In June 2018, the IBM i2 team released a NEW data connectivity capability as part of our IBM i2 Enterprise Insight Analysis product offering. i2 Enterprise Insight Analysis i2 Connect provides a connector framework which allows for the simple creation of connectors to key data sources.
Using data connectors, analysts can search, fuse and visualize data from external data sources and then further analyze the data in a chart to find non-obvious connections. An analyst can:
- Run a parameterized search over the data source using custom search form
- Preview and fine tune search results by filtering by item type and advanced filtering
- Alternatively, if user input is not required, search results sent directly to a chart.
How it works – here is an i2 Enterprise Insight Analysis screen shot from an analyst’s perspective, starting with “Search Stores” to find records in connected data stores:
Next, an analyst can view available queries, filtering by query name, connector name or returned type. On selecting the query, its details are displayed. The conditions are input and then the search button clicked to execute the query. With results returned, further filtering is possible. Chart visualization and analysis (using IBM i2 Analyst’s Notebook Premium component of i2 Enterprise Insight Analysis) is possible based on available charting schemes.
Note, sometimes data source contains information about entities and links that do not translate to types in the deployed i2 Enterprise Insight Analysis schema. In that situation, a connector can provide definitions of those types (and how to display them) to i2 Enterprise Insight Analysis through the i2 Enterprise Insight Analysis i2 Connect gateway. To create a connector, you just need a data source to query and a server that supports REST endpoints to query it from.
Important - with the June 2018 release, you can choose to either provide users with access to i2 Enterprise Insight Analysis Information Store or enable them to query data in one or more external sources using i2 Enterprise Insight Analysis i2 Connect. In place of the Information Store, deployments targeted at external data access use the i2 Connect gateway.
Think about the possibilities! Law enforcement data, cyber data, OSINT data, enterprise data, etc. The list goes on and on. Organization can create connectors and use connectors offered by others, including IBM Product Professional Services (e.g. X-Force Exchange, QRadar, Resilient).
i2 Enterprise Insight Analysis i2 Connect capability is suited to attack analysis/triage as well as more in-depth threat hunting / investigations – helping to more quickly detect, disrupt and defeat advanced threats. We look forward to hearing how you are using this new, simple data connectivity capability!
To learn more, check out the i2 Enterprise Insight Analysis (and its enterprise server capability, IBM i2 Analyze) Knowledge Center documentation, Connecting to External Data Sources.