4 Things You Should Know About Semantic Search

If you are even remotely familiar with the trends from the world of search, you would agree that semantic search is the latest buzz word. It is redefining search in a big way. In fact, it is the technology that changed the way we look at search and has drastically affected the level of relevancy and accuracy. So, how does it work and what makes it such a novel approach? If the concept really interests you, here are 4 facts that will help you discover more about it.

Before we move on to the facts, let’s have a quick look at how we can define it.

Techopedia defines it as follows:

Semantic search is a data searching technique in a which a search query aims to not only find keywords, but to determine the intent and contextual meaning of the words a person is using for search.

On similar lines, we have another definition from TechTarget

Semantic search is an approach to finding content on the internet that anticipates the intention behind the user’s query. The goal of semantic search is to provide the end user with the most relevant search engine results possible.

Now, moving on to the quick factsheet…

Fact #1: The concept Behind It

The definition of semantic search makes it sound like an intelligent technology that can understand user’s intent and the context of the query. So, how does all of it work? Let’s try to figure out…

Given below is a flowchart of the query analysis process of semantic search

Concept Identification|Identification of Sentence Boundary|POS Tagging|Chunking|Named Entity Extraction|Ontology Matching|Query Expansion|Sentiment Analysis|Consolidation

The process begins with concept identification which identifies the concept of the query. The sentence boundary detection recognizes the start and end of the sentence. Next, POS tagging tags the words in the sentence into their respective parts of speech. Then the words are matched with the in-built domain vocabulary (ontology) for a match. Next the text is analyzed for Named entities with Named entity extraction and they are next chunked together. Next we have Query Expansion in which the query is reformulated to improve retrieval performance. At this stage, it is decided which query will be shown higher up on the results page. Finally, the query is subjected to sentiment analysis and the consolidated and semantically rich results are presented to the user.

Fact #2: Application

Search can be classified into 2 broad categories – navigational and research-based. While the former is used to help the user navigate through a website or an app, the latter is used to fetch documents and information for a specific purpose, research being a primary example.

Semantic search has its application in research based search, and is highly relevant in two major domains today – medical research and enterprise search. Both these domains have a comprehensive collection of data that needs to be analyzed for information retrieval.

Needless to say, the every successful enterprise search tool and the tools used for research are based on semantic search.

Fact #3: Origin

Semantics is derived from a Greek word which means ‘meaning’. The semantic concept began in 1971 with Robert W. Floyd. The source of semantic search, as we know it today, is a result of the evolution of the semantic web that was built using the principles of ontology. It all began with a paper written by R. Guha published in 2003. However, it was only in 2013 that it saw its first application and it has created history ever since.

Fact #4: Biggest Advantage

The most rewarding experience of using a semantic search-based platform is that it goes on to redefine the user experience by understanding the intent of the user when he is typing in a query.

With its introduction, it has become not just possible but easy to deal with the large quantities of unstructured data that is common to enterprises. Even in the field of research, it has made it possible to dig deep and get access to more information than ever. In other words, it provides the user more information than he expects, thus increasing the user satisfaction.

Before we sign off, we shall leave you with another fact. It’s interesting to note that the most basic difference between semantic search and normal search is the higher level of accuracy that the former offers. It goes beyond the exact words you type in to fetch you results that normal search can never provide.

3 Mistakes to Avoid when it comes to your savings

Banking and savings can be considered two sides of the same coin. We all want to save money and it the number one money tip that everyone advocates and implements on themselves as well. Although this is all for good reasons too how it is possible is a big question. What should be the most appropriate way is still need to explore with every minute changing trends.

If one goes with conventional banking for having a savings account, the interest rate is a big issue while on the other hand Islamic bank speculation savings account is another way to explore properly for international account holders in UAE.

Cut it short, keep one thing in your mind that it is the most basic money management step that keeps you prepared for the most unexpected scenarios. For example, a sudden car breaking down, or you need to make an emergency trip, having savings in your account gives you peace of mind. Otherwise to come out of such big financial losses is hard to tackle.

However, saving is just one part of the equation and there are two other directions that give you the exact output to deal with this plan. First seeing it as just a lump sum of money you already have in your savings account, you should focus on the ways to keep it stable and save it from losing the potential value this plan can give you. You can take the path with two options as:

Islamic savings account with a Fixed Deposit
Conventional savings account with an investment plan
Choose which way you want because both are working in a perfect manner in the UAE region. To make sure that you can get maximum output through a saving plan, here are five mistakes you need to avoid when it comes to your savings.

Don’t have any idea about savings ratio
There is a variation in the savings options like if you are saving for your emergency fund, the general rule of thumb is to save up at least three months of your monthly income. While if you are saving for a UAE mortgage loan, at least you have six months’ monthly expenses so that to easily handle your loan installments without disturbing your routine based tasks.

Let me explain through an example, if your monthly income is AED 3,000, you may look at saving about AED 10000 for your home loan or a mortgage loan in the future then you must start by putting 10% of your monthly income into your savings account.

This is the most basic formula to manage your savings in a fruitful way. Most of the expatriates don’t have an exact idea and they informally get into a loan which comes into an ultimate result in the form of debt. So be prepared yourself with all outcomes so that to manage in a responsible and accurate way.

