What's new and what's next with Microsoft Search Federation
Published Nov 02 2021 11:58 AM 12.8K Views
Microsoft

The new Microsoft Search Federation is now in Private Preview as part of the Microsoft Search product offering. New federation capabilities allow enterprises to retrieve their CRM content from their enterprise Dynamics 365, retrieve content from their customized Azure Cognitive Search index, also build and integrate their custom LOB search experiences, customized search providers, into the unified Microsoft Search.

 

Federated search is a key solution when you want to expose data from systems in Microsoft Search that may be subject to strict compliance requirements or where the systems data cannot leave the systems boundaries. In some other cases, sources with sensitive data that customer doesn’t want to be indexed on the cloud where data is on-prem to expand coverage for their sensitive data via federation. With federated search, you can make information from these systems available to search across in Microsoft 365 productivity apps and services, without indexing its data with Microsoft Search. 

 

Built-in Microsoft federation connectors 

Information has become increasingly distributed, and often these islands of information are near, but outside of reach. Microsoft federation connectors help you pull together information and insights from across Microsoft clouds, merging that information and making it available to search in your favorite productivity apps and services, from SharePoint.com, to Office.com, to Bing.com. 

 

Getting started with Microsoft Search federation is as easy a few clicks in the Search & intelligence admin center. You can quickly set up the connection to a federated source using one of the available Microsoft built-in federation connectors (currently limited to Dynamics 365, Azure Cognitive Search): 

 

Dynamics 365 Federation Search in Microsoft Search 

 

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a line of intelligent business applications designed for enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management. With Dynamics 365 federation, Microsoft Search provides a seamless search experience, enabling users to easily find the most relevant customer and business data stored in Dynamics 365. Learn more @ Manage Dynamics 365. The Dynamics 365 federation connector provides some key benefits:

 

  • Easy to administer: Streamlined process to configure and maintain the search connection to a Dynamics 365 instance.
  • Easy to use: Users can easily and quickly find key information stored in Dynamics 365, including accounts, contacts, open opportunities, and more.
  • Richer content: To make Dynamics 365 search results more useful, they include key information like leads, contacts, and account details.
  • Built-in data protection: Dynamics 365 results will only appear for users that have access to the connected instance.
  • Unified search experience: To maintain a cohesive experience, Dynamics 365 results are consistent across all search entry points. Wherever you search, you'll get the same results with the same look and feel.

Check out a demonstration here https://youtu.be/TH9QUkQoEJM.

 

Dynamics 365 answers in Microsoft SearchDynamics 365 answers in Microsoft Search

 

Dynamics 365 vertical in Microsoft SearchDynamics 365 vertical in Microsoft Search

 

The private preview for Dynamics 365 federation is now available! If you are interested in participating in the private preview, contact us at aka.ms/D365FederationSearchPreview.  

 

Azure Cognitive Search Federation in Microsoft Search 

 

Azure Cognitive Search is the only cloud search service with built-in AI capabilities that enrich all types of information to help you identify and explore relevant content at scale. Connect Azure Cognitive Search into the modern Microsoft Search to provide the centralized search place in the workspace without any data migration and heavy configuration.

 

Check out a demonstration here https://youtu.be/DaswIRCFdpU.

 

Azure Cognitive Search federation in Microsoft SearchAzure Cognitive Search federation in Microsoft Search

 

A private preview for Azure Cognitive Search federation will be available soon! If you are interested in participating in the private preview, contact us at aka.ms/ACSFederationPreview.

 

Customize your Microsoft Search Federation Provider 

In addition to federation with native data sources, federated search also provides a platform to empower you to build custom search providers for your own unique information sources. The federated search platform: 

 

  • Provides the ability to bring results from other Microsoft clouds, custom data stores on-premises, or other clouds by building and registering custom search providers that can be invoked for any input query.  
  • Allows custom verticals for domain-specific experiences and high-confidence answer cards in the All results tab, making your enterprise specific and custom data available in enterprise search experiences.  
  • Provides an industry-standard development platform powered by Azure Bot Service and Adaptive UX technology to build-once/enable across many canvases.  
  • Provides IT Admin controls that allow rich control and flexible customizations for your enterprise specific needs.  

The Microsoft Search federation provider allows you to search for information from external sources and bring the results to Microsoft Search as high-confidence answers. You can use the platform to integrate HR tools, helpdesk, IT, or any other external content in the Microsoft Search experience. 

 

Watch the demonstration at https://youtu.be/AZcOskBTwNU.

 

Custom provider with Microsoft SearchCustom provider with Microsoft Search

 

Microsoft Search Federation content will initially be available to SharePoint and Office.com, and then enabled across other Microsoft Search-enabled apps and services. This platform will be available in private preview before the end of 2021. If you are interested in taking part, let us know at  at https://aka.ms/SearchDevPrivatePreview .

 

 

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‎Dec 16 2021 09:54 AM
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