IBM Software
White Paper
Contents
1 Introduction
3 Who should read this
white paper
3 IBM i2 Intelligence Analysis intelligence analysis for over 20 years, the i2 Intelligence Analysis
Platform – A n-tiered product
3 Potential benefits of the i2 organizations efficiently and effectively translate data to actionable
Intelligence Analysis Platform
4 Key features of the i2 of many IBM i2 industry targeted solutions today, assisting commercial,
Intelligence Analysis Platform
14 Interaction with other
IBM offerings
14 Technical Description
15 For more information
and contacts
September 2012
IBM i2 Intelligence
Analysis Platform
Product Overview
Introduction
IBM® i2® Intelligence Analysis Platform is an extensible, scalable,
service oriented analytical environment that is designed to provide
organizations with access to intelligence when and where they need it,
so they can make faster, more informed decisions.
Built upon a product lineage with a proven track record of delivering
Platform is not just another database. Offering an enterprise scale
collaborative environment, the i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform helps
intelligence. In fact, the i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform is at the heart
defense and national security, and law enforcement organizations in
their efforts to disrupt criminal, terrorist and fraudulent activities.
The i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform helps organizations do this by:
• Providing advanced data management tools to collect, collate, and
consolidate data from various disparate sources for a richer, centralized
aggregated view of ‘analysis-ready’ information.
• Delivering intuitive visual analysis tools that allow all key
stakeholders to leverage greater insight from information and existing
intelligence products.
• Bridging operational knowledge gaps through a single, security rich
collaborative environment addressing both ‘need to know’ and ‘need
to share’ directives.
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Data Acquisition
Acquiring data and transforming it into ‘analysis-ready’
information is a corner stone to the success of your
operations. The i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform offers
options that are built on over years of experience of solving
customer data acquisition problems. These methods include:
• Data On Demand
–– Acquiring results from targeted questioning against
the source system.
–– Acquiring larger sets of working data that requires
further processing away from the source system.
• Data Load
–– Bulk ingestion of data stored in third party systems.
–– Ad-hoc import of data as it becomes available.
The availability of these different data acquisition methods
is intended to ensure that the correct model, or combination
of models, can be implemented to complement your
operational needs.
Exploitation and analysis
Regardless of whether you access information from within
the analysis repository or from third party sources, the i2
Intelligence Analysis Platform provides a flexible data-centric
model optimized for multi dimensional data analysis.
Modeling the world as entities and links, e.g. people and
their associates, the i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform has been
developed to honor the way operational team members are
trained to think, in order to:
• Simplify complex networks
• Detect non-obvious relationships or patterns
• Promote lateral thought
• Increase productivity
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This standard data-modeling approach allows users to exploit
and analyze information through a single thin client, reducing
the need and associated cost of multiple user interfaces.
Security rich collaborative environment
The i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform is a multi-disciplined,
enterprise offering designed to reduce the challenges
associated with collaborative working. Therefore, accessing
information and intelligence is controlled through a highly
configurable, fine-grained, and pervasive security model.
Using either the built-in tools or the security levels linked to
your organizations existing directory services, the configurable
authentication and user management model provides logical
segmentation of information based on:
• The clearance level of the user
• The user’s roles or groups
• The user’s need to know
• Any combination of the three-dimensions above
Because information sharing is so critical, the platform’s
security allows ‘sign posting’. ‘Sign posting’ essentially allows
specific groups or users to see that an item or record exists
while protecting any sensitive information contained within
the record.
This flexible security model enables analysts, and the
greater operational team, to work collaboratively across
organizational, geographical or political boundaries, sharing
information and decisions at the point of operation,
in real time.
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Configurable out of the box
The i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform is designed to help
organizations collect, analyze and share intelligence right ‘out
of the box’, but it can also be customized for unique needs.
The integrated, no-cost designer application allows elected
members of the organization to create or modify the
underlying analysis repository. This designer application was
developed with the end user in mind, so it requires no
technical expertise and should facilitate smooth transitions if
changes are required at a later date.
If your organization requires a more tailored approach,
however, the extensible service-oriented architecture,
messaging, and web services technology delivered by the i2
Intelligence Analysis Platform can provide various integration
points. This ensures that you can leverage greater value from
your existing enterprise infrastructure, thereby facilitating and
supporting existing work flow and practices.
Users may also integrate the i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform
with IBM® i2® Analyst’s Notebook® Premium should
they require more advanced multidimensional visual
analysis capabilities.
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Who should read this white paper?
This white paper is intended for:
• Potential users of the i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform such
as analysts and investigators. The document provides details
about the product and the potential benefits it provides.
• Managers or Team Leads who wish to learn more about how
their teams can use the application most efficiently.
• System administrators who wish to gain a high-level
understanding of the product and system prerequisites that
are needed to install and run the application.
i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform –
A n-tiered product
The i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform is a multi-tiered
offering split into four distinct components:
Intelligence Portal
The Intelligence Portal in the
i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform is a
web based application. it provides your
operational team with on-demand access to
the information and intelligence products
stored within the group analysis repository or connected
third party sources. This intuitive thin client presents a single
interface to explore and analyze information across disparate
sources, reducing the time and cost associated questioning
disconnected systems. Users can create, augment, and
disseminate information stored within the group analysis
repository to minimize potential data flow bottlenecks.
Additionally, alerts can ensure interested parties are notified
of any alterations to critical information and that the most
up-to-date information is in the hands of key decision makers.
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Application server Potential benefits of the i2 Intelligence

