That's a tall order but the requests are reasonabl...

2006-05-24T00:30:00.000-04:00

That's a tall order but the requests are reasonable and a lot of vendors out there are trying to fill it. The trick is reading everyone's mind and providing software that meets a lot of different "I" needs and that isn't easy. Add to that the sea change brought on by the Web and you quickly feel the pain of transition.

Up till now, you were looking at an enterprise application (Summation or Concordance). These tools came in a box and did what they did. If you wanted a new feature, call it in and you might see it in a year or so.

In the last few years, a number of us have begun offering hosted software designed to offer more functionality with the possibility of adding new features by the week rather than as part of an annual upgrade.

At first due to limitations of Web technology these applications were limited in functionality--their strength was in being On Demand (no purchase, setup or internal management). Gradually, Web functionality caught up with and is actually surpassing what the enterprise tools can do. Thus, now you get the power of industrial grade search and database engines that would never fit on an install CD, and which most people couldn't manage.

Even more, today's applications actually knit together the functionality of scores of tools, to convert, number, view, search, annotate, etc. What this means is that you will be able to have your cake and eat it too. Literally all of this power at your fingertips but On Demand--when you need it with no hardware to purchase and manage, no software to setup, run and upgrade.

And, ultimately you will get the last wish. Browser-based software, done right, is easier to use, intuitive and simple to manage. Workflow becomes easy to setup and manage as well.

And yes, the companies operating in the post dot-bomb market are financially strong, offering a product that people value and will pay for. However, it won't come free or with ads on the page. You will have to pay a fair price to get a fair return. After all, it is no longer boxes we are talking about. Its millions of pages. What's it worth to be able to search through that volume in second or less?

Good comments.

John Tredennick
caseSHARE Systems, Inc.

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