Cambridge Search Meetup – Search for publication success and low-cost apps

After a short break the Cambridge Search Meetup returned last night with our usual mix of presentations, questions, networking, beer and snacks. We had a few issues with the projector and cables (one of these is on the shopping list for next time) so thanks to both presenters and audience for their patience! First up was Li...Continue reading

Apache Lucene & Solr version 4.0 released, a giant leap forward for open source search

This morning the largest open source search project, Apache Lucene/Solr, released a new version with a raft of new features. We've been advising clients to consider version 4.0 for several months now, as the alpha and beta versions have become available, and we know of several already running this version on live sites. Here's a few highlights:

Strange bedfellows? The rise of cloud based search

Last night our US partners Lucid Imagination announced that LucidWorks, their packaged and supported version of Apache Lucene/Solr, is available on Microsoft's Azure cloud computing service. It seems like only a few weeks since Amazon announced their own CloudSearch system and no doubt other 'search as a service' providers are waiting in the wings (we're going to need a new acronym as Sa...Continue reading

Amazon CloudSearch – a game changer?

Amazon have just launched a cloud-based search service, which promises a 'fully managed search service in the cloud' - and it certainly looks impressive, with auto-scaling built in. You simply create a service, upload documents as JSON or XML and then perform searches. For cases where you need to search publically available data this offers a great way to avoid having to install and integrate an...Continue reading

Building bridges in the Cloud with open source search

We've just published a case study on our work for C Spencer Ltd., a UK-based civil engineering company who take a pro-active approach to document management - instead of taking the default Sharepoint route or buying another product off the shelf, they decided to create their own in-house system based on open source components, hosted on the Amazon AWS Cloud. We've helped them integrate Continue reading

Open Source action in UK government

I've been reading the revised Open Source, Open Standards and ReUse: Government Action Plan - it's surprising (and heartening) to see this has existed in one form or another since as far back as 2004. The key changes for this version are:

  • suppliers have to show evidence they've considered open source options - hopefully this will be more than a quick trawl through S...Continue reading