The application server is the main Analysis Platform
interaction layer between the Intelligence
Portal and the underlying analysis Smarter, more informed decision making across a
repository. This security rich layer ensures centralized aggregated view of information from
that Intelligence Portal users have the disparate sources
correct level of access based on authentication and • Obtain greater insight and produce richer intelligence
authorization privileges. products by fusing data from multiple disparate sources
through the use of data connectors.
Message-oriented middleware • Increase both speed and accuracy of manual data collection
This communication layer supports through self-tailored forms.
the delivery of messages from the client • Improve understanding of information management through
to the underlying infrastructure. the fine grained grading system that can be tailored to your
This in turn reduces the complexity organization’s needs.
of managing and extending i2 Intelligence • Retain and track the provenance of information gathered
Analysis Platform deployments that span more complex from various sources for a more in-depth understanding of
operating environments. an items aggregated view.
• Leverage valuable insight into operational development
Group Analysis Repository through intelligence governance.
A group analysis repository sits at the heart
of the i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform, Improved situational awareness across the
storing quality information and intelligence. operational community through on-demand intuitive
Wrapped in a security-rich environment, analysis and visualization tools
this repository also promotes collaboration • Gain access to the latest information with a live connection
across the operational team and reduces the need for data to the supplying source.
silos. Advanced data management features within the • Ensure information is immediately at hand across the
repository facilitate the collection, collation, and consolidation operational team with this dedicated client.
of information from various and disparate sources for a richer, • Reduce time spent on discovering pertinent results across
aggregated view of ‘analysis-ready’ information. In addition, structured and unstructured information with exact and
on-the-fly indexing allows all key stakeholders across the fuzzy matching.
operational teams to access information as and when required. • Minimize the need for post processing activities by using
The analysis repository’s schema is designed to be easily visual queries to help quickly performing pattern analysis
created or modified by non-technical personnel in order to • Efficiently pin-point, save, and share relevant findings to
accommodate changing needs and situations and remain support operational needs by applying user-configured lenses
relevant to ongoing operations. across results.
• Quickly identify and understand the network of related
information and see the ‘big picture’ by visually exploring
interconnected items.

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Increase efficiency and effectiveness by bridging Key features of the i2 Intelligence

