Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
The bigger problem was that pretty much no one on Wall Street (or the
rest of the business world, for that matter) had an SGI machine. Interactive
visualization software systems were a hard sell when they came with a
five-figure price tag per user for a new machine and operating system that
didn'trunanyoftheirotherapps.Wegenerated alotofbuzzmaking one-off
prototypes for a long list of high-profile firms, but progression to wide
deployments were hard to come by.
WhenMicrosoftWindowscomputersfinallybegantorolloutwithimproved
graphics application program interfaces (APIs) and graphics cards, it was
a game changer. Access to higher-quality graphics capabilities on most
desktops removed the requirement for expensive specialized machines,
representing a major step in the democratization of advanced visualization
for business use. By the mid to late 1990s, widely deployed high-powered
analytics client platforms like the Bloomberg Terminal were running on
PCs. Even highly specialized and demanding systems like the NASDAQ
MarketSite broadcast wall were run on commodity Windows computers.
As the graphics capabilities of hardware began to mature, awareness of
the value of visualization also matured. Timely, accurate, quickly perceived
events and trends were critical to making lightning-fast decisions on the
trading floor and elsewhere where systems and events needed constant
monitoring. In business analysis as well, the value of representing
information graphically to aid insight and to support strategic-level
decision-making was quickly gaining momentum across all industries.
Surrounded by a rapidly growing market, we found our niche at the fresh
and exciting edge of uncharted territory. For example, when the NASDAQ
MarketSite began its move from the private confines of a downtown office
to a public studio on Times Square, rebuilding its software infrastructure
in the process, we were granted the task of designing and building the
visualization systems and content. To open on the eve of the Millennium,
the new studio would be composed of a 40-foot-long broadcast wall made
up of roughly a hundred displays, and an electronic display wrapping the
seven-story exterior tower. More than 6,000 stocks and indices would be
displayed visually on demand in real time for reporters and the general
public.
Beforeandsincethen,wehavefoundourselveswiththeprivilegeofworking
behind the scenes to help many of the world's most innovative companies
and organizations solve their toughest information problems visually,
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