ESRI/SAP News Around the Globe, Winter 2008

In This Issue

• ESRI/SAP News
• ESRI Corporate Alliance News
• Product News
• GIS in Action
• ESRI in the News
• Marketing Opportunities

ESRI/SAP News

City of Kitchener Implements Pioneering Infrastructure Management System
Under a government mandate that requires Canadian municipalities to include an accurate account of their tangible capital assets in annual financial statements for 2009, the City of Kitchener partnered with ESRI Canada Limited, SAP, IDS Scheer, and Loki Innovations to create an enterprise solution. The implementation, which leverages ArcGIS technology with SAP and RIVA software, is specifically designed to bring together the financial and nonfinancial data required for Public Sector Accounting Board compliance. Access to the new infrastructure management system will benefit every city department including facilities management, operations, utilities, engineering, and finance.

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ESRI Corporate Alliance News

NAVTEQ Signs ESRI Enterprise License Agreement
Collaboration has been a trademark of the relationship between ESRI and NAVTEQ for more than 20 years. NAVTEQ's recent signing of an enterprise license agreement for the ArcGIS suite of software products will ensure the continued development of superior solutions to meet the existing and changing demands of our customers.

Deploying ArcGIS Desktop in a Citrix Environment [PDF]
Learn how the United States Marine Corps (USMC) successfully overcame challenges associated with hosting ArcGIS applications in a Citrix environment. The resulting enterprise GIS enabled the USMC to centralize GIS data storage and hosting applications. Read the article to learn the valuable lessons and recommended configurations that resulted from this ambitious project.

Dashboard Integration of Xcelsius, GIS Mapping, and Reporting
APOS Systems Inc., a leading provider of extensions to the BusinessObjects platform and an ESRI Authorized Business Partner, has announced a beta program for its new Dashboard Builder support for the APOS Integration Kit for ESRI GIS solution. This new enhancement will allow ESRI GIS maps to interact with BusinessObjects reports and Xcelsius models in a unified dashboard view, extending location intelligence into analytics and reports.

Information Builders and ESRI Solution Helps Erlanger, Kentucky, Police Fight Crime
The Erlanger, Kentucky, Police Department knew that a GIS system would be a great asset in many law enforcement activities, but it had trouble finding what it needed - a single product to automate the entire crime mapping and analysis process. Then its local planning department stepped in with an offer to use its GIS tools from ESRI and WebFocus business intelligence (BI) software from Information Builders. The addition of WebFocus Magnify and an open-source search appliance resulted in a new Web-based BI portal that allows patrol officers to enter data, or even pieces of data - such as a few numbers from a license plate - into a simple search interface and retrieve information from their own databases and those of neighboring towns. This new capability makes it possible to make better operational decisions on the front lines.

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Product News

ArcGIS Server 9.3 Radically Simplifies Users' Experience
With the release of ArcGIS 9.3, ESRI provides a new set of application programming interfaces (APIs) that extend the range of what developers can do with mashups. These APIs give mashup developers more opportunities to rapidly build lightweight, focused applications on top of ArcGIS Server using JavaScript, Flex, and many other scripting languages. GIS-powered mashups empower users to solve real problems by incorporating the business knowledge and resource investments made by the organization and putting that data in the hands of the decision makers and analysts who need to rely on trusted information.

Podcast: ESRI's ArcGIS API for Flex Gives Developers Direct Access to ArcGIS Server 9.3
Mansour Raad, senior software architect at ESRI, discusses the recently released ArcGIS API for Flex, which allows users to transform their local data into a visually rich, interactive map; query and display GIS data features and attributes; locate addresses; identify features; and perform complex spatial analytics. Listen to the podcast. [MP3]

New White Paper: ArcLogistics: The Routing and Scheduling Solution for Fleet Management [PDF]
ArcLogistics software is a complete solution for complex routing and scheduling problems and helps users minimize costs, maximize productivity, and improve customer service. ArcLogistics offers intelligent routing by taking into account actual network drive times, distances, street network restrictions, vehicle characteristics, customer characteristics, and more.

User Productivity Improved in the Business Analyst 9.3 Product Suite
ArcGIS Business Analyst is a suite of product solutions that addresses a series of business-related questions such as, Where should I put my next store? How is my current store performing? Is my merchandise what consumers in the area want? Am I offering the right services to my population segments? In these economically volatile times, businesses and government agencies more than ever need reliable and effective tools to help them decide where to locate; relocate; expand; or, in some cases, consolidate facilities.