operational knowledge gaps through a single,
security-rich collaborative environment
Analysis Platform
• Alleviate bottlenecks as all members across the operational
Analysis Repository Schema Designer
team can access information at the time of need.
The i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform is supplied with a
• Reduce educational ramp up time, costs, and skill fade with a
schema designer application to create the underlying data
single user interface across the operation team.
model used within the analysis repository. The schema
• Support collaborative working by storing user’s work in
designer is intended to be used by those within your
progress comments alongside information and intelligence
organization who understand how the operation data
products as they develop over time.
should be modelled so it is ‘analysis-ready’. This application
• Reduce duplication of effort as information can be shared
is designed to be easy to use and work as a standalone, so
and reused across the operational team.
users can design their schema without calling upon the
• Stay informed of key operational changes for improved
IT department or third-party consultants.
situational awareness and more informed decision making.
• Logically compartmentalize, hide, or signpost sensitive The initial design phase does not require a fully deployed
information according to user permissions; honoring both i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform, allowing the schema to be
‘need to know’ and ‘need to share’ directives. created in parallel or in advance of the rest of the deployment.
Schema templates are provided as a starting point to help you
Help minimize cost of ownership by integrating and
scales with existing business infrastructure get up and running quickly. Entity and link types together
• Ensure that the underlying data schema remain relevant with their properties can be adapted or removed within these
to evolving intelligence picture through the built-in templates so they can be honed to your needs. The schema’s
schema designer. health is constantly monitored and advises where problems
• Create custom extensions and data acquisition connectors have been identified before it becomes operational.
through the Developer Essentials Toolkit to suit
deployment requirements.
• Use the client and server configurations to meet both user
and business needs.
• Leverage the value of information in the analysis repository
to new or extended teams through the creation of custom
clients and/or services.
• Reduced cost of ownership with a scalable architecture
that can holistically grow alongside your intelligence
analysis needs.

