See thincSoft at NRF 2008. Visit booth 264 at the Javits Convention Center to learn how retailers can benefit from location intelligence. thincSoft will illustrate how retailers can gain better insight into customer buying patterns by visualizing their location-based data such as customer loyalty data, even data purchased from 3rd party vendors. thincSoft will also demonstrate how retailers can integrate planograms with measurement data to create a more visually-based performance analysis directly integrated with the merchandise planning process. thincSoft will also show how retailers and CPG manufacturers can extract more value from their RFID investments by leveraging thincTrax - a visually-intuitive way to track assets using any technology (RFID, GPS, WiMax, etc.).

Unique GeoSpatial and RFID Visualization Solutions Will Address Growing Need of Enterprise Business Intelligence and Asset Tracking Markets

Lisle, IL – November 5, 2007 – thincSoft, LLC announced today that it has finalized an agreement with the founders of SSS Research to acquire the intellectual property rights of SSS Research.

Under this agreement, SSS Research will remain an independent consulting entity focused exclusively on delivering geospatial visualization solutions and services to the United States Department of Defense. thincSoft will focus on the growing Business Intelligence and Asset Tracking software markets with targeted Visual Intelligence^TM solutions utilizing geospatial and spatial technologies originally developed by SSS Research.

“We are very excited about the structure of this relationship,” said Dr. Stephen Eick, founder of SSS Research. “As the Enterprise Business Intelligence and Asset Tracking markets continue to evolve in their need for location intelligence and improved visualization, thincSoft is positioned to be a leading solution provider.”

“SSS has developed and delivered the leading platform for location intelligence over their years of work with the U.S. government for tens of thousands of users,” said Mike Profita, thincSoft President. “Because corporate data often has a location component, the commercialization of this technology will offer wide reaching benefits to many industries.”

Recent studies have indicated growing demand for these types of solutions. A recent report released by Business Week indicated that over 80% of data maintained by corporations has a location component. Another survey—by Geospatial Solutions—showed that nearly 90% of respondents indicated a growing demand for location-based data across their organization. This growth is driven primarily by the value delivered in location-intelligence solutions across industries. These benefits include: reduced capital and operating expenses by tracking pumps and diagnostic equipment in hospitals and providing greater visualization into asset location; Improved sales and reduced unsold inventory in retailers by better clustering stores and inventory based on analysis of customer and demographic trends; Improved response time and reduced risk of casualties of first responders through greater visualization of all team member locations within a target area; and many more.

thincSoft’s suite of Visual Intelligence (VI)^TM software is available as a fully-configurable Web 2.0 solution for corporations and as an OEM solution for software vendors and systems integrators looking to enhance current BI, geospatial, or RFID/Asset Tracking solutions with a location visualization and analysis component.

For more information, please visit www.thincsoft.com.

About SSS Research

SSS Research has served the Federal IT marketplace since 2003 across the Department of Defense, Intelligence, Homeland Security, and other agencies. Core competencies include thin client visualization and analytics and systems development.

About thincSoft

thincSoft has developed a unique Visual Intelligence(VI)^TM product set – thincVIew and thincTrax – which bring together the power of geospatial visualization technology and business intelligence into a thin-client SOA-compliant platform.  Simply put, we help our customers visualize their data in ways never before possible, helping them make better decisions.  The Web 2.0 platform allows this solution to integrate with any data source and be deployed and interacted with in real time on any thin-client via browser, including hand-held and mobile devices. 

Core commercially-available products include:

• thincVIew - a Business Intelligence application - combines spatial or geospatial data with business intelligence (BI) data to enable location and time-specific analysis in a unique visualization solution through any portal. 
• thincTrax - an Asset Tracking and Visualization solution - interacts with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), GPS, or other data and provides a visualization and business rules solution for managing critical assets or personnel, location intelligence and situational awareness.

SSS Research went to Geoint 2007 tradeshow in San Antonio, Texas.  The show had a photographer come around taking pictures of the booths, and we were still there (All except for Jim, I wonder what he was doing?).  Paul, Andy, Mike and Steve pictured in front of our booth....

  thincSoft Announces Integration to SQL Server 2008 With Spatial Enhancements

Visual Intelligence(TM) Application Combines Business Intelligence (BI) With Location Data To Provide Enterprise-Wide Location Intelligence Solution 

Lisle, IL- November 12, 2007 – thincsoft, a provider of Visual Intelligence software applications today announced that its thincVIew and thincTrax products now support Microsoft SQL Server 2008 for generally available customer applications.  

