Analyst firm IDC has recently put out an insightful Vendor Profile on Lucid Imagination. Our own publisher Stephen Arnold worked with adroit colleagues Susan Feldman, Constance Ard, and David Schubmehl to create the profile, so you know it is full of good information. The valuable document is available for purchase here, but I’ll let you in on a few highlights.
Lucid Imagination is a commercial entity dedicated to Apache‘s Lucene/Solr open source search technology. The Profile opens with a summary of IDC’s take on the company:
“Lucid Imagination offers the most comprehensive Lucene/Solr-based enterprise search solution that is available today, based on IDC’s and ArnoldIT‘s evaluation of open source companies. Backed with a full-time engineering team in Silicon Valley, the company’s on-premises and cloud solutions handle unstructured content with ease. Enterprise search is a technology that is easy to start but difficult to master effectively. Lucene/Solr does an excellent job at covering the basics, and Lucid Imagination’s offering extends Lucene/Solr into the realm of well-developed and supported commercial software.”
The team pitted the LucidWorks search platform against those from Autonomy, Exalead, and Googleand found that it comparable in terms of capabilities and support. They recommend the platform as an effective, lower-cost alternative to developing one’s own search technology.
In the few years since Lucid Imagination launched in 2008, the company has shot to the fore of the enterprise search field. The report identifies several reasons Lucid is doing so well. Perhaps most importantly, the company is in possession of a full-time engineering team. Another edge: Lucid has focused on making LucidWorks comparable to mainstream enterprise search systems, complete with the connectors, interface, and deployment options you would expect from such solutions. Naturally, its ability to deftly handle big data is also an advantage.
Why turn to a company like Lucid rather than navigate the open source waters yourself? Unless you are an open source enthusiast, managing open source resources can be a hassle. Lucid’s engineers keep track of the haphazard Lucene/Solr updates and enhancements and bundles the components for us, free and ready to install. Furthermore, employing the LucidWorks platform adds security, automation, reporting, and migration features, as well as enhanced search. The solution includes comprehensive support of business rules, and can be used within a SharePointenvironment.
The IDC team identified some challenges for Lucid Imagination. Widespread confusion about open source capabilities, licensing terms, and vendors must continue to be addressed with efforts at clear communication. Going forward, the company must decide how to respond to the emerging split between traditional enterprise search platforms (like theirs) and the increasingly popular unified information accessplatforms. The latter development calls for a different approach; will Lucid embrace the new direction while maintaining their quality enterprise search platform?
These are just a few points to note from this Vendor Profile, created by one of our favorite firms, IDC. If you are interested in the work of Lucid Imagination, we suggest you check out the full profile.
Cynthia Murrell, July 23, 2012
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