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To facilitate the creation of a tailored schema to meet your
needs there are fourteen user-defined property types. These
types include: text, pick lists, Boolean, binary, data and time,
and number. Properties can be grouped together to enhance
their meaning when presented to the user, for example, a
group of full names can be created and include property fields
for title, given name, middle name(s), and family name.
Once the schema is being used within a live deployment of
the i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform, the schema designer can
be used to augment the data model as needs alter over time.
Some operations will not be available, such as delete, to
protect the integrity of the data.
Language specific fuzzy matching support
The i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform is designed to support
the storage of multiple languages to support multi-cultural
working environments. Transcribed and native data can be
stored alongside each other to help enhance data integrity.
In order to support searching across the preferred business
language, the i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform is supplied
with a number of language specific term libraries.These
libraries are used in conjunction with the real-time indexing
service to provide rich fuzzy and name-variant matches in the
results. Libraries can be added or updated to further enhance
matches and discovery of similar or related words.
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In addition, a stop word list is provided to exclude the
indexing and searching of common punctuation words such
as ‘and’. This list also includes punctuation. Depending on
the needs of the users or business this stop list can be
augmented accordingly, helping to ensure that nothing is
missed, the system is not overloaded, or results are not
returned where punctuation marks may have different
cultural meaning.
Configurations & Settings
During initial deployment, or as part of on-going
maintenance, server-side and client-side performance can be
fine-tuned to balance the needs of the business and the user.
More than thirty server-side settings can be configured to
tailor the command service, document store, messaging
service, event processing, and search service. This level
of configuration helps to ensure a scalable and robust
infrastructure based on your operating environment.
In addition, to maintain client-side performance, ten
client-side parameters can be tuned across requests sent to
the server and timeouts. This helps ensure that the right
information is available at the right time.
Data collection and collation
Once set up is complete, you can quickly populate the
i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform with data, information, and
intelligence products. Successful investigation and analysis
requires the ability to effectively store, manage, and translate
large volumes of disparate data to information, and ultimately
actionable intelligence products. Regardless of the quality of
the data you are working with the i2 Intelligence Analysis
Platform is designed to be easy to populate.
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Working data and bulk ingestion
The principle reason for ingesting data sets into the
i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform is to make it available in a
common IBM i2 format (i.e. Entity Link Property).
This helps enable data analysis and exploitation across
IBM i2 Analysis products and reduces any duplication of
effort spent on questioning the supplying data source.
When ingesting data through the supplied data acquisition,
you have the choice to ingest directly to the analysis
repository or to another persisted data structure, referred to
as ELP Stage. The choice of which target is selected is based
on the quality of the data that is being ingested and whether
it needs to be aggregated with other sources.
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High quality relatively low volume data that could be classed
as intelligence could be ingested into the analysis repository
using data Load Direct. More raw “working Data” can be
ingested to an ELP stage. There can be multiple ELP stage
data structures in an i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform
deployment; whereas there is only one analysis repository.
Creation of developed information
Within the i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform the primary
location for good quality information and intelligence is the
group analysis repository. There are three modes for creating
and augmenting information:
• Manually, through user-defined forms. There can be many
tailored data entry forms per entity/link. The creation of
the forms is driven by the user and helps support faster data
entry as only the required fields are visible for that task.
• On demand through the Intelligence Portal for data stored
in connected third-party systems. All of the search and
visualization tools available in the Intelligence Portal can
be leveraged to identify pertinent information. Once
identified the information can be ingested into the analysis
repository in a single click. Being able to access other
systems on demand reduces the associated cost having to
manage and duplicate information unnecessarily.
• Ad-hoc importing through i2 Analyst’s Notebook Premium
provides the collection of information stored and transferred
in structured flat files such as .xls, .csv, and .txt. If required,
this intuitive importer allows information to be cleansed
and transformed to help ensure the best quality prior to
loading. Import specifications can be saved and shared
amongst i2 Analyst’s Notebook Premium users to reduce
repetitive tasks.
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Regardless of the method of data entry into the analysis
repository, the infrastructure proves:
• a lossless environment
• maintains reference back to the originating source, and;
• retains history of how items developed over time
Information contained on items is stored on cards. Each card
is a reflection of the available data from any given source at
any given time. Multiple cards can be stored on any single
item. Cards can be used to contain corroborative or even
contradictory values. In addition, multiple property values,
such as alias, can be stored on a single card to help ensure
that all of the relevant information is captured. Not having
to decide at the time of entry what should be kept or
removed leads to a richer item and ultimately enhanced
analysis and reporting.
Controlling data access
As the i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform is intended for the
operational team, access to the data stored in the group
