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The 0.2ms Advantage: Why Search Speed Matters in Investigations

Ingestigate Team
September 3, 2025
6 min read
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When we tell people that Ingestigate delivers search results in 0.2 milliseconds, the response is often: “That’s impressive, but does it really matter?”

The answer is an emphatic yes—and not for the reasons you might think.

The Hidden Cost of Slow Search

Let’s start with the math. If you’re an investigator running 500 searches per day (a conservative estimate for active cases), here’s what different search speeds actually mean:

  • 2 seconds per search (industry average): 16.7 minutes waiting per day
  • 500ms per search (modern platforms): 4.2 minutes waiting per day
  • 0.2ms per search (Ingestigate): 0.1 minutes waiting per day

But the real cost isn’t measured in minutes—it’s measured in cognitive flow.

The Psychology of Investigative Flow

Investigations are about connections. When you’re following a lead, your brain is building a mental model—connecting names, dates, locations, and patterns. Every interruption breaks this flow.

Research from cognitive psychology shows that even a 1-second delay is enough to cause a context switch in your brain. You lose your train of thought. You have to rebuild your mental model. The brilliant connection you were about to make? Gone.

With 0.2ms response times, search becomes pre-conscious. You think, you search, you see results—all in one fluid motion. Your investigative flow remains unbroken.

Real-World Investigation Scenarios

Scenario 1: The Expanding Network

You’re investigating financial fraud. You search for “John Smith”—10,000 results appear instantly. You refine: “John Smith Chicago”—1,000 results. Add “2023”—100 results. Add “wire transfer”—10 results.

With 0.2ms searches, this entire refinement process takes seconds. With 2-second searches, it takes minutes, and you’ve likely lost track of why you added each filter.

Scenario 2: The Time-Critical Lead

Active investigation. Every second matters. You need to search through:

  • Social media posts
  • Financial records
  • Communication logs
  • Travel records
  • Purchase histories

At 0.2ms per search, you can run hundreds of queries in the time it takes traditional systems to return one result. In crisis situations, this isn’t just convenient—it’s life-saving.

Scenario 3: The Pattern Discovery

Money laundering investigation with 10 million documents. You’re looking for patterns across:

  • Multiple shell companies
  • Dozens of bank accounts
  • Hundreds of transactions
  • Thousands of communications

With instant search, you can explore the data—testing hypotheses, following hunches, discovering patterns. With slow search, you’re limited to predetermined queries. The difference? Solved cases versus cold cases.

The Compound Effect

The real power of 0.2ms search isn’t in any single query—it’s in how it changes your entire investigative approach:

More Iterations

When search is instant, you search more. You test more hypotheses. You explore more connections. You find patterns others miss.

Deeper Analysis

Instead of running 10 careful searches, you run 1,000 exploratory searches. You go deeper, wider, and discover unexpected connections.

Enhanced Collaboration

Team members can share searches in real-time. “Look at this”—and they see it instantly. No waiting, no context loss, just seamless collaboration.

Reduced Fatigue

Waiting is exhausting. It breaks concentration and increases cognitive load. Instant response keeps you energized and focused.

The Business Impact

For organizations, 0.2ms search translates to:

  • 80% reduction in investigation time
  • 5x more cases processed
  • Faster case resolution
  • Higher investigator satisfaction
  • Better case outcomes

Building for Speed from Day One

We didn’t achieve 0.2ms by optimizing later. Speed was a core design principle from day one:

  • Every architectural decision prioritized performance
  • Every feature was built with speed in mind
  • Every optimization was measured and validated
  • Every release maintains or improves performance

The Bottom Line

In investigations, speed isn’t about impatience—it’s about effectiveness. When search is instant:

  • You maintain cognitive flow
  • You discover more connections
  • You solve cases faster
  • You serve justice better

0.2ms isn’t just a number. It’s the difference between following a lead and losing it. Between finding a pattern and missing it. Between solving a case and watching it go cold.

Speed matters. Experience it yourself.

Start your free trial and feel the difference instant search makes in your investigations.