We speak to Johann Hofmann, Head of Griffeye, about the latest Analyze updates led by the new DI Pro edition. We find out what this means for users and teams, plus how this fits in with the current and future needs of digital investigations.

There have been some major updates in the Analyze platform over the last year – and now with this latest release scheduled for Nov 30^th. Can you tell us a little about that?

I’m excited that our new edition of Analyze DI, DI Pro, will see the light for the first time. As the more powerful big brother of Analyze DI Core (the pro bono version), Analyze DI Pro will be launched together with a new Griffeye portal and the ability to tap into Analyze CS Ops and work as a client for those using – or considering using – Analyze CS Ops for team investigations.

Exciting news! For users and their teams, what would be the major reasons to look at Analyze DI Pro?

Put simply, Analyze DI Pro provides greater flexibility, more automation and increased power in the hands of the investigator.

But I’d take the question and turn it around. It’s all about the major reasons for you. Who are you as a user? What are your needs? What do you want to achieve? What are your goals as well as the goals of your organization?

It all comes down to answering those questions and you’ll know whether Analyze DI Pro is what you need or not.

If your environment, your needs and your ambitions are about increasing efficiencies through seamless workflows, higher effectiveness thanks to more sophisticated tools and greater flexibility through apps, plug-ins and third party applications then Analyze DI Pro is what you should use. You’ll need greater flexibility, more automation and increased power.

An example of the latter is the powerful CameraForensics app, which is now improved and included as standard.

Also, for those looking at a greater deployment of the Analyze platform, there’s a lot of flexibility in automatically orchestrating data between for instance Analyze DI Pro and Analyze CS Enterprise. Analyze DI Pro can also be used as client when connected to any Analyze CS Ops server.

“We simply want all users to get the value of its full potential. The user is only as good as the user interface allows, and we are doing a massive job in trying to figure out new and innovative ways to interact with Analyze.”

Sounds like there has been a lot cooking at Griffeye R&D. Can you tell me a little about what else is in the pipeline?

Well, I can let you in on a couple of the special ingredients in Analyze DI Pro as well as some exciting machine-learning projects where the API comes into its own. But as for the other things we are inventing, I’ll keep that to myself for a little longer.

Video Utility Pack PRO – I can’t mention innovation without talking about the advancements we are doing on the next iteration of the Video Utility Pack. We’re expanding the ability to leverage plug-ins designed for video, new ways to interact with and bookmark or label video as well as greater support for investigations that involve CCTV footage.

NextGen User Experience – Analyze DI is a powerful tool with many features and ways to interact and present information. We simply want all users to get the value of its full potential. The user is only as good as the user interface allows, and we are doing a massive job in trying to figure out new and innovative ways to interact with Analyze. That’s eventually being packaged as the next-gen Analyze user experience.

Reporting – The most sought after capability is finally getting both new brains and a makeover. The new reporting engine has the comprehensiveness, the flexibility and the nice looks that the old reporting engine lacks.

You mentioned the API earlier and the hot topic of machine learning. Where are you in this field, and how can the Analyze platform be used?

Yes, there’s currently a lot of hype around machine learning and for good reason – machine learning can bridge the gap and bring machine and humans closer. Machines will be able to do work that previously required tedious manual labor. Or do things that just weren’t possible at all. We’re currently involved in four efforts running parallel that aim to bring such capability to our users. Because there are so many tools already out there that are being constantly innovated and improved, and we see a great benefit in letting our users pick and choose what works best for them. Our API enables this – and so it’s constantly being improved. We also happen to know that some of our customers run their own machine-learning efforts, so it’s great to provide them with the possibility to easily integrate those directly into operational use.

“Imagine working investigations where a big part of your job is to review and investigate large quantities of media portraying the most horrible crime. “

You’ve mentioned Analyze CS Ops almost as an extension of Analyze DI Pro. Can you explain the solution a little and who the users or customers are?

Imagine working investigations where a big part of your job is to review and investigate large quantities of media portraying the most horrible crime. Imagine doing that alone with cases containing millions and millions of images and videos … and trying to get something meaningful out of that process. It’s probably not an efficient and effective exercise – and the mental stress on individual investigators is even worse.

Imagine instead working as a team. You not only have more manpower to get through cases, you also have more brainpower to make the most of the investigation. You’re also not relying on one single person, which is an operational risk never mind the health risk to that person.

Having the option to use the power of Analyze CS Ops, you can also connect any Analyze DI Pro user to opt in when workload is high.

This all sounds great. But for a customer seeing these different tools and possibilities, can you summarize what they should be looking for?

Well, first of all we’re true believers in providing the right tool for the job. If you’re a single-person operation with low caseload and little need for integrated workflows, greater flexibility and more power, then the best tool is going to be Analyze DI Core. What’s new is that we’re now removing the limitation on DI only being free for investigators working child exploitation cases. It’s now free for all of law enforcement.

If you are in the other group, there are many reasons why Analyze DI Pro or Analyze CS Ops is a better option. I’ll also put up a link to the updated product comparison sheet that gives a very clear idea of which product fits your needs.

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