Search-based applications (SBA) are software applications in which a search engine platform is used as the core infrastructure for information access and reporting. SBAs use semantic technologies to aggregate, normalize and classify unstructured, semi-structured and/or structured content across multiple repositories, and employ natural language technologies for accessing the aggregated information.
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Search based applications are fully packaged applications that:
Source: Worldwide Search and Discovery 2009 Vendor Shares and Update on Market Trends, IDC #223926, July, 2010 by Susan Feldman and Hadley Reynolds.
SBAs are used for a variety of purposes, including:
The use of a search platform as the core infrastructure for software applications has been enabled largely by two search engine features: 1) Scalability 2) Ad hoc access to multiple heterogeneous sources from a single point of access.
Search based applications have proven popular and effective because they provide a dynamic, scalable access infrastructure that can be integrated with other features that information workers need: task-specific, and easy to use work environments that integrate features that are usually designed to be used as separate applications, collaborative features, domain knowledge, and security.
Search engines are not a replacement for database systems; they are a complement. They have been optimally engineered to facilitate access to information, not to record and store transactions. In addition, the mathematical and statistical processors integrated to date into search engines remain relatively simple. At present, therefore, databases still provide a more effective structure for complex analytical functions.Search applications also focus on providing quality results considering search relevancy.