Ardentia Search

Business Intelligence Company Enhances Search Application with Development Tool

Business intelligence solutions provider Ardentia Search offers NetSearch, an intuitive tool for searching and querying business information across disparate systems and applications. When the company decided to redevelop the application to increase functionality and enhance the graphical user interface, it evaluated a range of available developer tools. Historically, Ardentia Search conducted development work using open-source software, but it decided to replace this with the Microsoft® .NET Framework 3.0 development environment, which is fully integrated with Windows Vista™. As a result, the company has reduced the time required to develop new features and created a range of highly intuitive tools to help information workers search and analyse data more effectively.

Situation

The work I did looked very sophisticated. My colleagues were interested in what they would be able to do with these new developer tools. Ranjit Johal, Researchand Development, Ardentia Search

Ardentia Search is a leading provider of business intelligence, enterprise reporting, data quality management, and data retrieval solutions. As part of its business intelligence portfolio, the company offers NetSearch, an application for searching and querying complex business information using an intuitive, graphics-based user interface.

NetSearch is designed to help organisations integrate information from disparate data sources, including databases, content management systems, e-mail systems, file servers, and the Internet. Data can then be accessed online from any location, with no negative impact on the performance of networks or underlying applications. The technology helps business users understand customer data, improve the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, and reduce time needed to search and gather information.

While existing data-extraction and analysis solutions are often complex and slow, NetSearch helps users find, segment, and analyse business information effectively using a single, highly intuitive interface. The technology caters for non-technical users, allowing them to interrogate data effectively using a standard computer mouse. It offers: 

• A query tool, which allows users to search the large quantity of data spread across an enterprise in unconnected data sources that could include databases, content management systems, intranets, file servers, Web servers, or the Internet. 
• A Venn query tool that allows users to select different criteria—such as customer, product, and time—and drag the results over each other. This supports complex data queries, such as how many customers bought a product in the last 12 months or how many people bought a particular product last year compared to this year. 
• The cross tab viewer allows users to query data in two dimensions. This supports analysis such as how many bookings have been made by destination and by tour operator over a period of time. 
• The ad-hoc viewer, which combines free-form English-language searches with items selected from a list of current search results. Queries created using this tool can be very complex, so results are saved for future reference.

Ardentia Search historically only used open-source technologies to develop its business intelligence and enterprise search tools. In addition, the principal user interface to the NetSearch product was a client-based Java applet. When the company decided to rewrite elements of the product, including the Java applet, it investigated the capabilities of several competing development tools.

Ranjit Johal in the Ardentia Search Research and Development team assessed the latest Microsoft® developer technologies based on factors such as ease of use, developer productivity, and the quality of graphics features available.

One of the new technologies the team decided to take on board from this assessment was Expression Design. This is a program for managing images and importing and exporting data using extensible application markup language (XAML), which allows graphic designers to develop advanced screen designs and graphics and integrate them into development projects.

Solution

After this in-depth evaluation, Ardentia Search decided to adopt the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 development environment, which is fully integrated with the new Windows Vista™ desktop operating system. The Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 is the new managed code programming model for Windows®. It

Our mindset has changed with these new developer tools. We are focusing more on users because we can build new functionality more quickly. Ranjit Johal, Research and Development, Ardentia Search

combines the power of the .NET Framework 2.0 with new technologies for building applications that have visually compelling user experiences, seamless communications across technology boundaries, and the ability to support a wide range of business processes.

Johal says: “In the past, I worked with Microsoft technologies, such as Online Analytical Processing for Microsoft SQL Server™ 2000. Ardentia Search previously conducted all its development work using open-source software. I’d been out of the Microsoft world for a long time. What I found with Windows Vista is that the Microsoft world has moved on. With the Windows Presentation Foundation, an integral part of the .NET Framework 3.0, we can now do excellent things with graphics and use very sophisticated visuals in the NetSearch interface.

“The new graphics features of Windows Vista support animation and other graphical elements that would be impossible to design using dynamic HTML. When I saw this technology, I saw the future. When Windows Vista is rolled out on more desktops, people will no longer need to conduct the downloads typically required to support Java applets.”

Johal helped other Ardentia Search developers understand the benefits of Microsoft developer tools. “Open-source developers are sometimes sensitive about moving to Microsoft technology,” he says. “After I trained myself to use Microsoft Visual Studio® 2005 and the .NET Framework 3.0, I was able to show my colleagues some very nice animation work based on Venn diagrams. I also built some great three-dimensional effects into the user interface. While Java applets can look quite primitive, the work I did looked very sophisticated. My colleagues were interested in what they would be able to do with these new tools.”

