Microsoft launches free enterprise search

Microsoft has announced Search Server 2008 Express, which will be available as a free download, and is said to combine simplicity of installation and ease of use with a powerful set of search features, including what the company says are new security-enhanced capabilities that help businesses connect to a wide range of information.

The company reports it has taken the enterprise class search capabilities of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and made them available as a stand-alone server for free. Search Server Express has no preset doccument limits, so it will scale to meet a company’s evolving needs. For users, Search Server Express provides advanced security and easy access to relevant, action-oriented results using a familiar Web search experience.

Microsoft has added federated search capabilities to the Search Server 2008 and reports that free connectors that index content from Documentum and FileNet are scheduled to be available across the portfolio of Microsoft search products in early 2008.