Why being able to search is critical

Unified Communications This newsletter is sponsored by Meru Networks Get Up to Speed on the Latest in WLANs Easily stay on top of the latest developments and issues in WLAN technology, standards, security, telephony, management and more with Network World's latest Executive Guide, "Keeping Up With the Wireless Whirlwind." Click here to download! Network World's Unified Communications Newsletter, 08/02/07 Why being able to search is critical By Michael Osterman Businesses receive, generate and store enormous amounts of information. According to an analysis from the University of California at Berkeley several years ago, 93% of all information today is created in an electronic format. Further, more than 70% of that information is never printed. The vast majority of business information is generated by, and stored in, a large number of applications, including corporate e-mail systems, personal Webmail systems, the World Wide Web, instant messaging systems, wikis, blogs, CRM systems, Web conferencing systems, image-processing systems, inventory systems, DVDs, video tapes, audio sources (e.g., Podcasts) and a wide variety of other applications. Unified communications will make the problem significantly worse as it adds additional data to the already crowded mix. There are a number of problems associated with the rapidly expanding quantity and breadth of information that business decision makers must process, including poor decision making, stress, more expensive information management, greater difficulty in managing corporate governance issues and even reduced IQ in some cases. Network World Security Buyer's Guide Find the right security products for your enterprise - fast. From anti-spam to wireless LAN security, our Buyer's Guides have detailed information on hundreds of products in more than 20 categories. With the side-by-side comparison tool you can evaluate product features to make the best decision for your enterprise. Click here to go to the Security Buyer's Guide now. Most organizations cannot adequately access the information they possess because they lack the appropriate search tools to retrieve these internal information sources. The result is that most organizations are inadequately prepared for appropriate corporate governance or legal actions. For example, in 75% of U.S. legal actions, e-mail must be produced as part of the discovery process, an issue that is now much more important because of the new amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) that took effect on December 1, 2006. This has significant impacts on the need to archive information, but also simply for the ability to search across all of an organization’s data stores to find the information you need to do your job. We recently wrote a white paper for Openfind, a company focused on enterprise. You can download a copy of the white paper here.   What do you think? Post a comment on this newsletter

TODAY'S MOST-READ STORIES: 1. IBM saves $250M with Linux-run mainframes 2. Nortel lands huge $300M VoIP win 3. Cisco muffles Linksys death knell 4. NAC alternatives hit the mark 5. Grid pays handsome dividends for HR firm 6. AT&T, IBM among winners of $50B federal deal 7. Online gamers' dirty little secrets exposed 8. IBM supercomputer more powerful than before 9. Hogwarts IT director quits 10. Apple iPhone battery complaints mounting MOST-READ REVIEW: NAC alternatives hit the mark

Contact the author: For webinars or research on messaging, or to join the Osterman Research market research survey panel, go here. Osterman Research helps organizations understand the markets for messaging and directory related offerings. To e-mail Michael, click here. This newsletter is sponsored by Meru Networks Get Up to Speed on the Latest in WLANs Easily stay on top of the latest developments and issues in WLAN technology, standards, security, telephony, management and more with Network World's latest Executive Guide, "Keeping Up With the Wireless Whirlwind." Click here to download! ARCHIVE Archive of the Unified Communications Newsletter. BONUS FEATURE IT PRODUCT RESEARCH AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details. PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered to your inbox each day. Extend your knowledge with a print subscription to the Network World newsweekly, Apply here today. International subscribers, click here. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World newsletter, change your e-mail address or contact us, click here. This message was sent to: networking.world@gmail.com. Please use this address when modifying your subscription. Advertising information: Write to Associate Publisher Online Susan Cardoza Network World, Inc., 118 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772 Copyright Network World, Inc., 2007