In response to this initial work with .NET Framework 3.0 and Windows Vista, Ardentia Search contracted a developer with experience using Microsoft developer tools. The company has also created a roadmap for moving all client front-end development work to the .NET Framework. Microsoft Office SharePoint® Server 2007 technology will also be fully integrated with NetSearch to increase collaboration between employees.

Johal says: “I have already built a prototype for the new NetSearch release. As such, I can connect to the NetSearch search engine, select a search index, and view queries and results in near real time. I can also ask for and calculate intersect results and values on the client quickly and effectively.”

Benefits

Using the .NET Framework and Windows Vista, Ardentia Search has reduced the time required to create new, value-added NetSearch functionality. With the enhanced graphics capabilities of Windows Vista, users can make more intuitive data queries, overlay and intersect data sets, refine queries, and zoom into selected results with the click of a mouse.

Advanced Developer Tools
Using .NET Framework 3.0 and Visual Studio 2005, Ardentia Search has enhanced the end user experience. Johal says: “Our mindset has changed with the availability of these new developer tools and the extensive code libraries provided with the .NET Framework 3.0. Above all, we are focusing more on users because we can build new functionality faster.

“For example, when users open a dialog box within NetSearch, the parent window fades slightly, allowing users to concentrate fully on the box they have opened. When this is closed, the parent window is restored to its original state. This is a simple thing, but we would not have thought of incorporating it before because the extra coding effort would not have been economically viable.”

New Graphic-Rich Features
NetSearch allows users to click and drag elements and overlay data for complex queries. These functions are ideally supported by the new graphic-rich features of Windows Vista. Johal says: “Venn diagrams are now animated. Users can intersect and overlay data using intuitive tools and see the results of queries represented graphically. Some functions are also animated for the first time. For example, when users want to split a data set, elements are drawn to the right-hand side of the screen using an attractive animation sequence.”

Windows Vista also support new “zoom” capabilities in NetSearch. “Users can use our technology to query complex data,” says Johal. “When they overlay multiple data sets on top of each other, it can be difficult to see what’s going on. Now, users can zoom into and out of query results smoothly, helping them view and understand their data more effectively.” ~

More Suitable for Inexperienced Users
The new release of NetSearch will be more suitable for users without extensive data-analysis experience. Johal says: “Previously, building a complex data query required significant technical knowledge or even the ability to write SQL Server 2000 commands. Using NetSearch, users can now add queries using intuitive mouse-based commands, drag and overlay data sets from the side-panel of the screen, and view results in a graphical way. By clicking on ‘intersect,’ they can drill down to the NetSearch search engine and have results presented back to them almost immediately.

“Because all these functions are highly intuitive, we can now market NetSearch to business users that have little or no experience of traditional data-analysis techniques. These users will be able to get excellent results very quickly with minimal training.”

Increased Developer Productivity
Ardentia Search developers are working with XAML, a user interface markup language that allows graphic designers to develop advanced screen designs and graphics and integrate them into their development projects. Using this technology, designers can create user interface designs that can be used directly within Visual Studio 2005, which allows them to add business logic from back-end systems seamlessly into the front end.

Using XAML, Ardentia Search has increased efficiency across the development life cycle. Johal says: “We have been able to significantly increase development productivity. This is partly because the use of XAML supports the separation of design and coding elements and allows us to work in a more streamlined way. Now, a designer maps out the user interface, and this is passed on to a developer, who builds the required functions quickly and effectively using Visual Studio 2005. Much of the work can now be passed to the Web team as opposed to the old approach, which required developers to create mock-up designs for each page. With this new technology, the time taken by developers is reduced by at least 20 per cent.”

Enhanced NetSearch Value Proposition
Ardentia Search has added significant value to NetSearch based on enhanced end user tools and better presentation. As a result, the company expects to drive sales for the next release of the product. Johal says: “Our marketing department really likes the new iteration of NetSearch, which offers better tools for end users and a more attractive user interface. These improvements will help us increase our competitive advantage in the long term.”

Windows Vista
Windows Vista can help your organisation use information technology to gain a competitive advantage in today’s new world of work. Your people will be able to find and use information more effectively. You will be able to support your mobile work force with better access to shared data and collaboration tools. And your IT staff will have better tools and technologies to enhance corporate IT security, data protection, and more efficient deployment and management. For more information about Windows Vista, go to: www.microsoft.com/windowsvista

For More Information

For further information about Microsoft products and services please visit www.microsoft.com/uk or call 0870 60 10 100*. For hearing impaired customers with a Minicom contact: 0870 50 30 400*. *Lines are open 8am-6pm Monday to Friday. Please note Numbers prefixed 0870 will be charged at national call rates. For details of national call rate charges please contact your telecoms provider. For more information about Ardentia Search products and services, call +44 (0)1785 238101 or visit the Web site at: http://www.ardentiasearch.com/

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published January 2007