Coveo 6.1 expands search into Enterprise 2.0 data

Coveo [1] recently released the latest version of its enterprise search tool, Coveo Enterprise Search 6.1. The newest release includes the ability to index data from Enterprise 2.0 tools from companies like Confluence [2] and Jive [3] (we interviewed Jive CTO Matt Tucker recently One on One [4]). What's more the new version provides a search sidebar that works inside Microsoft Outlook, providing a way to search for enterprise content without ever leaving Outlook, a tool that many business users spend a good part of their day using.

The Outlook Sidebar includes more than just a search box though. It also enables users to see location, photos, contact information and availability. This is the same type of information they could see in Jive or Confluence, but without opening a separate tool to do it.

As more companies implement Enterprise 2.0 tools such as microblogging, it becomes increasingly important to find a way to index this data to get at the information that is flowing through this social chatter. Coveo 6.1 can provide a window into this information.

In addition to the Outlook sidebar, this new product includes a "Floating Desktop Searchbar." This floats over any Windows application to give users (who may not be Outlook aficionados) a way to access Coveo search information wherever they are working. 

Sue Feldman, who covers search for IDC, believe it is critical for companies to have a single view of the enterprise content repositories to get a grip on the ever-growing data stream. 

"Forward thinking organizations are seeking an integrated information access and management platform that pulls together a variety of common functions. These new search-based applications use search and discovery technologies to unify access across multiple sources and formats of information," Feldman said.

Coveo is certainly working hard to include all types of content in its index, and to provide different ways for users to access this content depending on their work styles. Whether this is convenient or overwhelming will depend on how well it's implemented. Certainly many tools are trying to stake out a place in Outlook and you have to wonder at what point that real estate gets saturated with information overload. 

For more information:
- see the Coveo press release [5]

Related Articles:
Coveo releases free enterprise search tool [6]
Coveo releases new enterprise search product [7]
One on One with Matt Tucker of Jive Software [4]