Organizations such as businesses and governments are increasingly obsessed with gathering data, but the results often overwhelm them when they need to act quickly. Richard Tibbetts, CTO of StreamBase Systems in Lexington, MA, has developed a data processing system that can accept large amounts of rapidly changing input and distill it into the information that organizations feel they need to make sound decisions.

Traditionally, organizations have turned to databases to store and manipulate large amounts of information. Typically, however, these databases aren't good at processing data in real time; uers have to wait until an entire data set has been accumulated. But Tibbetts has invented a new set of techniques for managing data. In particular, he invented a language called StreamSQL EventFlow, which can process a stream of data as it arrives, analyze it, make decisions about it, and take actions such as trading a stock or flagging a trend.

StreamBase counts government agencies, investment banks, and hedge funds among its clients. The technology has been used to monitor activity on battlefields as combat unfolds and to help businesses react as stock market conditions change. --Erica Naone