Google updates enterprise search tool with raft of features

Google has announced the first major overhaul to its dedicated enterprise search platform in over a year to include several features from its consumer-facing search tool, including auto-suggestions and translation capabilities.

The Google Search Appliance (GSA) version 7.0 update also features improved preview functions, allowing users to view thumbnails and scroll through search document results from the front search engine page. Google has also given overall interface a redesign.

Erik de Muinck Keizer, Google's head of enterprise search for Europe, told V3 that the updates had been introduced to give enterprises users access to more functions, in response to their growing requirements.

"With this update we are underlining our commitment to providing a dedicated enterprise search tool, by letting people in enterprises drill down into their data and find what they need," he said.

One of the key updates de Muinck Keizer touted was the inclusion of translation capabilities out of the box. These now includes support for Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Korean languages as well as an expert search feature to help large organisation access the talent they need.

"We've built in integration with SharePoint 2010 so people can connect into the platform and find whatever information they need on employees. We use the GSA ourselves at Google and I regularly use this to help find the necessary product managers and their staff," he explained.

The update also pushes new security credentials including support for access control list (ACL) caching so IT staff can provide access to all repositories of information but maintain security on the data by editing access levels for staff dynamically.

The firm now has over 40,000 customers using the GSA worldwide and de Muinck Keizer said that all firms currently still under licence with Google would receive the update free of charge.

Pricing for the services for new customers is based on a ‘per document' system, so as a benchmark if a firm has half a million documents it will cost $15,000 per year for the GSA tool.

This is a flexible pricing structure, though, not fixed to a sliding scale, he added.