The Google Brainwash: Why We Think We Need A Faster Horse

Enterprise Software Products (per Wikipedia): purpose-designed computer software used to satisfy the needs of an organization rather than individual users.

Before the first cars were invented, no one knew they wanted a car. Instead, everyone was racking their brains to figure out how to breed a faster horse. I argue that Google has caused a similar phenomenon in enterprise search products.

The awesome Google search

When you think of search, you think of Google. Google is so ubiquitous it has replaced the word "search" on the Internet. Gone are the days of encyclopedias as a frequently used household item or of unfolding the 4’x4’ map over the dining room table to plan the next road trip; now you can just “google it”. The two words have become synonymous in our vernacular, and with the adoption of the new verb “to google”, we've also adopted a new standard in technology.

That standard comes from Google’s reputation for extremely fast searches that yield relevant results in an easy-to-use interface. Google’s diffusion into our hearts and minds is so all encompassing that the interface alone has caused a veritable stalemate in search engine design because, hey, it works, right?

The familiarity of Google Search

You’d be hard-pressed to find many search engines that aren't setup in the simplicity of the Google search bar and list view of results,, ranked by relevance. Yet the Google results have far more utility than any enterprise search

If everyone’s so smitten with the Google search engine, why are we so disappointed with every other product that mimics it?

The issue is that the people behind products built to be “as powerful as Google” have been giving users exactly what they want: a faster horse. We've been trained to think of “searching” as a simple act with 1 or 2 keywords, but really there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes.

The secret Google sauce

Google works so well for Internet searches because of their super-secret page ranking algorithm.

The internet is a big place, and making sure the right information reaches you is the most important part for it to be worthwhile at all. This is, after all, the age of information - what a shame it would be if the information available was as tedious to access as the average persons’ past 7 years worth of tax documents, case files, or reports.

When you hit enter on a Google search, the ranking algorithm considers a lot of other factors, including similar searches done in the past. All this happens in the blink of an eye, completely behind the scenes of your sudden urge to discover the history of family pets in the White House (a surprisingly diverse group), or whether or not Jon Stewart really is quitting The Daily Show (he is). And while you think you are looking for something specific, you are really looking for a general ballpark answer.

Extremely fast search, relevant results, and extreme simplicity define the Google way. Combined with what was probably one of the best word of mouth campaigns in the history of mankind Google has set the standards for Internet search.

Enterprise Search: Months to Train and Years to Master

Now searching something much, much, much, smaller, like your set of documents should be easier right? Wrong. It is a much harder problem. When you search your own document set, you are looking for something very specific. The most a page ranking algorithm can do is arrange results based on lexicographic importance, like how many times a key word appeared in a document. If Google's page rank is the smartphone, these enterprise search ranking algorithms are still the carrier pigeon.

Also, over-simplifying has never been the problem of enterprise software products.(In fact, far from it). I myself have spent many a bleary-eyed evening staring at the same ledger style software for hours, unable to figure out how to make it do what I want. These systems are not easy to use and when they start getting in the way of getting the job done, you have a crisis situation.

That’s usually the point when the choice is made to confront the people behind the products with suggestions for improvement, requests for changes to the interface, or further training – anything to make the workflow faster. Some organizations make their money from training on these overly complex systems.

Obviously, you don’t want your business solutions to be quite as simple as Google for the same reason the cockpit of a plane has more than 3 buttons – you need to be able to control your results a little better than having 1 button for “take-off”, 1 button for “land”, and 1 button for “make the entire plane as cold as humanly possible”.

The extra layer of complexity comes in when you realize that while you do, in fact, need more than 3 buttons, you don’t actually want your entire office to go through 40 hours of training to make all those buttons work.

The Solution: Reject The Google Standard.

Stop comparing Intranet search to Google! Too many document management and intranet search systems advertise their systems as being as good as Google. You don't want it to be like Google.

It’s time we realized that we don’t need a faster horse – we need something new.

Mazira is building the next generation personal search engine and document management system. Follow us on Twitter for updates. Take the Mazira personal version for a spin. Email me at anith@mazira.com for more information.