Lucidworks Inc. today introduced a cloud platform dubbed Springboard,that will make it easier for enterprises to add search features to their applications and websites.

Springboard will power a line of software-as-a-software search applications optimized for specific use cases, such as navigating e-commerce catalogs. 

San Francisco-based Lucidworks is best known as the maker of the Fusion search software. Fusion enables companies to add Googlelike features to their applications that help users find content using natural language queries. The software was used by more than 40% of the Fortune 1000 as of August 2019, when Lucidworks announced a $100 million funding round.

The startup’s new Springboard platform is also designed to help companies add search features to their applications. The difference is that Springboard requires less technical know-how to use. Springboard is a software-as-a-service platform, meaning that companies don’t have to maintain any infrastructure, and the platform can be set up by business users without writing any code. 

“Lucidworks has been solving complex search challenges for the past decade, and Springboard is our answer to what the market and our customers need in today’s digital-first environment,” said Lucidworks Chief Executive Officer Will Hayes. “The Springboard design philosophy is that high-quality search at scale should be easy for anyone to deploy and cost-efficient.”

Lucidworks will use Springboard to power an upcoming portfolio of search applications that will each target a different set of use cases. The first application, Connected Search, is currently being tested by a group of early customers. It allows companies to embed a search bar into their websites to help visitors find content such as product documentation.

Connected Search features deep learning algorithms that automatically personalize query results for users. Where needed, a company can manually customize the results to further improve relevance. Connected Search includes an analytics dashboard that business users can consult to find opportunities to optimize search pages. 

Lucidworks plans to launch a second application on its Springboard software-as-a-service platform next quarter. The application will be known as Connected Service and is set to focus on customer support use cases. One of the tasks that Lucidworks aims to simplify with Connected Service is adding search features to knowledge bases.

The third Springboard-powered application, Connected Commerce, is set to arrive in the fourth quarter. It will focus on the e-commerce segment.

One of Lucidworks’ main competitors in the search software market, Algolia Inc., has also been expanding its product portfolio with more specialized capabilities. The e-commerce market is a major priority in companies’ product roadmaps. Last year, Algolia introduced a product recommendation engine called Algolia Recommend that online retailers can use to generate more sales through their websites. 

Alongside the introduction of Springboard, Lucidworks today shared an update about Fusion, its original search product. Fusion remains the startup’s flagship offering and continues to grow in popularity. Lucidworks says the number of customers using Fusion in the cloud has nearly doubled over the past year, while average recurring revenue attributed to cloud deployments tripled. 

Image: Lucidworks