson
  Results from the Cross-Language Evaluation forum of testing queries and documents in English, German, Frech, Italian, Spanish and Dutch using linguistic expansion.
  
  
• Finding the right piece of information, Structure and meaning improve search results KMworld Magazine, September 2001 by Judith Lamont
  Describes several intranet and commerce search solutions which attempt to use structure and language to improve search results. Certified General Accountants of Ontario, a professional association for accountants, used Hummingbird's Fulcrum KnowledgeServer to find content, reducing call center inquiries. Coldwater Creek used EasyAsk for its online store, to improve responsiveness to customers. Applied Semantics categorizer and summarizer can augment search engine results.
  
  
• Hummingbird Fulcrum KnowledgeServer 3.5 CRN ChannelWEB Test Center April 6, 2001
  Summary of test results indicates that automatic clustering "is not an exact science" and requires manual processing. Also describes features of crawling, hierarchical display, distributed searching, custom weighting and search query options.
  
  
• Enterprise Information Portals Internet Newsletter for Lawyers, March-April 2001 by Stephen Murphy
  Enthusiastic description of EIPs for law firms by a Hummingbird salesperson.
  
  

• Linux Version of Fulcrum SearchServer Press Release, October 19, 1999
  Search indexer and engine handles 200 file formats and 14 languages on Linux.
  

• Fulcrum adds Web searching functions December 15, 1997, InfoWorld (Intranet World), by Jeff Senna
  Description and review of the 2.1 version of Fulcrum Knowledge Network, including new Lotus Notes compatibility, standalone Windows client, Web Site indexing and so on. Rated "very good".
  
  
• Bridging intranet profit and value Datamation, Dec. 1997/Jan. 1998 by C. Matthew Snow (page is lost as of 10/2000)
  Approaches the intranet search engine as a vital tool for staff to deploy in closing deals. A case study of intranet search tools improving ROI and improving corporate information management describes Parsons Brinckerhoff, a New York City engineering firm. They use Fulcrum Knowledge Network to set up conferencing, databases of work experience and more. Other search tools are covered more lightly, but include unique features, good and bad points, and user comments: AltaVista Search Intranet, Lycos/InMagic, Microsoft Index Server and Infoseek Ultraseek [now Inktomi Search Software].
  
  
• Serving Up Knowledge -- Products from Fulcrum and Verity can help you tap previously inaccessible information streams November 17, 1997, TechWebNews, by Jeff Jurvis
  Comparative review describes features: Verity's cross-platform options are an advantage, but the system is less flexible than Fulcrum.
  
  
• Buyer's Guide: Search Engines WebServer OnLine, 1997 by Lang Zerner
  Tables for platforms and configuration, indexing, document types, query languages. Covers AltaVista, Fulcrum, Microsoft Index Server, Compass (now from Netscape), PLWeb Turbo, Excalibur, Verity Search '97 and Ultraseek (now Inktomi Search Software).
  
  
• Fulcrum unifies data searches InfoWorld, April 21, 1997
  Describes installation, configuration and searching, recommends the product for large volumes of corporate data spread across disparate sources.
  
  
• Fulcrum's SearchServer Family: Standing Out by Fitting In 1996, Seybold Report on Desktop Publishing, v. 10, n.9
  Information on Fulcrum Technologies plans and market position, as of 1996.
  
  
• Web Site Search Engines (Appendices) The PIPER Letter: November, 1996
  Covers Basis Web server , Excerpt, Excite, Folio, freeWAIS-sf, FrontPage, Fulcrum, Glimpse, ht://Dig, Ice, Isearch, PL Web, Swish, TEAMate, WebFind/WebIndex, and WebSite.
  
  
• ServerWatch Fulcrum Knowledge Network entry, dated March 1998, provides a feature list.
  
  
• Example: Novell Web Site Information Search