Palantir: The Next Big Thing
March 3, 2011
I just read “Facebook Investor Peter Thiel: Palantir Is the Next Facebook or Google.” Quite a write up. The story references the Forbes’ story “Super Crunchers.”
To bring myself up to speed I reviewed my Overflight information about Palantir. It is a busy, busy outfit.
First, the company landed $90 million in venture funding last year. If you figure a 10X return on investment, Palantir was a company with a $1 billion potential.
Will Palantir be “the next big thing”? Image source: http://www.penn-olson.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/social-media2.pn
Second, in late 2010, the company was embroiled in a legal matter with the pioneer in data analytics and data fusion for police and intelligence work. The allegations made by i2 Ltd. involved reverse engineering of the i2 proprietary file format ANB (Analyst Notebook). I don’t want to recover information so you can find my write ups about this at this link for Beyond Search and this link for IntelTrax, our data fusion news service.
Third, the Palantir organization was involved in the some muddled HBGary sales initiative. Some current information about this matter is at “HBGary Suspected Trickery.”
The Forbes write up and the recent item from the Forbes’ blog struck me as discordant. Here’s why:
First, Palantir generated traction via splashy graphics and basic data fusion functions. The assertions about Palantir’s technology as a platform upon which to build intelligence applications are not yet founded. Palantir is trying to move from US government centric products and services to the financial services arena. With $90 million, Palantir can move quickly, but I am not sure that the company’s speeding along has reached the definition. I am reminded of my children’s question when we drove from Washington, DC back to Illinois: “Are we there yet, dad?” The answer then and now is, “No, we are about half way.” Marketing makes things appear one way. Reality is a bit different.
A duct tape roof rack. Looks interesting. Source: http://www.myspaceantics.com/image-myspace-graphic/funny-pictures/duct-tape-roof-rack.jpg.html
Second, there are a number of companies with comparable or better technology than Palantir’s. The company that comes immediately to mind is Digital Reasoning. The firm does the Palantir trick of flashy graphics but—and this is a big but—has a platform called Synthesys 3.x. You can ingest disparate data, analyze it using quite useful, quite advanced analytic methods, and you can “see” where the key item of information is. Unlike Palantir, the Digital Reasoning folks are like a group of Eagle scouts. The team, based on my own observation, does not look for short cuts and avoids stomping on other firm’s systems and methods. If you are not familiar with Digital Reasoning, check them out. I am trying to wrangle another job with this outfit, but I have quite a bit of confidence in the technology and the people. No messy allegations, no out of court settlements.
Third, one of the most common errors made in analyzing next generation search is looking at PowerPoint presentations and crafted reports. The action is algorithmic, systems, and methods. When a person with some but not decades of experience in the types of systems used by law enforcement and intelligence agencies stumbles upon a vendor, the reaction is one of surprise. The desire to share the “insight” is high. The problem is that with experience the deeper values of systems emerge from real world experience, not from a crafted demonstration and a couple of interviews.
Check out the write ups about Palantir. There is quite a bit of interesting information about the firm’s business methods. A JP Morgan deal and a reference to some brush with HBGary is not the same as a figuring the plumbing and finding the dripping joints and careless soldering.
But if Forbes says Palantir is the cat’s pajamas, won’t most people agree? My view is that too many people take public relations as the Gospel. I am a bit more reserved in my acceptance of pronouncements from certain business publications. Are the legal hassle and the HBGary events a coincidence or an indication of business tactics?
Stephen E Arnold, March 3, 2011
Freebie and no public relations inputs whatsoever
The Need for Granular Search
February 25, 2011
Companies that use taxonomies for their business to business (B2B) sites could be in big trouble. That is, if we can believe results of a survey conducted by e-commerce application provider Endeca.
As reported in “The Evolution of E-Commerce,” the survey showed that people who shop B2B sites now expect the same personalized experience that shoppers of B2C (business to consumer) sites expect. Neither wants to sort through generalized search results like those returned by taxonomies.
The solution? According to John Andrews with Endeca:
“Websites … need to make use of much more granular approaches to tagging content in order maximize the Web customer experience. That will require in many cases new content management systems that make managing the relationship between all those tags a lot simpler. The increased nuances of e-commerce is going to push more companies to embrace a SaaS model rather than try to build it themselves.”
We tend to agree that there are better ways of structuring an e-commerce site than using taxonomies. We also agree that it makes sense for most companies to outsource the development of a content management system rather than tackling this in-house.
We have no problem with Endeca, but we feel that some of their competitors, such as Mark Logic, should also be considered.
Companies that use taxonomies for their business to business (B2B) sites could be in big trouble. That is, if we can believe results of a survey conducted by e-commerce application provider Endeca.
As reported in “The Evolution of E-Commerce,” the survey showed that people who shop B2B sites now expect the same personalized experience that shoppers of B2C (business to consumer) sites expect. Neither wants to sort through generalized search results like those returned by taxonomies.
