IBM launches new crime-fighting Big Data analytics security package

IBM today came out with its first iteration of the analytics software package that it expects will help law enforcement, government agencies and private businesses wade through the massive amounts of data they collect to help them predict, disrupt and prevent criminal, terrorist and fraudulent activities.

The package, IBM i2 Intelligence Analysis portfolio, is based on the security software it picked up last year when it bought i2. Law enforcement agencies and corporate security departments use i2's software to pinpoint fraudulent or improper activity within their logs of operational data. The company's Analyst's Notebook digital forensic software can display a visual diagram of people, places or other entities, showing how different parties are linked.

According to an IDG New Service report at the time of the buy, i2 had more than 4,500 customers across 150 countries. The company said that 12 of the top 20 retail banks use its software. The Boston Police Department and the Criminal Justice System share criminal data through i2's Coplink platform.

In a £6 million ($9.6 million) contract, the US Army procured an enterprise license to use Analyst's Notebook in its troubled Distributed Common Ground Systems - Army (DCGS-A) intelligence sharing system. Defense contractor Northrop Grumman folded i2's Coplink into a system it is providing to the Navy to track criminal information from multiple sources.

Last fall, IBM said it would bring together i2 technology with its own data collection, analysis and warehousing software. And today's announcement is an example of what Big Blue plans to do.

With the rollout today IBM said the package will give customers powerful visualisation and analysis capabilities coupled with advanced data access to help organisations to manage and process information in less time, giving them more time to spend on analysis.