ESRI's RouteMAP IMS Is Now Compatible with WeatherBug
Weather can play a critical role in the safety and productivity of a work environment. Headquartered in Germantown, Maryland, is WeatherBug, the largest weather sensor and camera network in the world. Users of ESRI's RouteMAP IMS can now access their local weather from WeatherBug to respond to and plan for inclement conditions that may be dangerous or slow down business. RouteMAP IMS offers all the tools and data an organization needs to create a total Internet mapping and location services solution.

Online Seminar: Introduction to ArcGIS Mobile 9.3
ArcGIS Mobile is a mobile GIS platform that allows users to provide access to GIS services wirelessly for a range of mobile devices. This seminar will demonstrate how ArcGIS Mobile can contribute to improved field productivity, increased accuracy of geographic information, and instant data sharing with others in the field or office. This seminar is designed to introduce users to the new ArcGIS Mobile product and how it can help them support their mobile workers.

Release of ArcGIS 9.3.1
ArcGIS 9.3.1 will improve the performance of dynamic map publishing and increase geographic information sharing. The software will also include enhanced support for Java developers and feature an easy installation that will allow users to upgrade to ArcGIS 9.3.1 without having to uninstall ArcGIS 9.3. ArcGIS 9.3.1 is scheduled for release in the second quarter of 2009. Learn more.

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GIS in Action

Music Video: Map of the World as We Know It (And I See Signs)
GIS Day 2008 was the inspiration for this music video that adapts GIS-based lyrics to the tune of R.E.M.'s "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" hit from the 1980s.

Podcast: How Banks and Financial Institutions Use GIS to Stay Afloat during Times of Economic Crisis [MP3]
Shelli Stockton, finance and banking industry manager at ESRI, explores how financial institutions, ranging from large national corporations, such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), to local credit unions, use GIS during times of economic crisis to help them optimize their business and resources.

Karen Siderelis Selected as Department of the Interior's First Geospatial Information Officer
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced at the 2008 ESRI International User Conference in San Diego, California, that a new position was being created within the Department of the Interior (DOI) - geospatial information officer. Fulfilling this announcement, Karen Siderelis was recently appointed to the position. Siderelis previously served as associate director for geospatial information and chief information officer for the U.S. Geological Survey, a DOI agency. She will be responsible for providing leadership in advancing the National Spatial Data Infrastructure through the department's national and international responsibilities and ensuring coordination of GIS efforts in all nine DOI bureaus.

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ESRI in the News

Newspaper Projects a $600,000 Savings with ArcLogistics
The Star-Tribune newspaper of the Minnesota cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul uses fewer vans and drives fewer miles since routing deliveries of papers using ESRI's ArcLogistics software. Labor costs have also fallen. Read the article. Listen to the podcast What's New in ArcLogistics 9.3 [MP3]. Take the free training seminar Introduction to ArcLogistics 9.3.

ESRI's ArcGIS Is the Cornerstone of Cityworks' Strong Year
Azteca Systems, Inc., the provider of GIS-centric management solution Cityworks, recently announced that the company experienced another year of strong, stable growth through 2008. Worldwide, 45 new customers adopted Cityworks, an ESRI ArcGIS software-based solution, to manage assets, infrastructure, and property. In addition, a significant share of existing customers further deployed Cityworks into new areas of their organizations.

Keynote from DHL Express Europe to Kick Off 2009 ESRI Business GIS Summit
Henrik Dahlin of DHL Express Europe will keynote the ESRI Business GIS Summit being held May 4-6, 2009, at the Westin Tabor Center in Denver, Colorado. Dahlin will discuss how GIS technology has helped the international company improve its bottom-line results, boost customer service ratings, and reduce its impact on the environment.

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Marketing Opportunities

2009 Southeast Regional User Group (SERUG) Conference
GIS users from the southeastern region of the United States will gather in Jacksonville, Florida, April 27-29, 2009, to get updated, educated, and inspired and to connect with peers and ESRI staff. Sponsorship opportunities are now open to Corporate Alliance Partners, ESRI Authorized Business Partners, and hardware vendors. If you are unsure of your relationship with ESRI, contact your Customer Service representative at 888-377-4575.

2009 ESRI Business GIS Summit
Business professionals and industry leaders come together at this annual event to explore the models and strategies that ensure success. This year's summit, being held May 4-6, 2009, in Denver, Colorado, will host professionals from across the commercial sector including real estate, retail, logistics, economic development, manufacturing, banking, insurance, media, and transportation. Professionals from related industries, such as utilities, health care, telecommunications, and public safety, are also encouraged to attend. Registration is now open, and sponsorship opportunities are available.

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