Avoid saving in an interest bearing account
In conventional banking, savings come from an interest rate system but it’s of no use because at the end of your FD, you will get a minimum amount. Always keep one thing in your mind that compounding interest makes the world go round – well, almost and in many similar situations.

Now the point is, how can we safeguard our hard-earned money from the ghastly inflation in critical situations? Very simple, you always put your emergency savings in an account that offers liquidity and high-interest rate. This is a variable method that can save you from the inflations period when banks have no other option but to cut down your interest rate. This is the only way to save your actual profit.

We would recommend you to take advantage of this feature from savings or current accounts offered by the banks in the UAE. In this way, you can also boost your savings. There is another way out in the form of multiple savings account. For example in a multi-tiered interest account, you don’t only protect your savings from the situation like inflation, but at the other end, you always keep working to increase your funds.

Use auto-billing payments
Most of the account holders don’t have any idea about the smart savings options in UAE they ignore the small things which can be used for savings. Like paying your bills isn’t part of saving, do a thing so? It’s wrong because making smart payments can save you money in many ways. Nowadays making payments have become increasingly easy through credit card and other online banking options. To complete this task you can even choose the option of making recurring transactions.

Suppose you are working with an Islamic loan in the Emirates and you have to make payments for your loan schemes every month. If you are using auto-billing options, you can save a lot. All these features help you to keep track of your payments at one side while on the other hand, you can make it safer for getting further into debt. There is a choice like making late payments through checks and other transaction options. Well, it doesn’t just incur higher interest costs but also affects your credit health, which will impact your credit application in the future.

In UAE, most of the banks provide auto-billing transactions without any fee and it can be done completely free of charge but some of the banks charged a little amount. Take note of these in a proper way and consider this extra fee will help you save in other ways like managing the loan sheet. While the cost of paying your bills manually could possibly be higher due to late transactions.

Conclusive point
As an expatriate, if you want to work for your savings plans, investment solutions or any kind of a loan option, the best Islamic current account might be an appropriate option. You should read all the terms and conditions applied to a scheme because this is quite unique as compared to the conventional banking system.

5 Questions to Ask Before Choosing an Enterprise Search Software

The exponential growth of data has given rise to the need for data management along with effective search tools that are designed to help organizations search key information from this ever growing heap of data. After all, collecting and storing data makes little sense unless you have the right tool to find the information you need and whenever you need it. The problem with organizational data is that a major share of it is unstructured, which makes it difficult to find relevant information.

New age enterprise search software have been developed to bridge this gap and to help organizations make sense of unstructured data and derive insights that help in informed business decision making. If you look for enterprise search solutions, you’ll come across many names and Coveo, 3RDi Search, and Inbenta are a few of them. Here are 5 key questions you should ask before you decide to invest in one.

Question 1: What is the type of data you need to search for most often?

Now, this one is the most basic question to ask. The answer to this question will give you an idea about the purpose of getting an enterprise search platform in the first place. Will your focus be primarily on data collected from various social media platforms or will it be data from emails? Before you go ahead and invest in an enterprise search software, take time to ask your employees about the type of data they need to look for most often. You might be surprised to learn that the requirements of your employees can be fulfilled by a basic software, even without the additional bells and whistles.

Question 2: Which are the locations where your data is stored?

Once you are well aware of the type of data to work with, the next thing to know is the location of your data. Which are the data locations your employees need to access most frequently? The answer to this question will help you get an understanding of the type of environment your enterprise search software should be functioning in.

The term for the location of data is silo, and a silo can be anything from file systems, records, data sets, the Internet or even a content management system (CMS). Your enterprise search platform needs to be configured in order to allow access to the nature of silos relevant to your business.

Question 3: What is the total volume of data you’ll be working with?

This question is important as it gives you an idea about the capacity hardware support required for the enterprise search software you choose. While most enterprises today deal with almost unlimited quantity of data brought in through various channels, it helps to at least set a number to the rate of growth of data, so that you know what to expect and get a search software that is configured accordingly.

Question 4: How Frequently is the Data Updated?

Does the nature of data in your organization demand frequent updates? Does old data get irrelevant once you have new data on board? The answer to these questions will give you an idea about the scope you should be looking for in the search platform you choose. It will also give you an idea about the extent of scalability the software should have in order to meet the needs of your organization.

Question 5: Who are the existing clients using the software?

Last but not the least, it’s very important for you to have the knowledge about other organizations that are using the software. Once you have shortlisted a few software based on the criteria listed above, ask the vendors for details of the past clients. This will help you know if the vendor has worked with a business similar to yours in the past and if the vendor has the required expertise to work with your organization. If similar organizations have been using a certain product for long, it will likely turn out to be a great product to meet your needs as well.

The Final Word:

Taking into consideration the points mentioned above will make it much easier for you to choose an enterprise search software that ticks all the boxes when it comes to catering to the requirements of your business. After all, it never hurts to make sure you’re investing in the right tool, isn’t it? There are tools available in the market for every need and budget and all you need to do is find the right one.