first take at getting started

get-started/index.md

@@ -7,24 +7,49 @@ mapped_pages:
 ---
 # Get started
 
-## Overview
+## Overview [what-is-es]
+
+[{{es}}](https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch) is a distributed search and analytics engine, scalable data store, and vector database built on Apache Lucene. It’s optimized for speed and relevance on production-scale workloads. Use {{es}} to search, index, store, and analyze data of all shapes and sizes in near real time. [{{kib}}](https://github.com/elastic/kibana) is the graphical user interface for {{es}}. It’s a powerful tool for visualizing and analyzing your data, and for managing and monitoring the Elastic Stack. 
 
 {{es}} is the heart of the [Elastic Stack](the-stack.md). Combined with {{kib}}, it powers these Elastic solutions and use cases:
 
-* [Observability](/solutions/observability.md)
-* [Security](/solutions/security.md)
-* [Search](/solutions/search.md)
+* **[Observability](/solutions/observability.md)**: Resolve problems with open, flexible, and unified observability powered by advanced machine learning and analytics.
+* **[Security](/solutions/security.md)**: Detect, investigate, and respond to threats with AI-driven security analytics to protect your organization at scale.
+* **[Search](/solutions/search.md)**: Build powerful search and RAG applications using Elasticsearch's vector database, AI toolkit, and advanced retrieval capabilities.
 
 :::{tip}
 Refer to our [customer success stories](https://www.elastic.co/customers/success-stories) for concrete examples of how Elastic is used in real-world scenarios.
 :::
 
+## Step 1: Choose your deployment type
+
+Elasticsearch provides multiple deployment options:
+
+* **Elastic Cloud**: Fully managed Elasticsearch service, hassle-free with automatic updates. Ideal for those seeking scalability and ease of use. [Learn more about Elastic Cloud](../deploy-manage/deploy/elastic-cloud.md).  
+   **Get started**: [Sign up here](https://cloud.elastic.co/registration?page=docs&placement=docs-body).
+* **Serverless**: A deployment option designed for flexibility and efficiency, allowing you to scale resources automatically without worrying about infrastructure. Perfect for unpredictable workloads. [Learn more about Elasticsearch Serverless](../deploy-manage/deploy/elastic-cloud/serverless.md).  
+   **Get started**: [Sign up here](https://cloud.elastic.co/registration?page=docs&placement=docs-body).
+* **Self-Managed**: Deploy Elasticsearch on-premise or on your infrastructure. Ideal for those who prefer complete control. [Learn about self-managed deployment](../deploy-manage/deploy/self-managed.md).  
+   **Get started**: [Download Elasticsearch here](../deploy-manage/deploy/self-managed/local-development-installation-quickstart.md).
+
+## Step 2: Explore the solutions
+
+Elasticsearch supports diverse use cases. Select a solution and follow its dedicated getting-started guide:
+
+|     |     |
+| --- | --- |
+|  |  |
+| ![elasticsearch](https://www.elastic.co/docs/assets/images/elasticsearch.png "elasticsearch =50%") | **Elasticsearch**<br> Create seamless search experiences for apps, websites, or workplaces.<br><br>[**Get started →**](../solutions/search/get-started.md)<br> |
+| ![observability](https://www.elastic.co/docs/assets/images/observability.png "observability =50%") | **Observability**<br> Monitor logs, metrics, and traces to gain insight into your systems.<br><br>[**Get started →**](../solutions/observability/get-started.md)<br> |
+| ![security](https://www.elastic.co/docs/assets/images/security.png "security =50%") | **Security**<br> Monitor logs, metrics, and traces to gain insight into your systems.<br><br>[**Get started →**](../solutions/security/get-started.md)<br> |
+
 ## Next steps
 
-Get started by learning about:
+For learn more about our products and solutions, see:
 
