The ultimate guide to federated search

Airtable and Forrester’s Crisis of a Fractured Organization survey reveals that knowledge workers spend close to 29% each week (11.6 hrs) hunting down the information they need for their workday. The struggle to access business-critical data to complete a task is one of the reasons employees continue to feel disengaged from their organization.

That’s where federated search comes into play. Federated search is the first step towards seamless retrieving data from multiple sources of information.

What is federated search?

Federated search allows the simultaneous search of multiple online databases, websites or repositories. It streamlines the process by sending queries to a suite of engines or data sources simultaneously and aggregating the results into a single output—just on one centralized interface.

Traditional searches, which operate on a singular database or index, can limit the scope of retrievable data. They also require users to search multiple databases individually, which can be time-consuming and inefficient.

In contrast, federated search provides a broader scope and saves time by querying multiple databases concurrently. Federated search is useful in complex organizations with large and various data sources, both in the cloud and on-premises, where it plays an important role in consolidating and streamlining information access.

How does federated search work?

Here is a step-by-step breakdown of the entire process:

• User query: A user inputs their search term or phrase into the federated search interface. This is the starting point for the federated search process.
• Transmission to search engines: The federated search system sends a single query to multiple search engines or databases—each with its own syntax requirements—and translates the query accordingly.
• Individual searches: Each queried search engine or database then performs its own independent search, using its unique algorithms and index to find relevant results.
• Results collection: The federated search system collects the results from each of the individual search engines or databases.
• Results aggregation: The system then aggregates these results into a single, unified list. This can involve deduplication (removing duplicate results), ranking (sorting the results based on relevance, source, or other factors) and normalization (ensuring all results are in a consistent format).
• Results presentation: Finally, the federated search system presents the aggregated list of results to the user. This may include options for refining or narrowing the search, viewing more information about a result, or accessing the original source.
• Access control and security: In order to safeguard sensitive data and maintain compliance with privacy regulations, federated search systems often incorporate access control mechanisms to ensure users only see results they have permission to access.
• Continuous refinement: The federated search system may modify and improve its algorithms to increase relevance and accuracy as users engage with the search results and offer input.

Different types of federated search

Federated search can be categorized into different types based on how it retrieves and presents results from multiple sources. There are generally four main types of federated search:

1. Search-time merging

Search-time merging is an approach where queries are sent to individual data sources and the merging and ranking of results occur in real-time—at the very moment the user performs a search.

2. Index-time merging

Index-time merging happens when data from multiple sources is collected, indexed and merged into a unified index or repository before any user queries are executed. Users search against this centralized index rather than querying individual sources directly.

3. Hybrid federated search

4. Federated search interface

A federated search interface streamlines user access to multiple data sources through a single, unified interface. It internally manages the federated search process, which may involve techniques like search-time or index-time merging to retrieve results.

Examples of federated search

Let’s explore a range of federated search examples for:

Government bodies and large organizations

Federated search is essential for government and businesses that need that need to manage large volumes of data. It helps by:

• Unifying access to data: Allow for a centralized index that encompasses data from various repositories so users can search for documents from any format across an enterprise.
• Understanding content relationships with information maps: Information mapping features enable users to see how data is interconnected, aiding in data discovery and decision-making.
• Reducing security incidents: It can be configured to recognize sensitive data patterns, such as social security numbers, credit card information or classified documents—allowing for security protocols to be triggered quickly.
• Interrogating all content sources with one search operation: Federated search simplifies the process of querying multiple content sources with a single search operation; so users don't need to access different systems separately or remember where specific information resides.

Travel aggregator sites

Federated search in the travel industry works by allowing travel platforms like Kayak, Priceline, Skyscanner and Expedia to query multiple source websites and databases simultaneously to provide users with comprehensive travel information.

These platforms use federated search to gather data from various sources, (airlines, hotels, car rental agencies, etc.) who usually have their own databases.

Federated search retrieves relevant information such as flight schedules, prices, availability, hotel accommodations and rental car options from all queried sources simultaneously.

Retail

Federated search in retail aggregator sites like Lyst and Google Shopping works by indexing and presenting product details from various sources.

But it also works for regular e-commerce sites. If you were shopping for a “lavender scented candle” for instance, your search may return results from that platform's own product database, as well as external partner retailers' databases.

These results are merged, ranked by relevance, and consider factors like popularity, price, reviews and buyer history.

Customer support

A customer submits a query or question to the customer support system. For example, they might ask, "How do I reset my password?" The federated search engine is configured to connect to and search multiple data sources, which can include:

• FAQs: Frequently asked questions and their answers.
• Knowledge base: Articles, guides, and documentation.
• User manuals: Comprehensive product or service manuals.
• Forums: Community discussions and user-generated content.
• Internal documents: Company policies, procedures, and internal knowledge.
• External websites: Relevant external websites or resources.

The search results are presented to the customer in a user-friendly format, usually as a list of relevant articles, links or snippets of information. This specific self-service customer support can then track the most successful source in resolving this query—and use it to enhance the accuracy and effectiveness of future searches.

Software vendors

Software vendors face a wide range of queries from potential customers who are researching and considering their products. These queries can span features, pricing, user reviews, case studies, documentation and more.

Federated search employs factors like keyword matching, user reviews, recency of information and the authority of the source to present the most relevant results at the top of the list to boost the search experience.

It helps greatly with personalization and conversion too. For example, if a user frequently searches for specific features or reads certain types of content, the federated search can prioritize those results for that user.

