The biggest challenge enterprises face when using a keyword based search platform is that a major portion of organizational data comprises of unstructured data. According to the Market Pulse Survey by SailPoint, over 71% of enterprises across the globe are not sure about how to manage unstructured data and the likely reason is that unstructured data is difficult to comprehend for a keyword based search tool. However, in today's highly competitive times, organizations can't afford to miss out on leveraging the data to derive key insights that drive business growth. In such a scenario, semantic search is the solution enterprises need today and so a wise decision is to invest in an enterprise search tool with semantic capabilities.

How Semantic Search Makes a Difference

Semantic means 'meaning' and semantic search is all about fetching results that are similar in meaning to the user's query. In other words, semantics is more about the context of the query rather than the actual words and phrases focused on by the traditional keyword based search. In other words, a semantic search platform is designed to understand the intent of the user behind the query and it is this concept that makes semantic search fetch far more relevant search results.

So, when a user enters a query into the platform, he/she gets results that include not just the exact words but also its synonyms and associated terms. The biggest benefit that semantic search brings is that it widens the scope of search and makes it easier to "bring out" information from unorganized data – something that is next to impossible using keyword search.

A new age semantic search platform like 3RDi Search has Natural Language Processing (NLP), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning as the key driving concepts. The idea is to "train" machines to understand the human languages in order to improve the interactions between man and machine.

Semantic Search Opportunities

Today you have enterprise search platforms that offer a whole lot of opportunities to enterprises to leverage unstructured data like never before. Here are some of the possibilities that semantics can offer:

1. The scope of search getting wider with the capability of processing natural language queries.
2. Building key business strategies getting easier with access to in-depth insights.
3. User experience increasing in leaps and bounds with the availability of precise search results in less time.
4. Enhanced business intelligence with access to insights hidden within unstructured data.
5. Improved relevancy of search results with features like geo-tagging for location-based results.

The Benefits of a Semantic Search Tool to Enterprises

A semantic search platform like 3RDi Search makes use of cognitive features to derive meaning from the query which revolutionizes the search approach with more accurate and highly relevant search results. Given below are some of the ways your organization can benefit from a search platform based on semantics:

1. Relevant Results in Less Time:
   This is of utmost importance to the enterprises because of the fact that enterprises deal with unstructured and unorganized data which can really benefit from this search approach. After all, when you have data from varied sources, such as email, social media, documents, pdfs, and even images, keyword search can be of little help. The fact that semantic search matches concepts instead of keywords/phrases, makes it easier to reduce noise (irrelevant results) and fetch the most relevant results, and that too in the lease amount of time.
   
   
2. Enhanced User Experience:
   A semantic search platform provides enhanced user experience as it uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to understand the user's intent and fetches results that are relevant to the user's query in terms of concept match. So, the user gets access to results and information that a keyword based search failed to reach as most of the enterprise data is unstructured. Also, semantic search tools come with integrated vocabularies for different domains for a faster search process.
   
   
3. Strategic Decision Making:
   Businesses today need to leverage the data for key insights. The information within the unsurmountable amounts of unstructured organizational data can be useful in strategic decision making that fuels business growth. A semantic search engine empowers enterprises for strategic decision making. It unifies the data from diverse sources to draw insights that help the business.
   
   Semantic search is getting more advanced but there is still a long way to go. Today, machines can figure out user intent alone, along with a few random pieces of information, such as location, search pattern and behavior. However, we are looking forward to the day when machines, powered by advanced semantics, will understand us like our friends and family do! So, the future only holds bigger and better scope for enterprises who believe in the potential of semantics.