Searchplex

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CTO of IPRally

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

IPRally is the most accurate patent search engine on the planet.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Searchplex to accomplish?

• Audit our Vespa solution – are we doing the right things?
• Suggest improvements to our current way of doing things

SOLUTION

How did you find Searchplex?

Referral

Why did you select Searchplex over others?

• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Other

How many teammates from Searchplex were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Searchplex conducted a comprehensive audit of IPRally's patent search system built on Vespa.ai, hosted on Google Cloud Platform. The audit addressed performance bottlenecks and scalability challenges across five key areas:

• Custom Searcher evaluation
• Wildcard search solution review
• Patent data storage optimization
• Vespa infrastructure assessment
• Debugging and performance optimization

Key deliverables included:

• Detailed evaluation of all focus areas with identified issues and opportunities
• Specific recommendations for wildcard search optimization using Custom Searcher implementation
• Patent data storage optimization strategies leveraging family grouping
• Analysis of the external re-ranker pipeline with in-Vespa solution recommendations
• Debugging and performance optimization techniques
• Feedback on Vespa application schema
• Infrastructure assessment comparing self-hosted vs. cloud options, with a recommendation for Vespa Cloud Enclave Mode
• Separate cost quotation for infrastructure options

The audit provided both immediate fixes and strategic recommendations to enhance search performance, improve system scalability, and streamline operations, leveraging Searchplex's expertise as a Vespa.ai partner.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We haven't implemented any of the recommendations yet. Some expected improvements:

• Reduced wildcard query latency
• Lower resource utilization through optimized infrastructure
• Elimination of inefficient post-filtering processes

The primary outcome, however, was validation of our understanding of the underlying architecture choices and its tradeoffs.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Searchplex delivered a thorough and well-structured analysis within the agreed timeline. The report is comprehensive and addresses all the areas defined in the scope of work. Ravindra communicated well with us, was receptive to our feedback, and provided good suggestions throughout the work.

What was your primary form of communication with Searchplex?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Specialized knowledge about Vespa in particular. They have effective project management and communication.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Searchplex could have done differently?

-

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CTO of CuratedAI

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

LegalTech startup for privacy contract reviews.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Searchplex to accomplish?

• Add keyword search to semantic search
• Make the search faster
• Improve the document search algorithm

SOLUTION

How did you find Searchplex?

They reached out

Why did you select Searchplex over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Searchplex were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The consultant was tasked with building a retrieval system designed to perform legal searches across a vast collection of legal documents, with a specific focus on supporting Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). The system needed to handle multiple languages, allowing users to query in any language and retrieve results in the same language, despite the documents being in various member state languages. 

Additionally, the system was expected to provide real-time search results with minimal latency, making it suitable for legal professionals who require accurate and timely information.

Key deliverables included:

• Multilingual Query Support: The system needed to handle user queries in multiple languages, regardless of whether official translations were available for all documents.
• Legal Document Organization: The documents had to be presented in a structured manner, where legal texts were split into paragraphs for easy navigation and comprehension.
• Dynamic Document Updating: It was essential for the system to continuously update with new legislation and case studies to ensure the most relevant legal information was available.
• Search Functionality: The consultant developed both broad search capabilities for general topics and deep search functionality for specific documents that users were already familiar with.
• Privacy Considerations: Special emphasis was placed on privacy, considering that users may upload their own documents, including sensitive legal data.

At the time of the engagement, the system supported only English queries, and the document collection was limited to European legislation. The consultant implemented a Qdrant vector database hosted on a virtual machine using Docker containers to facilitate real-time search. Document updates were done manually through scraping and ingestion, and a Python script was employed to split the documents into meaningful sections.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Search precision and recall improved

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They demonstrated excellent project management skills throughout the engagement. They were organized, communicative, and responsive to my needs at every stage of the project. Deliverables were consistently met on time, and they provided regular updates, ensuring that I was always informed about the project’s progress.

Whenever new requirements or adjustments arose, they were flexible and proactive in addressing them, offering thoughtful solutions and accommodating changes without impacting the overall timeline. Their ability to adapt to evolving project needs while maintaining a high level of quality was particularly impressive. Overall, their project management approach contributed significantly to the success of the project.

What was your primary form of communication with Searchplex?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Ravi's flexibility in working with a startup and handling a fast moving enviroment and moving target. Ravi's passion for search.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Searchplex could have done differently?

Better communication over timings, very minor.