With the fast pace of the modern digital age, companies are bogged down in data. As workers use many different tools such as Jira, Salesforce, GitHub, Notion, and HubSpot, the volume of information spread out over multiple systems can complicate quickly finding what is needed efficiently. McKinsey & Company research indicates that workers spend approximately 1.8 hours per day simply looking for information. This lost time totals 10 hours per week per employee – a substantial blow to productivity that companies can ill afford.
Although numerous companies employ search functions within these programs to find information, this method doesn't solve the underlying issue. The non-integrated provisioning of these searching abilities across disparate applications generates inefficiencies. Workers end up toggling among varying systems to find what they are looking for, delaying workflows and losing time. The disjointed experience leaves one clear in mind that what companies need is an enterprise-grade searching solution that merges information across programs in an integrated, streamlined experience. That's where enterprise search solutions come into the picture.
The Requirement for Enterprise Search Software
Enterprise search software is intended to address the inefficiencies created by conventional search processes. Rather than depending on the limited search functions embedded in separate software tools, enterprise search platforms consolidate data from all company systems into a single repository, where it can be accessed and utilized more conveniently.
Indeed, IDC research discovered that poorly functioning search systems are costing companies as much as $2.5 million per year in lost productivity. By embracing enterprise search, organizations can regain much of that lost value.
Overcoming the Limitations of Disjointed Search
Though tools such as Salesforce, Jira, and Notion include native search capabilities, they tend to be encapsulated within the individual environments. This limits users to searching only within the borders of the tool they are currently using, leaving holes in the information they require. Even where APIs are included to unify data, the lack of ability to make useful connections across these various sources renders the information less useful.
In addition, most search systems inside tools are not designed to scale with the increasingly complex and amount of data that today's businesses create. A conventional search tool simply doesn't offer the smarts required to manage these varied and growing data sets.
The Business Process Improvement Role of Enterprise Search
Implementing an enterprise search solution in an organization's workflow can produce dramatic improvements to business processes. By granting the workforce more immediate access to appropriate information, the decision-making process is expedited and made smarter. If the workers can quickly locate the data they require in a split second, they don't spend so much time scanning unnecessary information, resulting in reduced bottlenecks and overall enhanced productivity.
Moreover, integration of enterprise search with CRM/ERP systems facilitates linking customer information, sales information, and operational information, giving an integrated view of business performance. Through such connectivity, sales, Industrying, and customer service employees can view the complete picture and work together more efficiently. For example, a sales representative is able to instantly retrieve customer histories in the CRM and then leverage that data to search for related documents or product information in other systems—all from one query.
The outcome? Simplified processes, enhanced business responsiveness, and greater customer satisfaction. Time saved on information searching can be better spent on servicing customers, creating new products, or refining internal processes.
A Smarter Enterprise Search Solution
The secret of today's modern enterprise search lies in intelligence. Today's search systems must recognize not only the context of the search, but also the reason behind it. For instance, if a customer data search is performed by an employee, that employee should have access not merely to raw information, but to pertinent insights as well as documents that are contextually related to their job function.
Efficient Data Access with Search Platforms
A robust enterprise search platform enables organizations to take advantage of their current tools and data repositories without having to overhaul them in a big way. By integrating multiple systems, the platform establishes a knowledge graph that links relevant data from across departments, applications, and even outside sources. This integrated perspective of information enables employees to easily find key information, be it customer information, product specifications, or internal communication, all without having to exit the search interface.
This centralized search solution results in faster, better-informed decisions. It also encourages improved cross-departmental collaboration, where employees from various groups can locate relevant information from other people's systems in a single location.
Enterprise Search Tools: The Future Ahead
The business search of the future is intelligent, adaptable solutions that learn to complement every facet of the company. With today's advanced AI-fueled search technology, business can get better insight into what they're doing and promote sustained improvement. With one search engine, an organization can have an adaptable solution, customizing the solution to each organization's specifications, so that it can remain a long-term, adaptable tool.
For business organizations that need to improve their efficiency and competitiveness, the embracing of enterprise search solutions is now no longer optional—it's necessary. By providing employees with straightforward, intuitive access to the relevant information at the right time, enterprise search is capable of altering the way that a business is conducted, with improved productivity, cost reduction, and decision-making power.