“The demand for location intelligence solutions continues to grow,” said Mike Profita, thincSoft President.  “As we continue to penetrate new markets, we have seen more demand from customers to connect to a Microsoft technology infrastructure.  The spatial enhancements of SQL 2008 deliver a significant performance increase and enable us to continue delivering enterprise-wide location intelligence solutions to our customers.”

A recent survey indicated that over 80% of data maintained by corporations has a location component; another survey indicated growing demand for location-based data across organizations, often from non-traditional users of such data.  This growth is driven primarily by the value provided by linking key business intelligence data with location data to create greater organizational insight.  

“Microsoft places a great deal of importance on our partner ecosystem,” said Kim Saunders, Senior Director of SQL Server Marketing at Microsoft.  “With thincSoft’s Visual Intelligence suite utilizing the spatial enhancements in SQL Server 2008, they can take advantage of the latest SQL Server technology to help deliver pervasive Enterprise Business Intelligence solutions to their customers.” 

thincSoft’s suite of Visual Intelligence (VI)TM software is available as a fully-configurable Web 2.0 enterprise solution for corporations and as an OEM solution for software vendors and systems integrators looking to enhance current BI, geospatial, or RFID/Asset Tracking solutions with a location visualization and analysis component.  

About thincSoft

thincSoft has developed a unique Visual Intelligence(VI)TM product set – thincVIew and thincTrax – which bring together the power of geospatial visualization technology and business intelligence into a thin-client SOA-compliant platform.  Simply put, we help our customers visualize their data in ways never before possible, helping them make better decisions.  The Web 2.0 platform allows this solution to integrate with any data source and be deployed and interacted with in real time on any thin-client via browser, including hand-held and mobile devices.   Core commercially-available products include:

• thincVIew - a Business Intelligence/Location Intelligence application - combines spatial or geospatial data with business intelligence (BI) data to enable location and time-specific analysis in a unique visualization solution through any portal.  
• thincTrax - an asset visualization solution - interacts with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), GPS, or other data and provides a visualization and business rules solution for managing critical assets or personnel, location intelligence and situational awareness.

All products mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective companies

Contact:
Christa Carroll
Outlook Marketing Services
ph 630.922-6995

Jim Kowalski
SSS Research
630.207-4120

GeoInt 2007 Symposium

SSS Research Announces Collaboration with NGA
(National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency)

San Antonio, TX and Lisle, IL – October 24, 2007 – SSS Research today announced that it is working with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) to provide key software as part of its NGA Earth eGeoInt project. Under this relationship, SSS Research provides its GeoBoost Visual Intelligence (TM) software solution to enable situational awareness and location intelligence for multiple constituencies.

“We are very pleased to have been selected to provide the visualization software for this key initiative,” said Dr. Stephen Eick, SSS Research’s Chairman and CEO. “NGA plays such an important role in supporting the Intelligence and Defense communities, we are happy to collaborate on such a critical analysis tool.”

One of NGA’s 12 key focus areas is to look outward to be the most collaborative partner with the IC and warfighter. To support that focus, NGA has identified 3 key principles: Partnerships, Technology, and Standards. The innovative technology developed and deployed by SSS combines with a successful track record of previous projects with NGA to deliver a powerful analysis and visualization tool for the Intelligence Communities.

Before the emergence of Web 2.0 technologies, organizations were limited in their ability to leverage Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) and other location-based data. SSS Research has leveraged Web 2.0 (AJAX) and open data standards to enable geospatial visualization, collaboration, and analysis to users through a software solution
that requires only a web browser. The result is better insight, faster across the entire enterprise in an easy-to-use tool that connects to multiple data sources simultaneously using open standards. A recent study indicated that 80% of data maintained by organizations has a location component; and the demand to access and analyze these data continues to grow. With the flexibility offered by SSS Research’s suite of VITM applications, organizations now have the ability to turn this data into actionable analysis quickly and easily.

About SSS Research
SSS Research has served the Federal IT marketplace since 2003 across many departments and agencies of the United States Department of Defense. Core competencies include thin client visualization and analytics R&D services. SSS has developed a unique Visual Intelligence(VI)TM product set – GeoBoost and GeoTrack - which bring together the power of geospatial visualization technology and business intelligence into a thin-client SOA-compliant platform. Simply put, we help our customers visualize their data in ways never before possible, helping them make better decisions. The Web 2.0 platform allows this solution to integrate with any data source and be deployed and interacted with in real time on any thin-client via browser, including hand-held and mobile devices.

