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Overview: MARS Platform

MARS (Massive Archival Retrieval System) is the proprietary, holistic software platform developed by Helix International. It is designed to address complex challenges at the intersection of enterprise documents and data, providing a comprehensive suite of tools and services for managing content throughout its lifecycle.

The core purpose of the MARS platform is to enable organizations to effectively manage, migrate, consolidate, access, and retire enterprise content, often originating from diverse and legacy systems. It serves as the technological foundation for many of Helix International's specialized services.


Key Capabilities & Functional Areas

The MARS platform is modular, allowing components to be utilized for specific needs within broader enterprise content strategies. Key functional areas include:

  • Data Extraction & Ingestion: Connecting to and extracting data from a vast range of source systems (ECM, mainframe, databases, print streams, etc.) and formats. Ingesting new data via monitored feeds or scanning processes.
  • Data Transformation & Structuring: Converting data between formats (e.g., AFP to PDF, TIFF to PDF), restructuring complex or unstructured data, applying business rules, and preparing data for target systems or archives.
  • Content Viewing & Federation: Providing unified, on-demand access to content residing in multiple repositories (including legacy archives) without necessarily migrating all data, often using the MARS Real-Time Viewer (RTV) and associated APIs.
  • Migration & Consolidation: Orchestrating the end-to-end process of migrating content between systems and consolidating disparate data sources.
  • Application Retirement Support: Facilitating the retirement of legacy applications by managing data extraction, providing continued access to archived data (via RTV), and handling day-forward data flows (via Watcher).
  • Specialized Storage: Offering efficient archival storage solutions like MARS HSS Object Storage for high compression and rapid retrieval of specific data types.
  • Automation & Orchestration: Utilizing components like MARS Watcher for monitoring data feeds, predicting exceptions using AI/ML, and automating data processing workflows.
  • Integration: Providing a rich ecosystem of APIs (RTV APIs, Mimic Mode, MDMS APIs, etc.) for integration with custom applications and existing enterprise systems.

Explore the MARS Platform

Use the navigation or links below to learn more about specific aspects of the MARS platform.