Update: This post is based on the Fetch & Retrieve prior to version 4.3, please refer to the retooled carbon copy on the wiki.

http://wiki.cerb4.com/wiki/Search_your_organization%27s_resources_using_Fetch_%26_Retrieve

“Fetch & Retrieve” — one of Cerb4′s more original names, not only has a nice ring to it, but is the perfect label for a very unique feature. Fetch & Retrieve is a tool for searching your organization’s existing pool of resources for answers, answers your workers can use when responding to customers. If you are a long time Cerberus Helpdesk user you are probably familiar with the basic concept already, but there is an important change.

One of the key differences to this edition of Cerb, is the expanded list of available resources that can be searched. Fetch & Retrieve has been improved to support many different types of web applications built outside the scope of the Helpdesk. Things like blogs, forums, wikis or any website where “documentation” important to your organization has been scattered about, can be effectively tapped into. The only criteria is the web software returns its search results in an RSS (XML) feed. While it may take a little bit of extra setup to add support for these external applications, the biggest advantage is you no longer need to copy all your important materials into Cerb4′s internal knowledgebase.

Now to make Fetch & Retrieve work, the only piece of information you need out of our existing web resources is a search adapter URL. These URLs usually take the form of your typical search query, fitted into an RSS feed. So here is a legitimate feed constructed, first, by doing a search on Google News for the term ‘Microsoft’, and then clicking the RSS button  .

http://news.google.com/news?output=rss&q=Microsoft

The only modifications you need to make this ready for Fetch & Retrieve, is to replace the search term ‘Microsoft’ with the generic term, ‘#find#’. The final useable URL would look like this:

http://news.google.com/news?output=rss&q=#find#

On the wiki page you can find a number of similar URLs to hook into some of the more common applications such as WordPress, vBulletin and MediaWiki. To start adding knowledge resources go to the ‘helpdesk setup’ page and click the ‘Fetch & Retrieve’ tab.

Once everything is configured, you can start using this searching capability as part of your daily routine. The next time a customer writes in, click the ‘Fetch & Retrieve’ button in your reply to search your information resources; any relevant text snippets and web links returned can be passed on to your customers. Just copy & paste anything useful you find.

When used properly, Fetch & Retrieve will give your workers answers to all but the most complex questions found in your Helpdesk. With the right setup in place, your workers can easily find important information that’s been piling up over the years, whether it’s spread out over your intranet or the internet at large. Don’t forget that this can help train your new workers as well — by giving them access to a wealth of knowledge documented throughout your organization’s history, they will be just as capable of responding to inquiring e-mails as your veterans.

A wise man once said, the more you know… the more you can answer.

-joegeck@wgm