MarkLogic: The Army’s New Information Access Platform
August 13, 2008
You probably know that the US Army has nicknames for its elite units. Screaming Eagle, Big Red One, and my favorite “Hell on Wheels.” Now some HUMINT, COMINT, and SIGINT brass may create a MarkLogic unit with its own flash. Based on the early reports I have, the MarkLogic system works.
Based in San Carlos (next to Google’s Postini unit, by the way), MarkLogic announced that the US Army Combined Arms Center or CAC in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, has embraced MarkLogic Server. BCKS, shorthand for the Army’s Battle Command Knowledge System, will use this next-generation content processing and intelligence system for the Warrior Knowledge Base. Believe me, when someone wants to do you and your team harm, access to the most timely, on point information is important. If Napoleon were based at Ft. Leavenworth today, he would have this unit report directly to him. Information, the famous general is reported to have said, is nine tenths of any battle.
Ft. Leavenworth plays a pivotal role in the US Army’s commitment to capture, analyze, share, and make available information from a range of sources. MarkLogic’s technology, which has the Department of Defense Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, delivers search, content management, and collaborative functions.
An unclassified sample display from the US Army’s BCKS system. Thanks to MarkLogic and the US Army for permission to use this image.
The system applies metadata based on the DOD Metadata Specification (DDMS). The content is managed automatically by applying metadata properties such as the ‘Valid Until’ date. The system uses the schema standard used by the DOD community. The MarkLogic Server manages the work flow until the file is transferred to archives or deleted by the content manager. MarkLogic points to savings in time and money. My sources tell me that the system can reduce the risk to service personnel. So, I’m going to editorialize and say, “The system saves lives.” More details about the BCKS is available here. Dot Mil content does move, so click today. I verified this link at 0719, August 13, 2008.
The MarkLogic systems handles multiple languages, including Arabic. File size poses no problem to the San Carlos-based company’s technology. The metadata assigned to these types of documents, and the fact that content can be discovered and viewed page-by-page without having to download the file, allows discovery and use of only the relevant content.
According to MarkLogic, this particular application makes full use of the Army’s structured and unstructured content. BCKS is one of the first organizations to employ XML-based technology to deliver knowledge management to its users. The next step for the project will be to extend the MarkLogic solution across other units and to other agencies.
Mark Logic Corporation is a rapidly growing provider of information access and delivery solutions used by publishers, government agencies, and other large enterprises. The company’s foundation product is the MarkLogic Server. The Server is an XML content platform that stores, aggregates, tags, searches, navigates, and delivers content dynamically. Backed by Sequoia Capital and Lehman Brothers, MarkLogic is an outfit to watch.
What is important to me is that In addition to search, the system supports collaboration, repurposing, and discovery. More detail of the US Army’s use of MarkLogic are not available to me at this time. I will add this project to my watch list.
Stephen Arnold, August 13, 2008
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[…] ScottGu You probably know that the US Army has nicknames for its elite units. Screaming Eagle, Big Red One, and my favorite “Hell on Wheels.” Now some HUMINT, COMINT, and SIGINT brass may create a MarkLogic unit with its own flash. Based on the early reports I have, the MarkLogic system … […]