US Law-enforcement and intelligence agencies are relying heavily on the data and information available on the web in the textual form and video as well to solve the criminal cases and to pin point the future threats. Such increasing trend has led to the development of new line of business for the companies that can help the authorities in this matter.
Lots of contracts have been signed for this purpose with software and other technology that can sort through and analyze piles of government and private-sector data to help track down criminals or look for signs of terrorist activity.
Until a few years ago, police and other authorities would look at video of an area “only when there was a disaster,” said Elan Moriah, president of video-intelligence solutions at Verint Systems Inc.
“With the increase in criminal and terrorist threats, definitely driven by Sept. 11, video is now viewed as a data source” that needs to be constantly monitored, he said. The volume of such data has mushroomed, he added, as video cameras have cropped up in more public places.
Earlier this year, Verint, which had revenue of about $727 million in the fiscal year ended in January, won a contract to monitor and analyze security-camera footage at the transport hub in New York’s new World Trade Center.
“Oracle Corp. said last month that it would acquire closely held Endeca Technologies Inc., which provides similar consulting services for business and government.
“The proliferation of social media, which is growing exponentially, is an area that the government has been looking at more and more,” said Scott Weber, co-director of the government practice at Opera Solutions LLC, which makes predictions based on data analysis.
The government market for analytics software in the U.S. is $1.1 billion a year, said Dan Vesset, vice president of business-analytics research at IDC. He said the market is expected to grow at an annual rate of about 10% over the next five years.
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