SAP taps search technology

Software maker SAP is using advances in search technology to improve workers' access to business data, including information pertaining to inventory, profits, sales and supplies, the German company said Tuesday. SAP, which makes software designed to help companies handle accounting, order taking and factory work, said it would release the new search feature next year with an updated version of its NetWeaver middleware software. The improved search capabilities return results an average of 10 times faster than before, the company said.

SAP has also beefed up its tools for attacking redundant and inconsistent business data. It has released a new version of its "data cleansing" program, called Master Data Management, that companies can customize more than previous releases, SAP said. The new release should also work better with data from different business systems, the company added.