Oracle Faces Tougher Foes Than Google In Search

Oracle has taken the plunge into enterprise search, an area that has businesses trying to strike a balance between improved information access and fears of employees viewing and disclosing sensitive data.

While unveiling Oracle Secure Search 10g last week at OpenWorld Tokyo 2006, CEO Larry Ellison cited it as among the company's most important product introductions in years. Oracle touts the offering's ability to ferret out information from the data corners of a company, including internal E-mail, instant messages, mainframe files, corporate portals, and application databases. And it's designed to present data, such as purchase orders, in context of its original application.

	Can Ellison sell search with security? Photo by Jochen Siegle

Oracle positions the search engine as taking steps to avoid getting companies in trouble with data privacy laws and regulations. The search engine is designed to deliver results based on an employee's function and privilege level within a company, helping businesses meet compliance regulations that require them to maintain tight controls over who can access certain types of information.

The company best known for search technology was hit with privacy concerns last month, when Gartner warned businesses about a feature in the consumer version of Google Desktop 3 that lets users search their local files from any computer with Google Desktop 3 installed if that computer is logged on to a user's Google account. The service requires Google to keep indexed copies of files on its servers, essentially moving customers' information off-site. Google addressed some of those worries with Desktop 3 for the Enterprise, which has controls that let IT administrators turn off the controversial feature.

Google Desktop 3's capability to search desktop files is hardly comparable to the broad data search system that Oracle is offering or what IBM offers with WebSphere Information Integrator, OmniFind Edition. Google is trying to match those capabilities by partnering with BearingPoint and a number of software vendors, looking for ways to expand the business uses of Google search tools.