analysis repository may need to be controlled. Regardless
of the method to collect the information, security templates
can be defined to prevent access to sensitive material.
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This can be governed by compartment, role, or clearance
level. Once these templates are defined the data can be tagged
accordingly. To support ‘need to know’ and ‘need to share’
directives, information can be signposted, or cloaked, allowing
items to be discoverable without leaking any further
information. Notes can be placed on these items stating why
this information is unavailable and providing guidance on who
to contact for more detail.
Exploitation and analysis
There are a variety of tools that help users search, explore,
and analyze the information that is stored within the i2
Intelligence Analysis Platform. Many of these tools can be
applied to connected third-party data sources. This provides
a single point of entry for information discovery and helps
minimize the complexity of having to find non-obvious
connections and patterns across an otherwise disconnected
operational environment.
There are four main features used to comprehensively
question information and intelligence products, each being
tailored to a specific starting point for the user.
• Text Search - styled as a simple search bar, provides a single
search across all records, documents, and charts stored
within the analysis repository or connected third-party
sources. This mode of searching helps the user save time
during the initial discovery, when a key word or phrase is
known. Employing both exact and fuzzy matching criteria
makes allowances in the text search for typing mistakes,
erroneous punctuation, spelling mistakes, and name variants.
This is ideal for searching across any data store where human
error may be a factor when creating data. Results employ
highlighting and additional context for a greater
understanding of why it matched the original search term to
help the user assess the results. To reduce any potential noise
coming back from the search, the user can run a pre-filter to
target preferred items of interest.
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• Browse – used when more is known about the
characteristics of an item rather than a key word or phrase.
All records of any given entity or link type are listed. A user
can interactively select pertinent properties, which are added
as columns, to further enrich the context of the browse being
conducted. Once all properties of interest are added, patterns
within the data are easily identifiable. Sorting and filtering
operations can then be undertaken to pin-point records of
interest. When browsing links, relevant information from the
entity types at either end can also be added to the list. This
adds a further dimension to facilitate greater understanding
of the information.
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• Property search – designed to quickly analyze entity or
link types in greater detail. Through targeting values
contained in identified properties, users have a more
granular approach to questioning information. When
analyzing a single entity type, any given property, or
combination of properties, can be built to represent a
relatively complex set of conditions. As the properties can
be of various data types, the operators used in conjunction
with the value varies. For instance, a text data type will allow
operators such as ‘equal to’, ‘starts with’, or a smart (fuzzy)
match; whereas a date time field will present the user with
same as, before, after, and between, and so on. This allows
greater flexibility when building the profile of a question.
Properties can be used in the same way when questioning
links. In addition, the user can also use entities at either end
to constrain the question further. By way of an example, a
property search could be constructed to find what property
certain individuals have owned or been in possession of
within a specified time. This may be anything ranging from
a dwelling, a communication device, or a vehicle. These
searches are quickly created and often present the user
with a tailored set of results for further analysis.
• Visual query – this is the most powerful analysis feature in
the i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform tool kit. This query
method allows users to simply draw a visual shape of their
question. Single entities to complex networks containing
indirect relationships can be defined without the need to
learn complex query languages. As with property search, any
number of properties can be assigned to entity and link
types, helping to hone the results.
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Query definitions can be saved for reuse and shared across the
operation community to reduce duplicating effort. Like other
items stored in the analysis repository, permissions can be
placed on the definitions or similar queries can be grouped
to assist with their management.
Understanding and collating results
Regardless of where the information is stored and the
analysis method used, results are returned to the user
through a common results grid. The results grid has three
main competencies: the facet view, the results area, and the
summary pane. The facet view groups results by their
underlying entity and link types in order to quickly identity
a high level view of where and how many hits the search has
found. The results area dynamically updated depending on
the desired level of detail.
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For instance, when doing high level assessments the results
are populated with highlighted matches together with
additional context. This is especially useful for quickly
assessing fuzzy matches. When an entity or link type is being
assessed in more detail the results area takes on a grid view
with properties of interest becoming columns.This mode
benefits from common sorting and filtering features found in
many spread sheet applications, accelerating post-processing
tasks. Finally, when an item of interest is selected in the
results area a summary is presented to the user. This provides
an overview of other additional information about the record.
Once key records have been identified additional context
can be garnered from assessing connected information
through the in-built web visualization. From within the
Intelligence Portal records can be visually expanded to find
direct and non-direct connections to other information.
This visual exploration helps to undercover otherwise hidden
or non-obvious connections. When more than a single item is
explored, commonality across networks is readily identifiable.
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This method of enriching ones understanding of an item is

