Feature Summary

In sum, Needle is a new database platform designed from the ground up to reduce the time and cost of merging information into a single clean database.  Here is a quick review of Needle's feature set:

• Intelligent Data Acquisition: import structured data from feeds or complex websites via a simple data tagging interface. Tag whole fields, within a field, or across fields: after a few examples, Needle learns your pattern. Example: build a concerts database incorporating both Ticketmaster feeds, local venues' websites, and artist information from Wikipedia—no programming required.
• Data Normalization: Needle automatically normalizes names, titles, addresses, dates, phone numbers, prices, URLs, etc. Moreover, it automatically transforms the schema of the source data into that of your target database.
• Semantic Deduplication: easily find and merge variant forms of the same record. Merge duplicates automatically, in bulk, or manually by drag-and-drop. Example: with two clicks, display clusters of restaurants that have similar names and are located within the same zip code.
• Persistent Edits: data edits, merges, and deletions automatically survive even after the data is refreshed from its original source.  They can also be undone at any time.
• Customizable Data Views:  tables, grids, lists, and maps make outliers easy to spot and enable powerful analytics on the clean data.
• Query Language and Export API: use Needle's visual UI or powerful path-based query language to configure exactly your desired view of the data. Then with one click, connect your application to that data view as a web service.
• Secure Hosted Platform: your data is maintained 24/7 at ITA Software's datacenters. We back it up for you, allow you to roll back to any previous version in case data problems are introduced, and, if you choose to publish your data directly from Needle, distribute clean data snapshots across our server farm to support web-scale query volume.