Xentity Corporation. A Tale Twenty Years Old
Twenty years. We at Xentity Corporation have been at this for twenty years. As of writing this, the writer has only been a part of this story for three. First, it is humbling to know that this company has existed and done so much for twenty years. Check out the articles “Why We Exist” and “Why The Name Xentity” to learn more about our beginnings and motivations. However, it should be noted that those particular articles tell only Xentity’s beginning. After twenty years in the business, it is long overdue for us to tell the tale of Xentity after the beginning. The middle, if you will, since we don’t see this story ending any time soon.
By now, we know why we exist. Xentity strives to put the “I” back in “IT” and “GIS”. In a world where technology has been placed at the center of all things, data (the information) has been left in the dust. So, using a variety of data strategies, designs, developments and productions, we strive for efficiency, innovation and transformation through the improved uses of data. It is specifically through data that we will tell the ‘middle’ of Xentity’s story. By data, we mean info on our past accomplishments, divided up into four distinct categories: Geospatial Data, Open Data, Big Data, and IoT Data. Or as we like to call it, GOBI.
So Why?
This is the exact reason why we’re writing this series of blogs. It’s been 20 years, so we want to do something special. We wanted to take this opportunity to delve deeper into our greatest passions (GOBI) and present it as our story. We want to tell our story via our passion for data, especially for GOBI. Given such, expect a five-part series where we go into great detail about our favorite four data types. Also, some of our more notable projects that involve those data types. Finally, what we have accomplished through our passion for data in 20 years of business. In five blogs, we will tell the story of Xentity through our accomplishments in data.
The Data Types
The G – Geospatial Data
Our goal in working with geospatial data is adding the ‘where’ dimension to your reporting, analytics, and monitoring adds immense value to operations, decisions, and planning. Geospatial data permeates everywhere, yet is elusive in most organizations. It requires organization of the community of supply capabilities driven by the community of use needs and questions sought. Geospatial data is information that describes objects, events or other features with a location on or near the surface of the earth.
At Xentity, we love ‘Earth’ data. Data that involves forests, mountains, lakes, etc. If it involves the land in some way, it holds a special place in Xentity’s heart. Out of the four data types, this is the one we are arguably the most passionate about for that very reason. Not only do many of our contracts involve ‘Earth’ data, many of those same contracts are also contracts for the federal government. This is our way of making a difference in our country. We help by assisting government agencies and programs in transforming, innovating or improving efficiency in data usage. We look forward to going into greater detail in part 2.
The O – Open Data
Our efforts in open data follow the belief that increasing transparency and access to valuable data goes beyond compliance. It involves making data re-usable, service-able, and business cases have shown it can power economic and scientific advancement. At its core, open data is research data that is freely available on the Internet for anyone to download, modify, and distribute without any legal or financial restrictions.
Throughout our twenty years, our efforts in open data have been no different than our efforts in geospatial data. Plenty of government agencies and programs have required improvements in open data that involve better “presentation” to the public. We were happy to provide that help. We’ve also worked on a variety of apps and the occasional government website. Like we said before, we love information. We love data. In a world where people want to see the next big thing in technology, we focus our efforts on improving what we already have. By the way, that’s a lot of data. A lot of data that needs to be available and not left behind by the constant technological advances. More on that in part 3.
The B – Big Data
Our goal in big data involves understanding that former ‘data exhaust’ and metadata is now fueling new data flow constructs to maintain the fidelity. We help determine new patterns and solutions to feed this knowledge-first trend. Big data is extremely large data sets that may be analyzed computationally to reveal patterns, trends, and associations, especially relating to human behavior and interactions.
In how they fit into Xentity’s story, you will typically find big data efforts combined with other kinds of data. Namely, with geospatial and open data. However, there are some noticeable differences in these projects. Namely, metadata, data pipelines, architecture, and data warehouses. Point being, if a project involves loads of data exhaust (logs, traffic, etc.) to the point where it’s granular, then the project involves big data and we look forward to sharing it with you when we reach part 4.
The I – IoT and Sensor Data
The last of ‘GOBI’. This one goes beyond big data and sensor data (remote or IoT, big and/or fast). It requires edge and centralized new data flow patterns to trigger the real-time monitoring to support operation and decision making in a data-driven organization. The ‘Internet of Things’ describes physical objects that are embedded with sensors, processing ability, software, and other technologies, and that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communications networks. Our goal in IoT is to help our clients lead the way in sensor integration and knowledge products
We Hope This Has Piqued Your Interest
That was part 1. Next time, we really tell Xentity’s story through our various projects. Feel free to check out our projects page for the brief summaries of our many projects, if you’re interested in more. However, from part 2 and onwards, we hope to really get into the thick of this tale, and in the process paint a picture of Xentity through our efforts throughout twenty years of business.