Locus Introduces TreeMaps to LocusFocus and EIM
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., 7 October 2005 — Locus Technologies (Locus), the industry leader in web-based environmental information management software, announced today that it has added TreeMaps data visualization technology to its flagship product, EIM™ and other LocusFocusSM applications. eTree, as Locus calls the application, provides an instant, intuitive view of complex data sets that is perfectly suited for accessing and managing immense amounts of environmental and financial data. eTree provides an “aerial view” of the data using squares of varying sizes and colors to visually represent data variables. eTree allows users to instantaneously see patterns, anomalies and trends developing in the large data sets. It is flexible enough to work with almost any type of data and easy enough to give users of all experience levels quick access to vital information. Never before has environmental data been so easy or so intuitive!
This innovative new tool gives companies with environmentally impacted sites a bird’s-eye view of millions of data points—all at once. eTree also comes equipped with a powerful new screening feature. It allows users to sift through the millions of analytical or financial records on the map using several different criteria. For example, an enterprise portfolio of environmentally impacted sites is displayed and can be sorted by state, region, division, manager, regulator or any other important differentiator. Various graphical filters allow more precise filtering, which is especially useful for large enterprise customers with thousands of sites.
With eTree, users are able to drill into data and quickly get information, such as reviewing regulatory action limit exceedances across regions or states, identifying which laboratories are performing work and how often certain types of methods are requested, reviewing database statistics and tracking data loading, tracking consultant and laboratory performance, and much more. Once the tree is generated, users can drill into additional
data stored in LocusFocus, such as project financial performance and get more details on items of interest.
Treemaps were conceptualized in the early 1990s by University of Maryland computer science professor, Ben Shneiderman, and have been recently popularized by the Wall Street applications in the financial services industry. Locus is the first company to bring this advanced visualization technology to environmental markets, where it is a perfect fit for the huge amounts of data that are inherently difficult to visualize and analyze.
According to Locus’s President and CEO, Dr. Neno Duplancic, “Our clients are drowning in information about their sites, which is difficult to extract when needed. eTree provides them with an intuitive data mining and environmental risk analysis tool. Information is power—but only if you can absorb and put that information to use. That’s where Locus’s unique eTree comes in. We’ve applied this exciting data-visualization technology to wide
arrays of environmental data. Companies can visually mine data and quickly answer questions to support their corporate strategic objectives and manage environmental risk and liability. The technology will help Locus’s customers turn environmental data into meaningful information, with the ultimate objective of lowering site closure and post-closure monitoring costs.”
