Inktomi Unveils XML-based Search Toolkit

Search technology firm Inktomi Corp Tuesday released its Search Toolkit, an XML-based server tool targeting
enterprise Web developers.

Inktomi, locked in a high-stakes race for market share with upstart Google,
is styling the Search Toolkit
technology an OEM software for extracting data from structured, unstructured
and semi-structured content.

The software, which targets enterprise developers and systems integrators,
promises retrieve information within content-rich applications such as
content management, enterprise portal, CRM and commerce solutions.

The Foster City, Calif.-based Inktomi said the Search Toolkit would let
customers run provide a server-based architecture, open APIs and a
standards-based query language, allowing easy integration with most
environments.

Because the server operates as a separate process, the Toolkit would allow
valuable data within the application to be protected to reduce development
time and reduce system costs.

“As enterprise applications continue to build upon XML and evolve toward Web
services, it is critical that they include search functionality that is
fully compatible with XML,” Inktomi said, touting the Search Toolkit as the
first OEM software that delivers XML-based retrieval capabilities for
content within enterprise applications.

Inktomi said the Search Toolkit would provide the unstructured search
functionality of a keyword search engine, such as relevance ranking, natural
language search and filtering for various file formats.

In addition, it would offer XQuery-based structured query capabilities that
allow jazzed-up retrieval functions such as parametric searching and
retrieval of content based on a document’s structure. It is programmed to
return results that include references to documents as well as the actual
documents or fragments of those documents that contain the precise
information requested.

In a commerce application, for example, Inktomi said a user could find all
invoices that include “television” and “36-inch” dated after January 1, 2001
and return item descriptions and invoice amounts.

The latest product announcement is seen as Inktomi’s response to losing its
lucrative contract with America Online to rival Google.
America Online chose Google to provide editorial search results and paid
listings to its various search properties in the United States, including
AOL Search, Netscape Search and CompuServe Search.

That deal effectively ousted Overture, which had provided AOL with paid
listings since October 2000 and Inktomi, which provided editorial results to
AOL Search since July 1999. The Inktomi contract with AOL expires in
August.