What are Enterprise Software Solutions? Empowering Businesses for Success
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In retail, the search bar is not just a feature, it’s your silent top-performing salesperson. It guides customers to what they want, boosts conversions, and ultimately drives revenue.
But as your catalog scales and consumer expectations evolve, choosing the right search platform can mean the difference between loyal buyers and bounced sessions.
Two platforms dominate the conversation: Lucidworks Fusion and OpenSearch. Both are powerful. Both are enterprise-ready. But they are built on very different philosophies.
It is not just about features. It is about control, flexibility, and the cost of innovation.
Ask yourself:
This is where the two platforms diverge.
Lucidworks Fusion is a commercially supported search and personalization platform built on Apache Solr, designed for enterprise retailers who want:
Fusion is ideal if you want everything in one box, have the budget for vendor lock-in, and do not require deep customization.
Choose Lucidworks if:
OpenSearch is an open-source, Apache-licensed search and analytics platform, forked from Elasticsearch and Kibana, now governed by the Linux Foundation.
What it lacks in prebuilt personalization, it makes up for in:
Choose OpenSearch if:
The modern retail journey is non-linear. Shoppers switch between mobile devices, in-store kiosks, voice assistants, and social discovery. Algorithms that work today may fail tomorrow.
OpenSearch lets you build the search experience your brand demands, not the one your vendor allows.
As AI transforms search with vector search, chat interfaces, and personalized discovery, OpenSearch’s open roadmap ensures continuous innovation without proprietary constraints.
| Criteria | Lucidworks | OpenSearch |
|---|---|---|
| Fastest to deploy | Yes | No |
| Most flexible and future-proof | No | Yes |
| Built-in AI recommendations | Yes | No (buildable) |
| Full ownership and no lock-in | No | Yes |
| Lowest long-term total cost of ownership | No | Yes |
| Community-driven innovation | No | Yes |
If you are an enterprise with significant budget and need a fully working search solution out of the box, Lucidworks is a strong choice.
If you are ready to build your own search advantage, reduce long-term costs, and stay adaptable in a fast-changing retail world, OpenSearch gives you the keys to your own future.
Your brand is unique. Your search should be as well.
OpenSearch offers unmatched flexibility and long-term value, but many retailers hesitate because matching the advanced features of Lucidworks requires technical investment.
That is where RBMsoft comes in.
We help retailers deploy customized OpenSearch solutions with:
OpenSearch gives you control. RBMsoft makes it practical.
📩 Book your free Search Audit to see how we can deliver Lucidworks-level features at a fraction of the cost — without vendor lock-in
