Strategic Uses for Federated Search, Part 2

Last month, I wrote Strategic Uses for Federated Search, Part 1, which discussed how federated search in marketing and brand management creates a strategic advantage for an organization.

Now I’d like to talk (briefly, at least for me) about another area where federated search represents a key strategic advantage: Intellectual property research and litigation. I wrote a 2-page sponsored article for Computers in Libraries Magazine, entitled “Next-Generation” Federated Search: Critical for Intellectual Property Research. It’s a quick read.

The crux of the article is: Federated search represents perhaps the single-most powerful way to ensure you leave no stone unturned, in researching or litigating intellectual property matters. This, of course, can be generalized for any business or organization where the cost for missing information is high. Aside from intellectual property, one could imagine that scientific study, medical research, national intelligence, journalism and other areas where effective research is key to success, are excellent candidates for utilizing federated search to create a strategic advantage.

Interestingly, federated search is an underused and misunderstood concept in legal and intellectual property circles. As we (and our competitors) better target our offerings to intellectual property attorneys and firms, I expect federated search will quickly become a must-have, versus a nice-to-have. Read the article to find out why.