Cartia ThemeScape 2.0 Targeted at Enterprise
Portals and Business Intelligence
ACTION ITEMS
Cartia has announced the immediate availability of ThemeScape version 2.0, the text visualization software that powers NewsMaps.com. Based on Cartia's proprietary Relational Topic Mapping (RTM) technology, ThemeScape automatically reads large numbers of documents, recognizes the informational content, and organizes the collection by topic onto a visual map. Version 2 makes the technology accessible via the web.
"ThemeScape helps you rise above individual documents to see the big picture," said Mark Goros, CEO of Cartia. "The system is designed to rapidly convey information with very little reading. In less than 30 seconds, it can show you what's inside thousands of documents -- and that's just the beginning. When you search, the results are visually organized by topic, right on the map. You can zoom in for greater detail, flag interesting documents and forward them to others. It's a new way to work with information."
Working with an Information Landscape
ThemeScape represents a significant departure from traditional methods for organizing information. There are no file folders or hierarchical trees. Instead, each document is represented by a small point on a topographical map. The concept is simple: the more similar any two documents are, the closer together they appear. Peaks occur on the map where there is a high concentration of documents about the same topic, and the distance between peaks shows how closely the topics are related. This visual interface makes it possible for a user to quickly assess what information is available, which topics dominate the collection, and how topics interrelate.
Because documents are simply points on the map, it is possible for ThemeScape to show thousands of documents at once without overwhelming the user. Zooming into the map reveals greater detail. For any region on the map, a click of the mouse pops up a list of documents with related content. Pointing to any document title displays a short text summary. A mouse click links the user directly to the original document.
Search Results Visually Mapped by Topic
One of the most noteworthy aspects of ThemeScape is its advanced search technology. Unlike conventional search engines that return lists of document titles, ThemeScape highlights the relevant document points directly on the map. Users see all of the search hits at once, in topical context. With almost no reading a user can quickly isolate documents of interest, even for searches returning hundreds of hits.
The software goes a step further by showing the user a list of topics discovered during the automatic mapping process. Users can enter keywords directly, or select various combinations of topics from the list to refine their search.
Enterprise Portals & Business Intelligence
The combination of topical organization and visual search makes ThemeScape highly applicable to enterprise portals and business intelligence. In effect, it serves as a "visual table of contents" to large repositories of corporate information, showing users what is available and quickly guiding them to relevant documents.
The software is particularly strong as a business intelligence tool. The unique search capabilities of the software make it possible for users to see patterns and relationships between their company, market, and competitors. For example, a user could search an archive of industry press articles for their company name and immediately see what topics are associated with their company. A search on a competitor will reveal a different pattern, leading to new insights about similarities, differences, and opportunities.
Components, Pricing and Availability
ThemeScape version 2.0 is composed of four modules. ThemeServer is the underlying engine that provides content aggregation and map generation. ThemeScape Web Manager manages map access and distribution of the Map Viewer client. ThemePublisher is a Windows-based client that provides the interface for map creation. ThemeScape Map Viewer is a downloadable Java applet that facilitates user interaction with the map.
ThemeScape 2.0 is available for immediate delivery directly from Cartia. System pricing begins at about $20,000.
About Cartia
Cartia develops Relational Topic Mapping (RTM) software, a technology that automatically extracts the content of unstructured text and organizes it onto interactive maps of information. The company also produces NewsMaps.com, the Internet's only portal based on advanced visualization technology. Cartia's commercial software, known as ThemeScape, automatically harvests massive quantities of documents and web pages, extracts the primary themes and concepts, and creates a relational topic map of the entire information landscape. For more information, telephone 425-468-9020 or visit Cartia at http://www.cartia.com.