The solution? According to John Andrews with Endeca:
“Websites … need to make use of much more granular approaches to tagging content in order maximize the Web customer experience. That will require in many cases new content management systems that make managing the relationship between all those tags a lot simpler. The increased nuances of e-commerce is going to push more companies to embrace a SaaS model rather than try to build it themselves.”
We tend to agree that there are better ways of structuring an e-commerce site than using taxonomies. We also agree that it makes sense for most companies to outsource the development of a content management system rather than tackling this in-house.
We have no problem with Endeca, but we feel that some of their competitors, such as Mark Logic, should also be considered.
Robin Broyles, February 25, 2011
Freebie
Protected: Proofpoint and Clearwell Blend Their Clouds
February 24, 2011
Lucid Works with Solr/Lucene
February 23, 2011
Lucid Imagination unveiled its enterprise search solution LucidWorks Enterprise October of last year. This platform is designed to enhance the Apache Solr/Lucene search engine experience by improving upon its operability thru the added components most missed in the open source application.
It also simplifies the GUI to make the software more approachable to the novice. The pricing structure seems to be garnering good reception, including a free downloadable version for development, test integration, demo and instructional use. There are also a several subscription packages to choose from if you require more support.
Lucid Imagination says:
“With the combination of speed, flexibility, application development depth and compelling subscription prices, LucidWorks Enterprise gives you unprecedented control over search. Smart defaults for developers and admins, innovative query parsing, application deployment and integration interfaces, security policies, faceted search navigation, more-like-this, automated user-driven results optimization, local search, and more, all combine to give your customers and users fast, high-quality search.”
I was pointed to an introduction to LucidWorks here. If you are looking for something more than a bare bones rundown, I would suggest the Lucid Imagination product page as well.
Sarah Rogers, February 23, 2011
Freebie
Protected: Taming SharePoint
February 23, 2011
Sinequa Change at the Top
February 22, 2011
Jean Ferré has stepped down from his position as Chief Executive Officer of Sinequa. Sinequa is a French-based leading vendor of enterprise search. He had been with the company since 2005. In “Good Bye Sinequa,” Ferré blogs about his decision.
He states, “I’m going through quite a change: after five exciting years managing the company, I’ve stepped down as President & CEO of Sinequa. I’m happy for the work accomplished and for the human and industrial journey it’s been.”
Ferré praises his colleagues and recalls many achievements while with Sinequa. Wanting to work for a larger organization, and in an area other than search, Ferré has yet to say specifically what his next step will be. With his success at Sinequa, many enviable positions should be available to him. Alexandre Bilger, the company’s Chief Architect Officer, has assumed control of Sinequa in Ferré’s absence.
Emily Rae Aldridge, February 22, 2011
Protected: Taming SharePoint
February 22, 2011
Pro Bono eDiscovery by ZyLAB
February 21, 2011
Free moves forward at ZyLAB. The company is expanding its pro bono record as ZyLAB Launches the Industry’s First Official Pro Bono eDiscovery Services Program. For participating clients, ZyLAB will donate up to 10% of purchased services, partnering with individual firms in order to lend processing power to pro bono cases. According to the write up:
“Recent reports have indicated law firms and corporate legal departments dug deeper to increase their pro bono contributions over the last year. We are pleased to give clients the option to partner with an eDiscovery provider that has a similar mindset and dedication,” said Mary Mack, Esq., enterprise technology counsel for ZyLAB . . . “This gives law firms and legal departments additional resources for pro bono impact cases without breaking the bank.”
ZyLAB is an industry-leader in modular eDiscovery and enterprise information management solutions. While the pro bono service will no doubt be an incentive to existing customers currently involved in pro bono work, firms will continue to pay for eDiscovery services as more and more evidence and information is found in electronic format.
Emily Rae Aldridge, February 21, 2011
Freebie
Protected: Scaling a Three-Tiered SharePoint
February 21, 2011
Compusearch Launches PRISM Business Intelligence Dashboard
February 18, 2011
Why search? Look at the dashboard.
“Compusearch Puts Mission- Critical Information at Agency Fingertips” at redOrbit announces the release of Compusearch’s PRISM Business Intelligence Dashboard. Users can now access information on key performance indicators from within the PRISM software.
This is not, however, a simple point and click search. For confirmation, just take a look at the Dashboard. As the article explains:
“This add-on module to PRISM provides the power to support a wide range of custom report style widgets with drill-down and drill-through capability, as well as robust data visualization features that can be animated and interactive. The PRISM BI Dashboard is based on an open architecture and utilizes XML and web services, which allows data and information from across agency enterprises to be easily monitored, analyzed and reported.”
Compusearch focuses on software and systems integration, mostly for government agencies. The hitch may be that if you look at the dashboard when you drive, you may run over a pedestrian. Is this a risk when performing business intelligence and analysis?
Cynthia Murrell February 18, 2011
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