If you use Google to search, then you have probably seen their universal search, which shows more than just html documents in the search results. Major companies are now seeing the benefits of using universal search to search their internal resources. Professional services firms, especially law firms, are using universal search tools to instantly locate content, wherever it’s located.

Back in August 2007 I talked about Interwoven Universal Search, an “intuitive search solution uniquely designed to meet the demands and expectations of professional services firms”. Now, in 2008, we’re seeing an increase in demand for these types of search appliances.

Interwoven Universal Search has a fairly simple web interface where you can search, access and use any content in any system in your organization, from document management to mail, to time and billing. There’s no problem with maintaining systems security. Interwoven’s Universal Search is architected for “today’s content-intensive enterprises”. It’s actually much faster and more accurate than using other search engines that might spider PC’s content.

With Interwoven’s Universal Search, their “personal alerts” and “role-based” search increase its effectiveness. The Personal alerts allow you to save a search query–and get an mail alert when new information is identified based on your original search query. Role-based search gives you more of a “customized” search experience. It essentially tunes” results to be more specific for your group. If you’re in HR, for example, you’ll see one set of search results–which would be different than someone who is in IT.

Interwoven Universal Search - Professional Services Edition is an intuitive search solution uniquely designed to meet the demands and expectations of professional services firms. By providing professionals with a solution for instantly locating important content throughout a firm, Interwoven is delivering a powerful tool to improve firm efficiency and enhance the client experience. Interwoven Universal Search - Professional Services Edition is powered by Vivisimo Velocity.

Interwoven is a global leader in content management solutions. Interwoven’s software and services enable organizations to effectively leverage content to drive business growth by improving the customer experience, increasing collaboration, and streamlining business processes in dynamic environments. Our unique approach combines user-friendly simplicity with robust IT performance and scalability to unlock the value of content. Today, more than 4,200 enterprise and professional services organizations worldwide have chosen Interwoven, including: adidas, Airbus, Avaya, Cisco, DLA Piper, the Federal Reserve Bank, FedEx, HSBC, LexisNexis, Microsoft, Samsung, Shell, Samsonite, White & Case, and Yamaha. Over 20,000 developers and over 300 partners enrich and extend Interwoven’s offerings.