extremely powerful across connected third party data sources
where structure may not be well understood. Visualized
records can be copied from the third-party source directly to
the analysis repository in a single click. This provides the
user with a very controlled approach to data acquisition and
reduces unnecessary noise entering a vetted store.

Information stored in the analysis repository related to a

specific operation or piece of analysis can be collated in a set.
Entities and links can belong to more than one set. You can
use a set as a simple list of records to help you track your
analysis. Alternatively sets can be used to support further
analysis; as a source of records to control the results returned
from most exploitation and analysis tools.

All or any combination of changes to an item’s properties,

permissions, additional connections, or a deletion will notify
subscribed users. Alert feeds can also be collectively applied
to records contained in a set. This provides the added benefit
of notifying users when items have been added or removed
from a group. Users are able to view the list of alerts which
contain a summary. It also provides a quick link to open the
history of a record for a more detailed review with regards
to specific alterations.

Reporting functions, such as export and print, provide quick

Staying informed and disseminating findings
In a collaborative environment, the development and
availability of information and intelligence relies on
communication and team work. That’s why the i2 Intelligence
Analysis Platform includes alerting features. These features
enable all stakeholders in the intelligence analysis cycle,
whether front-line, back office or management, to stay on
top of alterations made to identified records and collaborate
on new information.
ways of getting important information from the Intelligence
Portal. The results grid provides a fast way to output
information to a comma separated variable file format,
allowing it be ingested into most applications for easy
dissemination or further questioning. Properties pertaining
to a group of records can be turned on or off at the user’s
discretion to help ensure that no unnecessary information
is exported. Cards can be printed for any given item.
Properties together with source information fields are
printed to give a complete picture. In addition, pre-set
headers and footer that capture who, where, and what time
printing occurred for accountability.

