OXFORD, Miss. – Students in the University of Mississippi’s Center for Intelligence and Security Studies can train on some of the most advanced software available to intelligence analysts, thanks to a major donation from industry leader Semantic Research Inc.
Semantic Research, a San Diego company, has granted the university a license agreement for its products valued at more than $811,000. The firm is a pioneer of the “NetCentric” approach to analysis and data-mining, in which relationships between items are used to explain complex information networks.
Its flagship product, Semantica Pro 5.5, provides data integration, network analysis and relationship management calibrated to address fast-changing social networks, financial transactions and criminal enterprise investigations.
“Semantica Pro adds another vital component to the tool kit of students entering the IC (intelligence community),” said Carl Jensen, CISS director. “Employers are actively seeking out candidates who are not just knowledgeable about the intelligence analysis process, and who major in languages, sciences, and liberal arts. Proficiency in software and data management is the new critical skill in the IC, soup to nuts.”
The licensing deal permits CISS to use the software in class, and even install it on student computers.This kind of license is of exceptional use to the academic world, said Walter Flaschka, network administrator for CISS.
“Intelligence, data-mining and discovery is a fiercely competitive industry, and the software is highly engineered to address complex, real-world problems,” Flaschka said. “Semantic Research stands out in its willingness to support our students, our research and our outreach efforts with this generous license agreement.”
Semantica Pro is valued at more than $8,000 per seat in retail pricing, and includes multiyear upgrade maintenance, which brings the value of the deal to over $811,000 for CISS and its students. The software company has also extended this license to other ventures at the university.
“Because of its feature set and accessibility, Semantica Pro can also be used for law enforcement, as well as national security and finance,” Flaschka said. “The software will be a central feature in a Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysis Software course being offered next semester through the School of Applied Science’s Department of Legal Studies.”
In the past, CISS has inked deals with several flagship intelligence software platforms, including IBM’s i2 Analyst’s Notebook, Palantir Technology, CrimeLink and Visual Analytics. In 2010, software donations to CISS were among the highest contributions to the School of Applied Sciences, totaling more than $1 million.
Founded in 2008, CISS provides students with the analytic, writing and briefing skills necessary for employment in the intelligence community. CISS students majoring in areas such as modern languages, finance, the sciences and liberal arts have graduated to careers in national security or the military, or continued in prestigious graduate programs.
For more information on Semantic Research Inc., go to http://semanticresearch.com. To learn more about CISS, go to http://ciss.olemiss.edu.