 - [{{es}} and {{kib}}](introduction.md), the core components of the {{stack}}.
   - [The stack](/get-started/the-stack.md) to understand the relationship between core and optional components of an Elastic deployment.
 - [The out-of-the-box solutions and use cases](/solutions/index.md) that Elastic supports.
 - [Deploying Elastic](./deployment-options.md) for your use case.
-- [Versioning and availability](./versioning-availability.md) in Elastic deployments.
+- [Versioning and availability](./versioning-availability.md) in Elastic deployments.
+

get-started/introduction.md

@@ -3,52 +3,26 @@ mapped_pages:
   - https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/elasticsearch-intro-what-is-es.html
 ---
 
-# {{es}} and {{kib}} [introduction]
-
-## What is {{es}}?
-
-[{{es}}](https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch) is a distributed search and analytics engine, scalable data store, and vector database built on Apache Lucene. It’s optimized for speed and relevance on production-scale workloads. Use {{es}} to search, index, store, and analyze data of all shapes and sizes in near real time.
-
-You can deploy {{es}} as a standalone service to build custom search and analytics solutions or deploy it together with other Elastic products, using various [deployment options](./deployment-options.md).
-
-Explore the full list of [{{es}} features](https://www.elastic.co/elasticsearch/features) on the product webpage.
-
-To learn more about the internals of the data store, refer to [](/manage-data/data-store.md).
-
-::::{tip}
-Want to get started quickly with the {{es}} API? Check out our hands-on [quick start tutorials](/solutions/search/api-quickstarts.md) and [Python notebooks](https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch-labs/tree/main/notebooks#readme).
-::::
-
-## What is {{kib}}?
-
-[{{kib}}](https://github.com/elastic/kibana) is the graphical user interface for {{es}}. It’s a powerful tool for visualizing and analyzing your data, and for managing and monitoring the Elastic Stack.
-
-Together, {{es}} and {{kib}} form the core of the [Elastic Stack](the-stack.md).
-
-They power all Elastic solutions and use cases:
-
-- [Observability](/solutions/observability.md)
-- [Security](/solutions/security.md)
-- [Search](/solutions/search.md)
-
-## Use cases
-
+# Use cases [introduction]
+$$$what-is-kib$$$
+$$$what-is-es$$$
+$$$use-cases$$$
 The {{stack}} is used for a wide and growing range of use cases. Here are a few examples:
 
-**Observability**
+## Observability
 
 - **Logs, metrics, and traces**: Collect, store, and analyze logs, metrics, and traces from applications, systems, and services.
 - **Application performance monitoring (APM)**: Monitor and analyze the performance of business-critical software applications.
 - **Real user monitoring (RUM)**: Monitor, quantify, and analyze user interactions with web applications.
 - **OpenTelemetry**: Reuse your existing instrumentation to send telemetry data to the Elastic Stack using the OpenTelemetry standard.
 
-**Security**
+## Security
 
 - **Security information and event management (SIEM)**: Collect, store, and analyze security data from applications, systems, and services.
 - **Endpoint security**: Monitor and analyze endpoint security data.
 - **Threat hunting**: Search and analyze data to detect and respond to security threats.
 
-**Search**
+## Search
 
 - **Full-text search**: Build a fast, relevant full-text search solution using inverted indexes, tokenization, and text analysis.
 - **Vector database**: Store and search vectorized data, and create vector embeddings with built-in and third-party natural language processing (NLP) models.

manage-data/index.md

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ applies_to:
 
 # Manage data
 
-Whether you're looking to build a fast and relevant search solution, monitor business-critical applications and infrastructure, monitor endpoint security data, or one of the [many other use cases Elastic supports](/get-started/introduction.md#use-cases), you'll need to understand how to ingest and manage data stored in {{es}}.
+Whether you're looking to build a fast and relevant search solution, monitor business-critical applications and infrastructure, monitor endpoint security data, or one of the [many other use cases Elastic supports](/get-started/introduction.md), you'll need to understand how to ingest and manage data stored in {{es}}.
 
 ## Learn how data is stored