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Interaction with other IBM offerings
Optional Rich Desktop Client
i2 Analyst’s Notebook Premium can be used as a rich
desktop client for the i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform.
Built on the award winning i2 Analyst’s Notebook,
this optional rich desktop client can be employed to cater
to advanced data management, multi-dimensional visual
analysis, and dissemination needs for the more experience
analyst or investigator. This familiar interface allows users to
easily uncover and visualize relationships, pathways, and
networks across all data types in greater depth; producing a
complete operational picture that is understood and used
worldwide by leading intelligence analysis organizations.
At the heart of IBM i2 solutions targeted at
specific industry needs:
• IBM i2 Fraud Intelligence Analysis
IBM® i2® Fraud Intelligence Analysis helps reduce the time,
costs and complexity associated with fraud detection and
investigation. It creates patterns, links and relationships from
vast, disparate data sets, enabling organizations to rapidly
identify and disrupt fraud and misuse. i2 Fraud Intelligence
Analysis works across multiple systems and processes to help
protect an organization’s reputation and revenue.
For more information, visit:
http://www-03.ibm.com/software/products/us/en/
fraud-intelligence-analysis/
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• IBM i2 Intelligent Law Enforcement
Law enforcement software enables agencies to generate
actionable insights that can help reduce crime and improve
public safety. IBM® i2® Intelligent Law Enforcement
integrates analysis, lead generation and communication
technologies to provide a holistic view of data for policing
and partner agencies. i2 Intelligent Law Enforcement
delivers cost-effective crime investigation and reduction
capabilities throughout the organization.
For more information, visit:
http://www-03.ibm.com/software/products/us/en/
intelligent-law-enforcement/
• IBM i2 National Security and Defense Intelligence
IBM® i2® National Security and Defense Intelligence
helps customers carry out interoperable intelligence
exploitation, providing, within a scalable and secure
architecture, comprehensive data acquisition capability,
multi-faceted intelligence analysis tools, mission decision
making and situational awareness capabilities, and multi-
agency and partner collaboration capabilities.
For more information, visit:
http://www-03.ibm.com/software/products/us/en/
national-security-defense-intelligence/
Extending across the wider IBM software portfolio
• IBM Content Analytics can be used to connect the
i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform to unstructured data inputs
that users have gathered to uncover deeper, relevant insights
from e-mail, unstructured reports, and social networks.
• IBM SPSS can be used to inform forward-thinking
operational planning with advanced analysis for optimizing
daily tasks and resource allocation.
• IBM InfoSphere Identify Insight can be used to help resolve
identities of individuals from layers of complex information.
• IBM Case Manager may be used to provide case and content
management as well as case-ready reporting.
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Figure 1: Simplified view of architecture
Technical Description
Product Architecture – Command Query
Responsibility Segregation (CQRS)
The i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform is a multi-tier client /
server system split into four main components: the web
application on which the Intelligence Portal executes, the
Application Servers spread across the read-side (query) and
write-side (command), Message-oriented middleware, and a
number of services and data stores that retained in a database
and collectively known as the analysis repository.
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Web Application
The primary client for the i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform
is the Intelligence Portal. This this client utilizes leading
Web technology such as the latest Microsoft Silverlight
and HTML5 providing a visually rich and easy to use
environment for the end user. It is designed to be adopted
widely across the organization by providing both simple
and more advanced functions across data entry, visual
exploration and analysis, and dissemination, together
with alerting features.
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Information, searching techniques, and intelligence products
can all be shared with other users across the operational
community and access is governed by the authentication and
authorization profiles of your business. The Intelligence
Portal is a shared component in the optional rich desktop
application, i2 Analyst’s Notebook Premium. This provides a
common working environment regardless of point of entry to
the data and presenting the right tools to those individuals
with the right skill set.
Application Server
WebSphere Application Server is provided to host and
manage the requests from the Intelligence Portal and enables
the necessary security interaction. Utilized in both the Query
and Command sides of the CQRS architecture, WebSphere
Application Server is facilitates the capture of all data changes
(events) in a lossless manner, whilst being able to reduce the
load placed on the information stored when being analysed by
the operational team. The Query and Command sides of the
architecture can be optimized for performance and scalability,
depending on the changing business needs.
To help ensure correct access to the application and
information, authentication and authorization profiles can be
managed in one of two ways, either:
• through the inherent flexible security model available within
WebSphere Application Server, or
• through WebSphere Application Server’s directory services
connectors to link to your organization’s enterprise model
which will help reduce management costs.
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Message-Oriented Middleware
WebSphere MQ manages the asynchronous transmission
of messages from the Command to the Query side of the
architecture no matter how distributed the infrastructure.
To prevent the loss of any messages and the system becoming
unresponsive, appropriate messages are batched and seeded
onto WebSphere MQ. At any time, should the destination of
the message become unavailable, the message will be retained
and delivered once service is resumed. This helps reduce
associated down-time costs and facilitates continuous
working after disruption.
Database
IBM DB2 Workgroup Edition is the database supplied to
retain the information and intelligence products found in
the group analysis repository. The data stores together with
associated indexes from the Query and Command sides of
the i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform are stored within DB2.
The information and intelligence products is captured in a
relatively agnostic state which helps enable a variety of
database technologies to be used beyond DB2 Workgroup
Edition to match your business requirements.
Data Acquisition framework
The data acquisition framework provides an API that
allows those developing a data acquisition extension to the
i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform a flexible and extensible
route for acquiring data for analysis. The non–prescriptive
and wide set of options means that each i2 Intelligence
Analysis Platform deployment can be tailored to match the
user’s requirements, data source use, and any technical
constraints. The architecture has been designed in a way
that allows many data acquisition services to be implemented
with minimal impact to performance. The nature of the
design also means there are few constraints on the supplying
data sources.
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Information supplied from the third party data source needs
to be transformed to a XML format in order to map to the
i2 Intelligence Analysis Platforms schema.
Other items worth noting are:
• Provenance Support – Items can be assigned provenance
as they are acquired – Allowing users to see where the
items they are working with originated from and giving
the i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform the information for
retrieving further information such as showing connected
items (expand).
• Security model support – items can be assigned security
on the way in to the i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform.
• Support for further extensions should the deployment
require - such as applying Grades to items as they
are acquired.
What pre-requisites are required?
You must be clear which environment you will operate in
before you select hardware for your i2 Intelligence Analysis
Platform implementation. Guidance on current minimum
hardware, operating system, and third-party software
requirements is provided on the following IBM website:
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.
wss?uid=swg27036201
The i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform includes IBM DB2
Workgroup Edition for storing the analysis repository.
Should you want to use alternative database technologies
or supported DB2 versions the relevant software must be
purchased separately. IBM does not supply licenses for
Oracle 11g Release 2 or Microsoft SQL Server.
You can use any of the following database technologies
and associated versions:
IBM DB2 9.7 and 10.1:
• Enterprise Edition
• Workgroup Edition (included)
15
September 2012
Oracle 11g:
• Standard Edition Release 2 and future fix packs
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and 2012:
• Enterprise Edition
• Standard Edition
• Workgroup Edition
Licensing
The i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform uses a concurrent
user model. This means that any number of users can use
a single license provided that only a single user is logged in
at any given time.
This licensing model includes use of the bundled
components, namely: WebSphere Application Server,
WebSphere MQ, DB2 Workstation Edition. These
components must only be used in conjunction with the
i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform deployment.
Is the Intelligence Analysis Platform available in
any other language?
The i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform is available in languages
other than English. For more information on the availability
of specific language translations of the i2 Intelligence Analysis
Platform please contact your local IBM i2 representative.
How does the i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform
integrate with other IBM i2 products?
The i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform can be integrated
with many IBM i2 products. Its primary companion product
is i2 Analyst’s Notebook Premium which serves as a rich
desktop client for advanced multi-dimensional analysis.
In addition, it is used within IBM i2 Fraud Intelligence
Analysis, IBM i2 Intelligent Law Enforcement, and
IBM i2 National Security and Defense Intelligence.
Can I upgrade from other IBM i2 products
The i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform is only supported
when used with compatible versions of IBM i2 products.
If being used in a combined IBM i2 product environment,
you must upgrade them all at the same time in order to
maintain compatibility.
IBM Software September 2012
White Paper

For more information

To learn more about IBM i2 Intelligence Analysis Platform,
please contact your IBM representative, or visit:
ibm.com/i2software

To learn more about all of the IBM Smarter Cities solutions, © Copyright IBM Corporation 2013
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November 2013

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