About Us

Ontology Works (now HIGHFLEET, Inc.) was founded in 1998 by Computer Scientists, Linguists and Analysts from the United States Intelligence Community. At its founding, the Company resolved to be a product company with support services for the implementation of our software. We decided to create software that uses high-fidelity domain models, with a 'domain' in our view being the things a customer cares about, and instantiate these models in deductive databases that execute thousands of inferences over the model, providing knowledge discovery not just data retrieval. We did not start with "ontology" and try to think of what to do with it. We started with advanced thinking in deductive database technology and saw the discipline of Ontology to be the best way to build the rigorous, high fidelity models with which such a logic programming based systems could work. While our use of ontologies in deductive databases is the most technically challenging path to take, our success means that users have question-answering capabilities never before available. It means that enterprises can understand what their data means without an excrescence of heavy weight, brittle and expensive applications or without weeks to months of special effort by IT staffs. Since our deductive systems do not fit the traditional mold of “database” and since they are inherently a force multiplier for analysis and understanding the meaning of data, we call these systems "Knowledge Servers" not "databases." We continue to build on this success and now offer a suite of capabilities that are without peer in this field. Among the most important capabilities is our cost effective solution for the semantic federation of existing databases that gives all the benefits of our "clean sheet" deductive databases for all semantically federated enterprise information resources.

The Company emphasizes ethical conduct in all its endeavors and complete honesty with customers. If we can't solve a customer problem, we will clearly say so. For our employees we offer a family-friendly work environment that values outcome and output over any particular process, while providing technically and intellectually challenging work.

In February 2006, HIGHFLEET moved to the old National Brewery complex in Baltimore, Maryland. Now converted to offices, the brewery offers a terrific view of the Baltimore waterfront and is part of a large redevelopment effort in the Canton and Brewer's Hill neighborhoods of Baltimore.

WHAT'S WITH THE RIGID AIRSHIPS?

We chose the zeppelin-like theme for our logo and marketing so that people would ask, "What's with the zeppelins?" Somewhat to our astonishment, many people didn't know what a zeppelin is or a rigid lighter-than-air aircraft. Here’s a link that discusses in some detail the kinds of lighter than air aircraft that range from blimps to rigid airships. http://www.airships.net/dirigible. The theme is attention getting and so a valid and calculated approach to branding. Or, it could be that I and some of the Founders are technology romantics. The next time you’re stuck at your cramped seat in a ‘modern’ airplane eating your peanut, think of this image of the airship dining room.

New zeppelin-type efforts are under way in many countries.

Michael R. Davis
President and CEO
HIGHFLEET, Inc.