Core commercially-available products include:

• GeoBoost - a Business Intelligence application - combines spatial or geospatial data with business intelligence (BI) data to enable location and time-specific analysis in a unique visualization portal.
• GeoTrack - an asset visualization solution - interacts with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), GPS, or other data and provides a visualization and business rules solution for managing critical assets or personnel, location intelligence and situational awareness.

I just got an email alerting me to the fact that the VS2008 VPC image is going to expire on November 1, 2007, rather than on March 15, 2008 as originally announced.  If you are using the VPC image to test out the new VisualStudio, you need to migrate your data soon.  We've been using VS2008 for a while and are very happy with it, but most of we either installed the bits on our virtual partition, or some of our risky team members installed it right on our the base O.S.

From the email:

FAQ

Q. Will my data be available after November 1, 2007?

A. This is still being researched, however, currently the understanding is that customers will NOT be able to access their date after November 1^st unless the data is moved to an alternate installation location.

Q. Can I reset my system date to re-enable the OS image?

A. Again there is still research being done, however, from the current understanding of the problem resetting the system date back DOES NOT re-enable the OS image.

It's been such a busy summer at SSS Research, that I haven't had time to do much of anything but travel for sales and support.  We did do a company outing the other night to the whitesox game....

Brian and Steve, with Stephanie and Susan behind...

Grungy programmers Colin (and friends), Max, and his future...

Joe and Myself...

Coach, Tom, with Jesse in front...

Andrew and Andrea....

Smiling Sox fans...

A while back I went to Korea (Anjung-Ri, South Korea) with Steve to do some work.  Anjung-Ri is about 60 miles south of Seoul, but at least 2 hours by car (The traffic is terrible!).

While there, I bought some celadon pottery.  Celadon actually means "green", but it seems everyone uses the term to mean "pottery from South Korea."  The glaze isn't quite green, but more subdued bluish and greyish green tones.  The pieces are very delicate, and if you look close enough you can see cracks visible through the glaze.  Pottery is difficult to photograph because of the reflections, but I tried to capture the shapes:

and

I bought a yin-yang shape, and a tea set, and surprisingly, they made it home in one piece.  I was there a few weeks, and was there for 'market day'  People lined the streets setting up stands to sell spices, fish, etc.

Something that was really fun was they took us on a helicopter tour of the area, that was my first time riding a helicopter, and the pilot really tried to "Make the computer geeks toss their cookies."  We pulled some negative gravity and 90 degree spins, but we made it out no problem.  They did tell me to duck when I was getting into the machine (not sure why)

Our chariot in the background:

Job Title: Manager - Web 2.0 Development

FLSA Status: Exempt

Citizenship: U.S. Citizenship Required

Summary:

This key employee will lead a team of 10-15 developers and 3 team leads reporting to the Chief Technology Officer. The candidate must be skilled in all aspects of the software development lifecycle and must be an expert in the Microsoft Stack and related technologies (ASP.NET, C#, AJAX). The candidate must be able to take on the following roles:

• Manage and mentor a group of developers (40% of time)
• System Architect/Development (20%)
• Program Management (40%)

SSS Research is a dynamic privately held Web 2.0 company that delivers thin client visualization and analytics applications for tracking, system development and integration. SSS Research’s software enables its customers to track people and assets on a worldwide basis through a standard web browser and inform them when issues arise with the tracked assets. In addition to serving commercial needs, SSS Research’s technology has successfully served the United States Government.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following:

Team Management

• Develop program plans and program budgets, assign tasks and manage workload and deliverables across multiple projects and customers.
• Work with senior management to set strategic directions for major product developments, enhancements and sustainment of efforts.
• Assures the consistent management of projects from initiation through delivery.
• Perform weekly reviews with Sales and Management
• Hire new developers and team leads to support rapid company growth
• Mentor each team to make sure they are growing as needed

System Architecture/Development

• Design and architect the SSS Research Product Platform
• Stay current with new technologies and define the roadmap for incorporation into the platform
• Build a system that scales to meet the needs of the business and customers
• Create the Software Development Lifecycle for SSS and associated processes
• Cerate the Software Quality and Delivery methodology for SSS and the associated processes

Program Management

• Manage deliverables across multiple customers/programs and perform customer reviews as required.
• Be accountable for delivering products per product schedules and budgets.
• Anticipates and manages risks / issues and encourages the organization to proactively address risks and issues in a timely manner.
• Responsible for the enforcement and improvement of project management processes