Other use cases of federated search include:

• Legal research: Legal professionals use federated search to access various legal databases and resources for case law and legal documents.
• Social media platforms: Social media platforms employ federated search to scour multiple accounts and platforms, delivering you the most relevant content.
• Academic libraries: Scholars and students use federated search to access research papers, journals and academic databases simultaneously.
• Real estate listings: Homebuyers and real estate professionals can search for property listings from various real estate websites.
• Media and entertainment: Federated search allows users to search for movies, music and TV shows across different streaming platforms.
• Job portals: Job search websites use federated search to pull job listings from various sources, making it easy for job seekers to find relevant positions.
• News aggregators: News aggregators compile articles from numerous news sources, enabling you to browse headlines and articles from different angles in one location.
• Health and medical information: To get a thorough assessment of your health issues from reliable sources, federated search gathers information from reliable health websites and medical databases when you look for information.

Benefits of federated search

Federated search is a game-changer for organizations—with its ability to turbocharge information retrieval, enable informed decision-making and boost productivity. Here are some standout advantages:

1. Protects organization and customer data

Data doesn't sit idle; it's scattered across various repositories, databases and platforms, each with unique access protocols. Federated search carries a secure “key” to unlock only the data you're authorized to access.

Federated search has the capability to locate and procure information concealed within gated sources. With user credentials within the search query, federated search guarantees that users are granted access solely to the information for which they possess authorization.

Investment firms, for instance, can harness federated search to find financial data and reports—rather than navigating distinct platforms and databases individually. But if a user lacks access privilege to a specific data source, the search engine will simply keep those results hidden from their query outcomes.

Plus, every interaction is logged in an unforgeable audit trail, an added security measure when managing documents with long and complex lifecycles. With the ability to sift through information from a single interface, federated search slashes the number of search apps you need, which means fewer points of vulnerability.

2. Streamlines e-discovery

When legal matters arise, organizations must work against the clock to preserve relevant content through legal holds. Federated search assists in the precise identification of content subject to legal holds, reducing the need for manual intervention and minimizing human error.

First, it casts a wide net, querying various data sources within the organization's content management ecosystem.

Federated search then employs advanced algorithms to match the retrieved content against predefined legal criteria—based on legal hold requirements such as date ranges, document types, related keywords, etc. Content that meets the legal criteria is dynamically filtered and marked for potential legal holds.

Once the potential legal holds are identified, legal professionals or authorities can use the federated search function in their content management system to apply legal holds to identified content.

3. Elevates customer engagement

Stale, outdated information leads to customer disengagement.

Federated search excels in showing real-time content from multiple data sources—lowering the risks of users, buyers or readers dropping off your website after deeming your content irrelevant (even if your organization has exactly what someone is looking for).

E-commerce platforms can customize federated search to prioritize and display results based on user profiles, preferences or past interactions. By searching across different catalogs or databases, customers can find what they're looking for quickly, leading to higher conversion rates.

Across industries, this could also help with faster customer enquiry resolution. Harvard Business Review states that 81% of customers attempt to solve issues independently before contacting a live agent. By providing an efficient federated search experience, you get to reduce the volume of inquiries and allow your customers access to the information they need, faster.

4. Improves search relevance

Federated search employs a relevance ranking algorithm that assesses the retrieved results from each source.

It assigns a relevance score to each result based on factors like keyword matching, recency, user interactions and source authority. Results with higher relevance scores are given higher priority in the final search results display.

Traditional search engines may struggle to provide comprehensive results because they primarily focus on a single index or a limited set of sources. This can result in incomplete or less relevant search outcomes.

Here’s how it works on an academic research platform. Federated search can leverage dynamic content prioritization, so the first search results you see are peer-reviewed academic papers and studies that delve deep into your topic. Just as easily—you can adjust content priorities to access latest news based on factors like data quality, relevance or timeliness.

5. Elevates user experiences

Federated search can be configured to highlight specific aspects of search results, making them more informative. For instance, results can be enriched with metadata, snippets or visual cues to help users quickly interpret and assess the relevance of each result.

Depending on integration and user preferences, federated search results can be displayed in various ways.

They can appear as if from a single source, providing a seamless and cohesive user experience. Alternatively, results can be categorized into separate sections, clearly indicating their source and allowing users to focus on specific subsets of information.

For more complex data, federated search systems can present results through interactive visualizations, such as charts, graphs, or maps. This visual representation can help users quickly grasp trends and patterns within the data.

6. Optimizes search indexation

In a federated search setup, users interact with a unified search interface that queries this centralized index. Instead of searching individual indices for each source, they can search all of them simultaneously through a single search bar.

When new data is added or existing content is updated, the single index is updated centrally. This eliminates the need to synchronize changes across multiple indices, reducing complexity and potential errors.

The benefits for enterprise content management are vast too. As an organization's data grows, the centralized index can easily scale to accommodate the increased content volume without the complexities associated with managing multiple separate indices.

Consolidating search infrastructure and reducing the complexity of managing multiple indices leads to cost savings. This can be seen in terms of hardware, software licenses and IT personnel required for maintenance and support.

Browse more related articles:

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Leveraging an enterprise search software

Fast, secure and comprehensive search capabilities turn data across your organization into actionable insights.

Hyland's Enterprise Search software stands out as a key enabler, empowering business users with greater information retrieval while ensuring the security of sensitive data. Hyland's federated search solution facilitates seamless access to critical information, enabling business users to make more informed decisions and streamline time-sensitive operations.

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