Hermes is, concisely stated, a platform technology for high-throughput data visualization and analysis. It is capable of gathering data from multiple sources; providing remote access to that data (both in real time and retrospectively) via the Internet; and processing the incoming data in user-customizable ways.

"Platform technology" is an oft-used buzzword that may often translate loosely into "a technology that purports to do everything but does nothing". A platform technology can only be considered useful when it has found a specific application - that is to say, when it has been implemented. Hermes was designed with the high-level goal of accommodating any type of data, but it has been successfully implemented and strenuously tested in physiological data applications at MIT.

Hermes is intended to provide an easy and intuitive mechanism to serve users as a web-based portal for viewing incoming data and/or analysis results retrospectively and in real-time.