Much has changed in recent years due to a change in technology. The implementation of an enterprise search is – provided one uses standard software – not a huge project. In the following, we will therefore discuss various resources and, where possible, give a realistic estimate of the resources required.
Hardware
Cloud, on-premise or private cloud? Three hosting options that are not offered by every provider. amberSearch can support any form of hosting.
- Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting is the easiest and most resource-efficient. Since most companies are already in the cloud with M365 and other applications, cloud hosting makes sense for >90% of companies. For a direct comparison of the pros and cons of cloud and on-premise hosting, see this article.
Costs:
Depending on the provider model, you may have to pay extra for cloud resources or by the number of documents. With amberSearch this is included in the user price and is not charged separately.
- Private Cloud Hosting:
Larger companies have instances reserved just for them at AWS, Azure & Co. Enterprise Search can also be hosted here.
Costs:
The costs for hosting lie with the contractor, but no new servers have to be purchased. In addition, additional work is to be expected during installation, as the provider and the client must coordinate closely in order to take into account individual settings on the client’s side. The individual design of the servers as well as the costs depend in particular on the amount of data to be searched as well as the number of employees who are to access the system.
- On Premise Hosting:
For companies in the CRITIS sector, on-premise hosting is sometimes necessary, as the data must be hosted entirely on the company’s own infrastructure.
Costs:
In this case, the client has to pay for the purchase of the servers as well as the administration and the necessary know-how that comes with it. The individual design of the servers as well as the costs depend in particular on the amount of data to be searched as well as the number of employees who are to access the system.
Software
Some companies, especially larger ones, are faced with a make or buy decision when introducing an enterprise search. Looking at the complexity of an enterprise search, most companies opt for a buy solution. Although there are open source modules that can be used as a basis, most companies lack the necessary know-how or resources to be able to develop their own solutions on the basis of the open source modules. In addition, an own solution has to be administered (interfaces change) and the high demands of the users have to be met.
amberSearch offers a standard solution with an open interface through which individual systems – if desired – can be connected. This is a good compromise between standard software and possible customisation, if there is a need.
Personnel
On the client side, two main resources are needed: IT department as well as project manager. In the following we briefly explain why:
- IT department
The IT department is responsible for the technical implementation as well as the integration into the different systems.
- Project management
The project management is mainly responsible for the people and the change management. Although we take care to develop everything with the greatest possible UX, when the IT infrastructure is adapted, the employees need a contact person who is responsible for the implementation and takes care of the change management. We have compiled an overview of materials here.
Only the interaction of both departments leads to the successful introduction of a corporate search engine.
Budget
The budget to be planned depends largely on the hosting option and the size of the company.
The following cost centres exist:
- External Set Up Costs: What does the contractor need to successfully install the software.
- Internal Set Up Costs: How many resources does the contractor need internally to coordinate accordingly?
- Ongoing Fees/Maintenance: Depending on the hosting option, ongoing fees (based on users, data volume, data systems, …) will be due.
How high the costs will be depends on the individual case and can of course not be answered in a general way via a blog article. We would be happy to support you in calculating the business case! Feel free to contact us or use this blog article to get a first feel for it.