Panopticon offers Visual Business Intelligence software used by financial institutions and other organizations that must make decisions based on very large datasets and real-time data feeds.

The company's products are based on a deep understanding of how professionals efficiently cope with large amounts of data combined with recent research in interactive information visualization. Panopticon delivers Business Intelligence (“BI”) solutions that are seamlessly integrated into and driven by daily business processes. The company’s products are used to support a variety of applications in the financial industry, including portfolio, performance, risk and technical analysis as well as in tracking trade flows and fund of fund cash flows. Panopticon also provides its Visual Business Analysis software to OEM partners in a wide variety of industries where visual analysis and monitoring of large datasets and streaming real-time feeds are critical factors in the success of the organization.

Development of Panopticon visualization tools began in 1999 at an emerging market brokerage, Brunswick Direct. CTO Sam Giertz was facing a difficult challenge: how to efficiently deliver quality information on thousands of financial instruments in over 30 markets in a very short period of time. Giertz wanted his clients to be able to make sense of huge volumes of information quickly and then be able to make informed investment decisions based on that information. Willem De Geer, a co-founder at Brunswick Direct, worked with lead developers, Markus Skyttner and Ludvig Karlsson, to engineer the first version of what is now the Panopticon Interactive Information Visualization System. Though Panopticon Software AB began as a division of Brunswick Direct, it was spun off as an independent company in 2002.

Panopticon software utilizes a variety of very powerful information visualization techniques, including Treemaps, Barseries, Horizon Graphs, and Stack Graphs, that let users take control of their data. These tools help them find hidden patterns, spot problems and identify opportunities that can be buried in mounds of data. Panopticon allows people to quickly see and comprehend useful information in large datasets – including datasets that are constantly being updated in real time. The system supports effective and timely decision making and makes it easy to synthesize, present and share results with colleagues and customers. Clients typically see a very fast ROI on a Panopticon implementation since these visualization tools allow users to work far more productively and make better, more profitable decisions.

Implementation alternatives include code-level integration with existing enterprise applications, client/server, or web-enabled, thin-client deployments. The technology is excellent for SOA-enabled architectures. It is capable of receiving streams of data and events and then presenting the information to analysts in a useful graphical format. The system is available for Java or .NET environments. Panopticon’s server architecture is optimized for low hardware impact and stateless client-server connections. The system is highly scalable and can support thousands of users. Panopticon offers productized applications as well as a comprehensive Software Developer’s Kit (“SDK”).

Panopticon has also created a number of successful OEM arrangements with ISVs wanting to enhance their offering with a more powerful visual interface. Adding Panopticon’s technology leverages the value of existing data, systems and functions by bringing the user more insight and control over the data and functionality. The highly visual Panopticon component in our OEM partners’ systems allows them to differentiate their products from their competitors.

Clients in the financial services industry include Fidelity, Citi, Louis Dreyfus, and JP Morgan Chase. OEM partners include Deltek, Advent Software, Polystar, Tbricks, and Reuters. The company has offices in New York, London and Stockholm.