The enterprise search function in SharePoint 2013 is truly enterprise-class now that Microsoft has fused “FAST solution” capabilities with the product’s native search features.
As an article on the CMSWire website explains, SharePoint 2013 features “the best components of Search Server Express, SharePoint Enterprise Search and FAST Search Server … brought into a single SharePoint Search platform.”
The FAST Search feature initially was launched separately from SharePoint. Since acquiring the company called FAST Search & Transfer ASA in 2008 for $1.2 billion, Microsoft has invested significant time and money in integrating SharePoint and the “FAST solution.”
Search capabilities are so important with SharePoint because Google has trained people just to search. They’re not accustomed to clicking through; they immediately type what they’re looking for into a search engine. SharePoint has query suggestions, just like Google. These robust search features are still a competitive advantage over file shares because it takes multiple attributes into consideration instead of just file location and some limited context.
The technology itself is not new, which is good because it has been tested and proven, meaning there aren’t too many unknowns about how the FAST Search feature is going to act. What’s new is that the system is much more accessible and usable by a power user or administrator rather than a search expert who needs to understand minutiae about search strings and results. The queries are built in a more standard format that makes it easier to create and update.
As powerful as the search function in SharePoint was, FAST Search makes it even closer to experience that people expect. Search engines like Google and Bing have made it so easy to find anything on the web instantaneously. As a result, users are demanding high-end enterprise search capabilities.
SharePoint 2013 also is integrated with Office Web Apps. As a result, the 2013 Office Web apps are becoming more like fully functioning Office tools in the browser. This can support BYOD (bring your own device) by allowing for documents to be edited on mobile devices. SharePoint 2013’s features include document previews as well. Combined with FAST Search in SharePoint, the Office Web Apps tools allow for less clicking and reviewing of documents upon completing a search.
Contributor: Adam Levithan, Senior Consultant at Portal Solutions
Source: CMSWire, April 2013
