Starlight Visual Information System provides sophisticated data acquisition, information management and analysis capabilities. Starlight XML Engineering Environment (XEE) enables the rapid development of custom information retrieval and processing solutions. Together, they retrieve, correlate and synthesize vast amounts of disparate data, automatically discerning non-obvious and hidden connections and relationships. Starlight then visually depicts the data and relationships in meaningful contexts with intuitive, easily interpretable graphical formats or pictures that enable users to discover vital information, rapidly solve problems, and make highly informed decisions in even the most complex and uncertain situations.
"Building upon the valuable feedback we've received from our dedicated user community and partners, we made a number of significant enhancements and added new layers of innovation to the Starlight platform," commented Ben Sommers, Vice President, Sales & Marketing at Future Point Systems. "Our users must keep up with constantly changing information environments and ever increasing amounts of complex data in a vast array of formats from a wide variety of sources. In this release, we focused on adding value with new levels of flexibility, simplifying data import, and dramatically enhancing overall ease of use."
"By raising the bar to an unprecedented level of advanced functionality, this new release of Starlight 4.1.1 further strengthens our position as a leader and driving force in the world of visual analytics," added Sommers.
About Starlight VIS and Starlight XEE 4.1.1
Enhancements to the new release of the Starlight product suite include:
- Starlight VIS Flexible Architecture—With version 4.1.1, Future Point Systems now offers the flexibility to run Starlight either stand-alone or connected to a Workgroup Server. Starlight VIS includes all the powerful features and functionality users have come to expect from the Starlight platform, but packages these features in a compelling new way. Starlight VIS now enables users to perform tasks with just the single Starlight VIS application, tasks that previously required a Starlight client, Starlight server and the XML Engineering Environment (XEE). Users still have the ability to connect to a Starlight Workgroup Server for advanced data sharing and to build new data processors with XEE, but those extra components are no longer necessary for the typical user. Starlight VIS greatly simplifies the procurement and installation process, while continuing to fulfill the core value proposition of allowing users to seamlessly work with a variety of data types to solve complex problems.
- Simplified, Robust Workflow Integration—One of the key differentiators of the Starlight solution is the ability to quickly and easily bring key pieces of data, from disparate sources and of various file types, into a single analytic environment. In Starlight 4.1.1, we have made tremendous strides to natively support most common data types and to greatly simplify the process of importing data directly into the Starlight application. For example, Starlight 4.1.1 now supports one-step import of PDF documents, along with Microsoft Office documents, including Excel, Power Point and Word. By taking advantage of new drag and drop capabilities within Starlight, along with simple copy and paste tools, users can now greatly reduce the time it takes to ingest and set-up data for analysis. This improvement in workflow efficiency enables users to spend more time working with visuals, testing hypotheses, and solving tough problems.
- "One-Click" Web Reporting—Once a high-value problem has been solved, it's important to get that information rapidly into the hands of key decision-makers who can then act on that intelligence. While Starlight seamlessly imports data and provides a compelling, visual-based user interface for analysis, another important new development in version 4.1.1 is the ability to disseminate key analytical findings via the web. Once analysts have employed Starlight's proprietary visual tools to reach valuable conclusions, they can now export those findings in multiple formats with one click to anyone with access to a web browser. The new Starlight web dashboard enables dynamic reporting of values, metadata, charts, graphs and other visuals. In addition, Starlight now integrates directly with Google Earth to support reporting of people, events, networks and other key relationships in a geospatial context.
- Knowledge Manager—The Starlight Knowledge Manager is a valuable new feature that provides a scratch pad for analysts to use in hypothesis testing. The Knowledge Manager offers a basic environment for semantic analysis, automated link charting, and a storage cache for key information or findings during the problem-solving process. The Knowledge Manager allows analysts to make notes and draw connections both manually and automatically as they work.
Inquiries about licensing Starlight VIS and XEE 4.1.1 may be directed to [email protected].
About Future Point Systems
Headquartered in Mountain View, CA, and with offices in Richland, WA, and Washington D.C., Future Point Systems Inc. was founded in 2006 in partnership with Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL). As a private commercial enterprise, Future Point Systems has been granted exclusive rights to develop and market Starlight VIS (Visual Information System), capitalizing on millions of dollars of government-funded R&D. Starlight enables users to visually manage, understand, and derive new knowledge from massive quantities of heterogeneous and complexly related information. The system is well suited for applications ranging from military and law enforcement to corporate, academic and legal use. Future Point Systems is supported by a network of value added resellers.