Whit Andrews

[climbs out of deep hole where blogging was impossible due to unknown reason possibly involving radiation or other Neal Stephenson-inspired obstacle]

Well.

After some weeks of intensive interviews, conversations, writing, peer review and sweeping of emails from the inbox to a Special Folder, I am pleased to report that Gartner’s report on the Google Search Appliance has finally landed on Gartner.com. Writing a report like this entails assembly of the information we get from inquiry, an ongoing process of outcalls (I frequently seek recontact with people I talk to in the course of my work to find out How Things Went), and sometimes interviews. The Google Search Appliance is right now the most popular for-pay search product enterprises can buy (although Microsoft’s SharePoint family of search products is not to be ignored), and it appears in my inquiry more than any other product.

I reached out to Twitter to find people who might not ordinarily be Gartner clients to gain access to their insights, and am indebted to many such who are anonymous per their request. Also, though, Dave Carruthers, Dave Isenhower, Jey Jeyarajan at the Toronto District School Board all offered insights and let me use their names. I sent cookies if people let me; if you helped and I didn’t mention you here, speak up and I’ll send cookies and amend the entry.

The research is for our paying clients, of course, and I recommend they invoke the link and read the note if they can. In short, I’ll say this: Google’s execution is catching up to its ambition here, and in its key market of simple installation/simple use, it’s the solution to defeat. There are a lot of nuances, and no one should ever make a decision on a single sentence. Many times I recommend against it for particular reasons, just as I recommend in its favor — and no matter what, it has competitors to consider as well. Call us or ask for inquiry; I’m looking forward to talking.