Frequently Asked Questions

What is EQuIS Helios?

EQuIS Helios is a comprehensive knowledge management portal combining AI-powered data handling and search capabilities with strong privacy and security features. It centralizes various data sources to streamline information management and access.

Does EQuIS Helios integrate with other databases and other potential data sources?

EQuIS Helios is optimized for files and documents stored in Azure Blob Storage. Helios may utilize other data sources that are generally available for Azure AI Search (see here for more details), which include: Azure Blob Storage, Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure SQL Database, and Azure Table Storage. Additional data sources may be supported in the future.

What is the level of integration of EQuIS Helios with the EQuIS Schema?

These are both functional applications in the EQuIS stack where data and documents can be processed and stored. In this initial release they will not talk to each other directly. In the future they will be integrated in more functional ways.

What tools does EQuIS Helios provide for document management?

EQuIS Helios provides a quick and reliable way to load and extract meta data, summarize document content, and index it to make it searchable. This provides quick understanding of large documents.

How does EQuIS Helios enhance search efficiency?

EQuIS Helios utilizes Microsoft Azure AI to improve efficiency in processing and accessing data and documents.

What is the extent of the AI component?

EQuIS Helios utilizes multiple Microsoft Azure AI services, including:

Note

Not all Azure AI Services are available in all Azure regions, so EQuIS Helios will be available in limited regions (and may or may not be deployed in the same Azure regions as EQuIS Enterprise).

What if my organization does not allow AI tools?

EarthSoft and Microsoft both have a strong commitment to data ownership, data privacy, and data confidentiality. EQuIS Helios stores each client’s data in separate containers and indexes. For details related to data processing and data security within Azure AI services, please visit the following links:

Can EQuIS Helios help with data privacy and security?

Yes. EQuIS Helios identifies personally identifiable information (PII) and profanity within documents to maintain privacy standards and ensures that only authorized users can access specific repositories, maintaining data confidentiality and integrity.

How does it work?

  1. Load data files into Helios:
    • Option 1 – Use the built-in Explorer to locate and flag or use the drag and drop method.
    • Option 2 – Microsoft ships Azure Data Box with return shipping instructions where files can be located, and use drag and drop to load.
  2. Files are indexed and metadata added (searchable at this point).
  3. Extract tabular data for use elsewhere; for example, the EQuIS Schema or reporting.
  4. (Optional) Establish file folder structure for familiar browsing and navigation.

Can any data format be loaded into Helios?

Files of any format can be loaded into EQuIS Helios and downloaded by users with appropriate permissions. Indexing, summarization, and data extraction are limited to file formats supported by relevant Azure AI Services and typically include PDF, Microsoft Office formats, HTML, text, and standard image formats (via OCR).

Can Helios scrape documents for data to load into EQuIS data tables?

Yes, Helios uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology to scrape data from documents to load into EQuIS data tables.

Can I choose what to load into the EQuIS Schema?

Yes, you decide what to load into EQuIS Schemas using EQuIS Link. You can move the content elsewhere, or simply leave it.

Helios requires Microsoft Entra ID authentication, but my organization does not use Microsoft Entra ID authentication. How can I use Helios?

Please reach out to us to discuss your specific organizational requirements.