In production since 2015, Knowvation® allows organizations to perform diverse content management within one easy to use system. Knowvation is a web-based, file type agnostic, full-text search and discovery enterprise Content Services Platform (CSP).
Knowvation Overview
Today’s businesses face many threats when their corporate content is disorganized. In the current enterprise environment, successful businesses rely on easily managed data and robust content management systems. Knowvation can help businesses handle the complexities of their information through its extensive data management capabilities and with experienced staff that will organize content in the best format possible.
Knowvation is a web-based, Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) CSP solution that has active installations worldwide supporting thousands of users. As a COTS product, the Knowvation implementation process is simple. The easy-to-use web-based interface means even novice users without any programming knowledge can operate the system like pros. Knowvation can be used to ingest, create, and manage a repository of information or it can find and index materials in place. This federated index capability offers a “one search finds all” functionality while also allowing records governance for an organization’s critical data. If you already have repositories of managed information in SharePoint or other systems, Knowvation will index this data as-is and provide a one-stop-shop search portal to ensure that organizations can find and access all its valuable data.
Knowvation Explainer Video
The Knowvation CSP allows easy integration with third party tools or newly developed custom microservices. With our API driven architecture, including a SQL API, off-platform Business Intelligence tools, such as PowerBI, Tableau or Microstrategy, can be introduced to support existing data exploration and visualization workflows. The Knowvation CSP also supports Esri tools and data types. Esri Web tools can access unstructured data in the Knowvation CSP and use Esri displays and web interfaces. Knowvation CSP visualization capabilities provide four real-time results interfaces for discovery of collected data and events, including a map display for data with geospatial relevance.
- Easy to Use Web Based Graphical User Interface (GUI)
- Search Across both metadata and full-text and highlights full-text hits
- Federated Indexing and Search – “One Search Finds All”
- Content Services Platform (CSP) is easy to Integrate with RESTful Web Services and API’s
- Integrated search and browse hierarchy.
Benefits of Knowvation Content Services Platform
Smarter Searching

Knowvation Core Search Example – Letter from John F. Kennedy to Arthur C. Lundahl about the Cuban Missile Crisis.
PTFS has recognized findability as a significant issue for all organizations and developed the Knowvation enterprise Content Services Platform (CSP) to tackle this challenge. Knowvation CSP uses a robust content management strategy along with technology that allows you to find and use your data regardless of where it lives. This means that you do not have to require everyone to manage their data the same way using the same system. For example, an information management strategy can be developed that allows user groups to continue data management in a way that is efficient for them, while others can migrate their data to a centralized repository. The key is “federating” technology that allows for the creation and searching of a master index of an organization’s data, where the data may be stored locally in one or many places or in different geographic locations.
Advanced Administrative Tools
A broad set of administrator tools lets users interact with content at a much deeper level. For example, Knowvation enables faster, more reliable reporting. Original materials are always preserved, but version changes are also automatically recorded for a clear chain of custody. This includes noting the date, location and reason for revisions. With this information, administrators can track an individual user’s searches to make sure they are in compliance with objectives and best practices.
Effortless Extension
Although the Knowvation Content Services Platform (CSP) has the simplicity web-based COTS products are known for, the sky’s the limit for advanced users. Scalable, extensible and customizable are much more than buzzwords. As PTFS customers ranging from DoD to San Diego County will tell you, Knowvation is a platform capable of launching an endless variety of current and future CSP objectives.
