The components of the NXT 3 platform are the search engine, content syndicators, content adapters, security services, and the content server. Syndicators identify relevant sources of information and integrate them into a virtual repository. Adapters, which rely on XML, enable the engine to search any file format, whether it's HTML, XML, PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Java, database formats, or even, potentially, a library catalog. Security obviously provides access controls to the content, and the server provides the necessary linkages among all the interconnected servers contacted by NXT 3. The search engine includes such sophisticated characteristics as relevance ranking and filtering.
Users retrieve relevant information based on metadata as well as text.
Law's view of where the technology is going verges on the philosophical. Technology either backs up business rules or forces decisions. We think that the NXT 3 platform is more inclusive than exclusive. In fact, as Law describes NXT 3, he draws circles that then connect to other circles that connect to other circles. The number of circles included depends upon information needs at any given time and security concerns.