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Must be able to lead a fast paced “Scrum” environment that employs agile development methodologies where features are defined by the customers.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Must possess a clear, concise communication style so as to interface efficiently and effectively with the customer and the management team
• Must have a high level of interpersonal skills to help drive the customer programs.
• Demonstrated confidence and ability to relate professionally to a wide range of individuals.
• Expertise in ASP.Net, C#, SQL Server 2005, and agile development methodologies.
• Punctual, responsive, reliable and responsible.
• Self-motivated, enthusiastic and capable of developing a multiple concurrent plans and the ability to execute each plan on time and within budgetary guidelines.
• Advanced best practices knowledge of program and project management concepts.
• Able to demonstrate sound negotiation skills when circumstances warrant.
• Able to multi-task and demonstrate exceptional organizational skills while maintaining a strong focus on attention to detail.
• Able to travel on an as needed basis.

Education and/or Experience:

• A bachelor’s degree in a Computer Science; A Master’s Degree is a plus.
• 9+ years of a commercial software development with a focus on building ASP.NET applications.

· Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and programs.

• Experience managing a project team of software development professionals.

· Ability to meet stated customer initiated deadlines.

• Previous experience with tracking systems is preferable.

This position description is intended to by dynamic and subject to change. Position requirements and essential functions may be altered from time to time based upon the needs of the organization and department. This position may be required to execute special projects or other related duties on occasion.

Job Title: Lead Web 2.0 Developer

FLSA Status: Exempt

Citizenship: U.S. Citizenship Required

Summary:

This key employee will lead a team of 3-5 developers and will report to the Manager of Web 2.0 Development. The candidate must be skilled in all aspects of the software development lifecycle and must be an expert in ASP.NET, C# and AJAX. The candidate must be able to take on the following roles:

• Manage and mentor a group of developers (30% of time)
• Act as a developer for core pieces of the technology (30%)
• System Architect (20%)
• Business/System Analyst (20%)

SSS Research is a dynamic privately held Web 2.0 company that delivers thin client visualization and analytics applications for tracking, system development and integration. SSS Research’s software enables its customers to track people and assets on a worldwide basis through a standard web browser and inform them when issues arise with the tracked assets. In addition to serving commercial needs, SSS Research’s technology has successfully served the United States Government.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following:

Team Management

• Mentor each developer to make sure they are growing as needed
• Develop project plans, assign tasks and manage workload and deliverables
• Perform weekly reviews with Management
• Train developers in new technologies
• Assist in hiring new developers as team grows
• Perform code reviews, software design sessions, architectural reviews on a regular basis

System Architecture

• Design and architect the GeoTrack Product Platform
• Integrate best development practices into the company
• Build a system that scales to meet the needs of the business
• Create and maintain development standards documentation

Development

• Develop new components/features in ASP.NET, C#, SQL and AJAX using Visual Studio.
• Test and integrate components into the system as required

Business/Systems Analysis

• Create business/functional specifications
• Translate functional specifications into technical specifications

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Must be able to work in a fast paced “Scrum” environment that employs agile development methodologies where features are defined by the customers.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Must possess a clear, concise communication style so as to interface efficiently and effectively with the customer and fellow technical personnel.
• Must have a high level of interpersonal skills to help drive the customer project.
• Demonstrated confidence and ability to relate professionally to a wide range of individuals.
• Able to work with minimal supervision and in both an independent and team environment.
• Expertise in ASP.Net, C#, SQL Server 2005, and agile development methodologies.
• Punctual, responsive, reliable and responsible.
• Self-motivated, enthusiastic and capable of developing a plan and the ability to execute the plan on time and within budgetary guidelines.
• Knowledge of project management principles, methods and terminology.
• Able to demonstrate sound negotiation skills when circumstances warrant.
• Able to multi-task and demonstrate exceptional organizational skills while maintaining a strong focus on attention to detail.
• Able to travel on an as needed basis.

Education and/or Experience:

• A bachelor’s degree in a Computer Science; A Master’s Degree is a plus.
• 5+ years of a commercial software development with a focus on building ASP.NET applications.
• Data layer experience using SQL Server and Microsoft technologies preferred.

· Demonstrated ability to manage multiple facets of a project.

• Experience managing a project team of software development professionals.

· Ability to meet stated customer initiated deadlines.

• Previous experience with tracking systems is preferable.

This position description is intended to by dynamic and subject to change. Position requirements and essential functions may be altered from time to time based upon the needs of the organization and department. This position may be required to execute special projects or other related duties on occasion.