Knowvation Technical Capabilities
Quick Facts
- Permits flexibility in product delivery through a web-based, microservice architecture
- Customizable, easy to use interface
- Supports 30 foreign languages
- Web-based metadata editor
- Growing integration library with leading cloud services providers like AWS and Azure
- Searches across large document sets (millions of pages) on multiple servers, geographically dispersed, with a rapid response time
- Searches metadata, document full-text or both
- Highlights search hits within document
- Supports a wide range of data types, including documents, audio, video, text, and geospatial data
- Ingests files for repository creation or indexes content in place
- Provides spider, crawl, and/or ingest services for a federated search solution
- Unicode compliant
- Supports multiple concurrent metadata schemas, including extended Dublin core
- Provides browse hierarchy that can be created on ingest, defined by hot folders or duplicated from shared drive folders
- Links sites and documents by designating metadata fields as linking fields
- Includes a pre-programmed search button from web portal for quick access to high demand information
- Offers saved searches with automatic notification service
- Training, follow-on maintenance and support available
Supported Browsers
- Mozilla Firefox 50.0 and later
- Microsoft Edge 108.x and later
- Google Chrome 50 and later
Supported Platforms
- Physical or Virtual Servers
- MS Windows Server 2019
- MS Windows Server 2022
Supported Data Types
- Audio
- Video
- Documents
SOA, Open Standards
- OGC Services
- RSS
- Z39.50—ISO 23950 Compliant
- OAI-PMH Compliant
- SWORD
- APIs include RESTful Web Service
Sample Supported Born Digital and Digitized Media Types
- All MS Office formats supporting documents, presentations, spreadsheets, books, newspapers and more
- Plain-text and markup document types
- Text, XML, HTML, PDF, JPG, TIF
- PDF formats
- XMP/XML metadata (PDF/A and PDF/A-3)-ISO:19005 Standards for Archiving
- Video
- MPEG, MPEG-2, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, AVI, WMV, AAF
- Audio
- MP3, MP4, WAV
- Digital and scanned photographs and documents
- PDF, JPG, TIF
- Spatial data files, including satellite imagery, shape files and Esri feature data
- VPF, DNC, RPF, CADRG, ADRG
- Computer-Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) files
- Other electronically published materials
Multiple Search Modes: Concept, Boolean, Pattern
Using Knowvation’s intuitive web-based interface, Boolean, natural language (concept), and pattern matching (fuzzy logic) search queries, users overcome OCR inaccuracies and misspelled information by searching for thoughts and ideas to pinpoint results. Queries can be made against the full-text of digital documents, rich metadata fields or a combination of both. Full text search results are highlighted on the document image for quick visual reference. Metadata fields can also be used to limit full-text searches or retrieve non-text digital objects (i.e. search by date, author, publisher, etc.). Knowvation can also be customized with AI powered search capabilities to allow your data to drive search results. Knowvation tools include image capture and conversion (OCR, enhancement, etc.), forms processing, crawl/index/ingest services, language tools, redaction tools, and workflow management.
Administrator Tools
Knowvation Administrators use a simple web-based user interface. This means they can control nearly every single system setting including fields, labels, indexing, reporting, user dashboards, look and feel, and import/export of content from anywhere. The interface also provides for complete management of all system users and groups, including access privileges, passwords and default settings.
Open System Architecture
Knowvation was developed using J2EE to provide an open architecture environment. In addition, Knowvation’s Application Programming Interface (API) enables integration with existing and future third-party applications. Using the API, integration with federated search solutions, Workflow and Business Process Management systems, and legacy systems is easily performed.
Scalability
Knowvation enterprise Content Services Platform (CSP) is 100% browser-based and designed for fast response time over local and wide area networks. For example, large files can be down sampled on ingest for rapid browser-based viewing, while a link to the high-resolution original file is automatically embedded in the metadata.
Knowvation uses a scalable, microservice-based architecture which is deployed either on-premise or in the cloud. Knowvation services can be scaled either horizontally or vertically to adapt to customer traffic and/or library size.
How it Works
Knowvation CSP
Supporting Services
As a full service content management provider, PTFS has collaborated with libraries and government agencies to develop high performance teams and systems. To augment our proprietary software, we offer three core services.
- Systems Integration and Content Management Services
- Digitization and Content Conversion
- Professional Support Services
Systems Integration and Content Management Services
In order to completely meet customer objectives, a variety of integrated components must work with each other. Our specialists have a deep understanding of search and big data systems enabling us to advise clients on the best solutions.
- Integrated content management and content services
- Process and workflow systems
- Customized declassification, FOIA and Personally Identifiable Information (PII) removal solutions
- Consulting services
- Portal solutions
- Requirements analysis
- Software evaluation and selection
- Business process reorganization
- Cloud based hosting services
- Hardware and software installation and integration
- Training
- Data migration support
- Maintenance
Digitization and Content Conversion
Organizations are challenged to find solutions that properly preserve and improve access to important documents efficiently. PTFS offers specialized secure, high volume digitization and content conversion services at cost-effective pricing. We can also process materials in almost any format including digitization of analog video, audio and movie film. Our 8,000 square foot conversion center provides a full range of services including digitization, manual and automated metadata creation and document storage IAW with NARA standards for scan-on-demand services.
Professional Support Services
Finding the right solutions requires the right people. The PTFS team can cost-effectively recruit and provide highly specialized skill sets to drive your organization’s productivity forward.
- Program management
- Staffing
- Subject matter experts
- Research Center Operations
- Records and Document Management
- Freedom of Information Act
- Privacy Act
- Declassification processing
- Personally Identifiable Information (PII) removal
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