This presentation is about k-infinity, a semantic platform and database. With k-infinity, databases work the way people think: simple, agile and flexible. It is explained, how k-infinity integrates business objects from different enterprise sources in one strategic data model and how it deals with complexity of grown structures. The semantic data model is a common ground for business and development, makes data and their logic visible and allows to quickly build examples etc.

1. k-infinity – the semantic platform
k-infinity – the semantic platform
agile to the core

2. k-infinity – the semantic platform
Vision…
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3. k-infinity – the semantic platform
… and reality
3
How does all this
connect and what
does it mean?

4. k-infinity – the semantic platform
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k-infinity integrates the most
important business objects
from different enterprise
sources in one strategic data
model
It creates a level where information
can be be accessed, analysed and
combined through services…
… without having to deal with
complexity of grown structures

5. k-infinity – the semantic platform
How does that work? – Technical view
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1. You need a natural
/strategic data model 2. You need
intelligent adaptors
3. You have to put
the meaning in the
data not in the
applications
4. You need
networked instead
of hierarchical
access control

6. k-infinity – the semantic platform
How is it done? - Critical stages of a project
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Start of productive useProject start

7. k-infinity – the semantic platform
Natural data model
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People think in objects, not in tables
A natural data model preserves object
identity
Its characteristics reflect characteristics of
the domain (similarity of, e.g., projects
results in distance between objects in the
semantic network, central objects show high
density of connections etc.)
 result: data model that users
understand
Business can participate
Long-term controllability
Adaptable during runtime

8. k-infinity – the semantic platform
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Capture business requirements - situation
Common understanding between business users, developers
and database specialists is often only reached through the
implementation, making data and features tangible in the
frontend
 Long cycles, iterations are being used up by
misunderstandings

9. k-infinity – the semantic platform
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Capture business requirements
The semantic data model is a common ground for business and
development, (no need for database specialist), makes data and their
logic visible, allows to quickly build examples etc. Thus, many issues can
be resolved within minutes, not weeks

10. k-infinity – the semantic platform
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»In the project overview,
we want to see
customer, customer
industy and location –
but obviously, this only
holds for customer
projects, not for internal
ones«
User Feedback
Changes that affect the data model

11. k-infinity – the semantic platform
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»Well, at the moment, we
don‘t distinguish between
customer projects and
internal ones and we
don‘t have anything like
customer industry. But no
problem. If you like, we
will do this together right
now«
User Feedback
Changes that affect the data model

12. k-infinity – the semantic platform
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We differenciate the project
concept and distribute the
example instance to the more
specific concepts.
When we redefine properties,
the system makes sure that no
information is lost involuntarily
by presenting a list of conse-
quences.
User Feedback
Changes in the data model

13. k-infinity – the semantic platform
13
Lists and searches defined on
projects profit from the concept
hierarchy and do not have to be
changed at all
User Feedback
Changes in the data model

14. k-infinity – the semantic platform
14
We add industries as a specific
topic type and add relations
from customers to industries
Now we can assign customers
to the projects and classify the
projects by customer industry
 Schema can be changed at
runtime
 Graph-based UI makes it
easy to share examples
with business users
User Feedback
Changes in the data model

15. k-infinity – the semantic platform
Intelligent adaptors
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It is not enough to build mappings, we have
have to a mapping-engine for each data
source – based on rules and robust towards
changes
 Landscape of contributors to the
strategic data model
 Continuous integration

16. k-infinity – the semantic platform
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Consume data from external systems
Integration of external data sources as a continuous task
- based on rules and robust towards changes
- Collection of meta-knowledge for every object: from which source did it
come, when was it connected, which mapping rule was used etc.

17. k-infinity – the semantic platform
Keeping data independent from the application
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If an application needs to know
what industry experience an
employee has, this information is,
e.g., collected through projects
and their customers
Strategic data model:
Information has to be stored
where it belongs logically
not where it is likely to be
accessed in a particular
application – reasoning
provides the transport from
A to B

18. k-infinity – the semantic platform
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Purpose-built data model
Business objects scattered
tables
Strategic data model
Different aspects don‘t make
different objects: customer,
supplier, partner – but always
the same company
Company buys our products
 customer
Company participates in
our projects  project
partner
Company supplies raw
materials  supplier
Provide data to external systems
k-infinity creates object identity – that makes it a good data source

19. k-infinity – the semantic platform
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Purpose-built data models
Application constructs
„meaning“ from data fragments
(intelligence buried in code)
Strategic data model: Semantic net
represents information in an object
oriented fashion. Intelligence lies in
the data and can be offered as
service to all applications
Change Management
k-infinity keeps the data and their interpretation together – that makes it
an even better data source. Together with object-orientation and
inheritance it also minimizes dependencies and therefore minimizes the
need for „clean up“ after changes

20. k-infinity – the semantic platform
Access to networked data within networked organisations
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Access control:
We face the problem that
people, who are embedded
in networked (not
hierarchical) organization
structures have to get
secure access to networked
(not hierarchical)
information structures
k-infinity provides a role and
rule-based access model
where the properties of the
data/metadata (direct or
inferenced), as well as the
explicit and implicit role of
the user is interpreted during
runtime to grant access to
certain parts of the data

21. k-infinity – the semantic platform
k-infinity makes your data…
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…understandable
…strategic
…agile
…executable +
service-oriented
… smart

22. k-infinity – the semantic platform
k-infinity - Tool support
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Configured and
scripted
business logic
 Modeling + schema
evolution
 Query + service
definition
 Editor configuration
 Import mapping,
searches, access rights,
triggers

23. k-infinity – the semantic platform
Data Modeling + Schema Evolution
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Graphical, example-driven
data modeling
Schema evolution at
runtime

24. k-infinity – the semantic platform
Query assistant
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Structured queries are
configured and managed in a
point-and-click interface

25. k-infinity – the semantic platform
REST-Services
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 REST-Services expose the configured
queries externally. Dependencies with
the data model are controlled
automatically
 JavaScript is used to define services with
higher complexity

26. k-infinity – the semantic platform
Semantic view configuration
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Configuration of views corresponding
to business logic by transforming and
composing selected parts of the
semantic network

27. k-infinity – the semantic platform
Mapping Tool
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Complex data mappings
for import, export and
synchronisation
between structured
data sources and the
semantic database can
easily be defined

28. k-infinity – the semantic platform
Search Support
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 Fuzzy search
 Intelligent
interpretation of
search strings
 Full text search
 Integration of
external search
engines
Configuration of complex searches and
traversion strategies

29. k-infinity – the semantic platform
Access rights and triggers
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Rule- and role-based
configuration of access
rights interpreting the
properties and connections
of both data and user
Based on predefined
information patterns in the
seamantic net, actions can
be triggered
I want to be
automatically informed
about news social media
projects in the
automotive industry…

30. k-infinity – the semantic platform
Knowledge-Packs
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MeSH, ICD-10, … NACE, E@class, ..
+ regulations,
geodata,
technical
vocabularies,
…
A wide range of open and commercial ontologies,
taxonomies and thesauri are available as plug-ins to
k-infinity

31. k-infinity – the semantic platform
Questions?
Peter Dommermuth
intelligent views gmbh
Julius-Reiber-Str. 17
64293 Darmstadt
Tel. + 49 (0) 61 51-50 06-520
Fax + 49 (0) 61 51-50 06-138
p.dommermuth@i-views.de
www.i-views.de
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