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How Sentinel Visualizer is Superior to i2 Analyst's Notebook
Background
| Whether you're in the intelligence, defense,
counter-terrorism, drug interdiction, law enforcement, research,
or other data intensive environments, Sentinel Visualizer will
amaze you with its next generation data analysis and
visualization features. In fact, it is so impressive that
InQTel,
the CIA's venture capital arm, is an investor in FMS and strong
supporter of our efforts to bring leading edge technology into
their mission. Analyst's Notebook from i2 has dominated the
data analyst market for years. And while the technology was
leading edge when it was first introduced in the early 1990's,
it's fallen behind technologically and fails to meet the
demanding needs of today's analyst. |
Convert your ANB files
to Sentinel Visualizer
Break out of i2's proprietary data format. We can
help convert data from i2 Analyst's Notebook ANB files
directly into Sentinel Visualizer. Contact us today to learn
how.
Contact Us |
To clear any confusion, this page summarizes the
significant advantages of Sentinel Visualizer over Analyst
Notebook. Discover why so many analysts are choosing Sentinel
Visualizer as an alternative to Analyst's Notebook for their
most demanding needs.
Committed to Supporting the Analyst
For over 22 years, FMS has created
commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software for end-users.
Philosophically, we strive to empower our customers to maximize
the value of their data, support the open exchange of data,
and establish trust. As are result, we have a different approach
to these critical areas:
Open Data Format
Sentinel Visualizer stores data in the industry
standard Microsoft SQL Server format using SQL Express on your
desktop or a network shared SQL Server database. We publish our schema and
provide both data import and export utilities. Additionally,
many of the results in grids can be copied to Excel or exported
to a file, and reports output to many formats such as Adobe PDF.
Analyst's
Notebook locks you into a proprietary data format and
intentionally prevents you from exporting it. We think this is
fundamentally wrong and a huge step backwards. You own the data,
not the software firm. Why would you voluntarily put your data
into a closed system? Important data grows and evolves over
time, and you may need it outside this program later. Don't lock
yourself in. With Sentinel Visualizer and SQL Server, you'll
always be able to grow with your data and extend it for other
missions.
 No Dongle:
We Trust You
Nothing screams "I don't trust you" more than
requiring a hardware dongle. i2's Analyst's Notebook forces you
to install a hardware
dongle in order to start the program.
Sentinel Visualizer does not requires a dongle.
We trust you'll abide by our licensing terms, and we are aware
of your challenging environments where a dongle is an
unnecessary and dangerous burden.
Modern User Interface
Developed with Microsoft Visual Studio .NET,
Sentinel Visualizer uses leading edge technology with a modern
intuitive user interface. The user interface is very intuitive
with right mouse click support, detachable panels, and
multi-monitor support. Multiple ways to display and
analyze data are all built-in and easy to apply.
Add Unique Pictures for Each Entity
Each entity in Sentinel Visualizer can have its
own picture that is displayed directly only your link chart to
let you better understand your data.
Entities in Analyst's Notebook are shown with a
built-in graphic by type (e.g. stick people).
Data Driven, Highly Scalable, and
Automated
Based on Microsoft SQL Server, Sentinel
Visualize is highly scalable with the ability to support
millions of records. Sentinel Visualizer starts from the data
and lets its analytic tools show you the results. Advanced
redrawing and layout algorithms make it easy to adjust your
network when new data is added or existing data filtered. You
can also switch between network views such as incremental,
circular, hierarchical, etc.
Analyst's Notebook lets you draw charts
but it's all manual and not analytical. It may work if you
already know what you want to draw, but it's not appropriate when you're trying to
learn from your data. Making modifications
when new data is added is a cumbersome and tedious process.
Filtering data is also a manual chore. Sentinel Visualizer helps you discover new ideas from your data,
not simply display what you already know.
Advanced Link Analysis: All Links Are Not Equal
In traditional link analysis, all lines between
entities are the same. But in reality, that's a poor
representation. Different types of links that should
be weighted differently (e.g. a brother relationship is very
different from two people who attended a meeting).
There are also implications based on the source. Sentinel Visualizer takes these concepts into consideration to create a
more accurate representation of your network. Relationships
between entities can be classified into types that you define
and weight.
You can also specify the
reliability and credibility of the source. What it all comes
down to is relationship lines that are probabilities. They are
not all equal. Sentinel Visualizer makes it easy to filter the
data based on entity and relationship types (e.g. I only want to
see people and their familial relationships). You can also
squelch data based on information
credibility (e.g. all data for general analysis or only highly
credible data for critical decisions).
In Analyst's Notebook, every relationship and line is the same.
It may have a different label, but it's not weighted and used for
analytic purposes. |
Sentinel Visualizer
Video Demos
Video 1 - An Introduction
Video 2 - Analysis
and Visualization
Video 3 - An Introduction to Social Network Analysis
|
Advanced Link Analysis: Shortest Path, All
Paths, Filtered
Sentinel Visualizer lets you select any two
entities in your network and show the shortest path between
them. You can also choose all paths to see how the two parties
are linked to each other. Then you can filter out everything
else. All with a few mouse clicks.
Analyst's Notebook doesn't offer anything
similar and requires manually redrawing the diagram. That's
another difference between a drawing program versus a data driven
system.
Social Network
Analysis
In complex link analysis and networks, it
becomes very difficult to understand what's really going on. The
science of Social Network Analysis (SNA) helps analysts decipher
the complex hidden relationship among entities to quickly
identify cells and connections between cells.
Sentinel Visualizer has SNA built into its user
interface. Calculate the network metrics and automatically
generate the SNA numbers you need for each node. Whether it's
degrees, betweenness, closeness, eigenvalue, hub, authority, etc.
the numbers are all there. They are can also display on your
link chart as color gradients so you can quickly identify key
players.
Sentinel Visualizer is the first
commercial Social
Network Analysis software program for the desktop. Be the
first to take what Ph.D.'s create in academic circles, and run
it on your desktop with a few mouse clicks. Take advantage of
the power of SNA to better understand your network, discover
hidden relationships, and find more actionable intelligence.
i2's Analyst's Notebook is not aware of SNA.
Integrated Geospatial Mapping
Geospatial tools are integrated directly into
Sentinel Visualizer. If your entities have geographic locations
specified, it can be plotted on a map. A GeoQuery feature lets
you select entities from a map based on a radius from a point
you specify and plot them on your link analysis chart.
Temporal Analysis
If you relationships have information with start
and/or end times, they can be automatically plotted on a
timeline. This lets you quickly see when events occur and for
how long. You can also filter on date ranges against the time
data.
Built-In Multiuser Capabilities
With Sentinel Visualizer, you can connect
multiple users to the same SQL Server database without buying
additional tools, libraries, etc. Modifications made by one user
can automatically be seen by others.
Easy Evaluation with Free Trial Version
A fully functional, and free 45 day evaluation
copy of Sentinel Visualizer is available. You can order the
product online and download it. We're also on the GSA
Schedule. No need to go through salespeople or individuals
concerned about which employer or territory you're in. We make
the process as easy as possible.
View a comprehensive,
side-by-side comparison of i2 Analyst's Notebook and Sentinel
Visualizer |
