In my posting IBM is Developing New Search Technology of 13 Aug 2003 I discussed new full-text software from IBM called Unstructured Information Management Architecture (UIMA). On September 13, 2003, the New York Times carried short piece reporting that IBM is introducing a new full-text service called WebFountain.
On its venture development web site, IBM describes WebFountain as “a new text analytics technology from IBM’s Research division that analyzes millions of pages of data weekly. Using this technology, organizations can access critical business information and uncover valuable insights that are otherwise difficult and costly to acquire by manual methods.” The IBM Almaden Research Center web site has some more information
This sounds very promising for both knowledge management and litigation support applications. Of course, as I have noted in prior postings, there are many interesting full-text technologies and evaluating them (and the cost-benefit trade-offs) is difficult. With IBM’s history of innovation, this bears watching for those in the legal market. Also note that IBM now is specifically serving the legal market, including litigation management.
Being the eager type, I requested about 10 days ago more information (i.e., a white paper) via e-mail to a WebFountain information e-mail address. To date, I have not received a reply, which is surprising, especially in light of a litigation management offering. Nonetheless, I will keep my eye out because the IBM Systems Journal has accepted a paper in preliminary abstract form that describes WebFountain.