How Sentinel Visualizer is a Superior Alternative to Harris/IBM's i2 Analyst's Notebook

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.

Each entity in Sentinel Visualizer can have its own picture that is displayed directly on 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).

In traditional link analysis, all lines between entities are the same. But in reality, that's a poor representation. Different types of links 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 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.

Sentinel Visualizer also lets you take any two entities and ask how they are connected to each other through the number of links you specify. If you choose one degree, it will quickly retrieve and display all the entities that link to both entities and their relationships. Choose more degrees to see more indirect links. See the multilevel relationships that are extremely difficult to detect without link chart visualization and data analysis.

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.

Geospatial Mapping tools are integrated directly into Sentinel Visualizer. If your entities have geographic locations specified, it can be plotted on a map internally or with Google Earth. 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.

Sentinel Visualizer provides a powerful Temporal Time Range interface that hides or shows data based on a time slider control. Temporal Analysis makes it easy to see how networks form, change, and interact with each other over time. This capability allows you to spot patterns and predict actions and behaviors. The Time Range interface supports ranges down to the second level, and includes the ability to visually define time spans and ranges.

With Sentinel Visualizer, you can connect multiple users to the same Microsoft SQL Server database without buying additional tools, libraries, etc.

Modifications made by one user can automatically be seen by others.

If you would like more information on our products and services, or how to receive a free evaluation copy of Sentinel Visualizer, please request a free trial.

Sentinel Visualizer contains lookup lists stored in its tables which are fully customizable. Easily edit and augment the data to your situation.

Our services team can also build custom solutions to integrate Sentinel Visualizer with your data and existing applications. Please feel free to Contact Us to discuss your needs.