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The converging of enterprise search technologies with business intelligence (BI) tools is a good example of the potential and limits of that popular current trend, integration. The primary challenge in integrating these two technologies has been that BI tends to take unstructured data and render it into precise, structured reports, while search technologies gather together a wide range of possible answers. Also, search engines are typically designed for--and consumers demand--ease of use, while the complexity of BI applications makes them inaccessible to all but a few trained analysts. Yet search and BI share the common goal of discovering and assembling data, so when combined effectively, the two approaches can help companies achieve what FASTs Davor Peter Sutija calls 'pervasive business intelligence.' For example, a search system can enable a more user-friendly BI interface, while a BI tool can help structure the data generated by a search. Representative from Google, FAST, and Cognos agree that the introduction of search tools into BI will not spell the end of BI as a separate function. While daily tasks may be streamlined with an integrated approach, there will still be a need for more complex BI reports. With its OneBox, Google is working to provide a simpler real-time BI interface. FAST's Radar platform is a BI portal that incorporates search features. Cragnos, meanwhile, seeks to reduce the accessibility barriers of its BI products with web interfaces and boosted search capabilities. In addition to improved BI interfaces, technologies such as JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) and the Semantic Web will increase the potential for structuring search results. The integration of search and BI is expected to continue, with features and capabilities moving back and forth between the two.
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