Press Release

Medway Council rolls out 'GIS for Medway Online’ (GISMO) to 2000+ desktops over corporate intranet.

Medway Council, which became a unitary authority early in 1998, has become the first local authority in the UK to make full use of Internet technology in the deployment of a corporate-wide geographic information system (GIS) based on the Cadcorp SIS - Spatial Information System - GIS software suite. It is also the first to use Cadcorp ASC (Active Server Component) - a dynamic, full-function, Internet-based GIS.

Following the merger of Gillingham Borough Council, City of Rochester-upon-Medway Council and parts of Kent County Council in 1998 to create the new unitary authority, Medway Council selected Cadcorp SIS as the basis for a corporate-wide GIS which would underpin its future information strategy. This strategy has resulted in the development of the Medway Map Server geographic information library, which today contains all the Ordnance Survey maps for the Council's administrative area plus other specially purchased and internally developed spatial databases, such as planning constraints, administrative boundaries, census information and highways data, etc.

From the outset, Internet technology had been seen by Dr. Gesche Schmid, principle GIS co-ordinator for Medway Council, as the key to the successful use of the GIS in making information available throughout the Council and to the wider Medway community.

The need for GISMO

Pressure from the government and national initiatives such as the National Land Use Database, the National Street Gazetteer and the National Land Information Service are increasing the requirement for local authorities to fully embrace GIS technology,” says Dr. Schmid. Furthermore, enabling 'joined-up government’ and making information available electronically both to councillors and to citizens means changing the way information is both managed and delivered. We have therefore developed GIS for Medway Online, otherwise known as GISMO, which makes full use of the latest Internet-based GIS technology to make up-to-date information readily and widely available both within the Council and to relevant outside bodies.”

Based on Cadcorp SIS and using Cadcorp ASC (Active Server Component), the development of GISMO was begun earlier this year and went live as a pilot to a restricted number of users at the end of March. From July, when it is fully rolled out, it will be accessible from up to 2200 desktop PCs throughout Medway Council via the Council's corporate intranet.

Accessible from any browser on the corporate intranet, the system gives all Medway Council employees the ability to access, map, query and print spatial information stored on the Medway Map Server, including administrative boundaries, council facilities, housing, topographic features and aerial ortho-photos, to name but a few examples.

"GISMO helps us to improve the service we give our customers”, says Gesche Schmid, because our employees who deal with the public are now able easily and quickly to access and view the appropriate map and make spatial queries while they are speaking to their customer on the telephone.”

Access to the new system will also be provided to the public at County Libraries and at One-Stop Shops, as well as to schools and colleges in the Medway area as part of the government's National Grid for Learning initiative.

Dynamic Internet-based GIS

Unlike the more typical, static GIS Web publishing tools currently available, Cadcorp ASC offers a new approach to GIS on the Internet. It is a thin-client, dynamic, Internet-based, full-function GIS. Being a fundamental part of the wider Cadcorp SIS suite of software it extends the suite's complete functionality for use over the Internet or a corporate intranet. End users only need to have a standard HTML browser, such as Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer, to run a Cadcorp ASC application. This removes the need to download special browser plug-ins.

To make GIS data as readily accessible as possible, Cadcorp ASC can read and display any of the 35-plus popular GIS and CAD data formats read by all other Cadcorp SIS modules and does not depend on translation to a dedicated Web format to allow data serving and display. These supported data formats include ESRI SHP, MapInfo MIF, MicroStation DGN, AutoCAD DWG, DWF and DXF, Ordnance Survey NTF and many others.

Cadcorp ASC was announced to the market in the autumn of 1999.

About Cadcorp SIS

Cadcorp SIS - Spatial Information System - is a suite of Windows-based and Web-enabled end user and developer digital mapping and geographic information system (GIS) software products.

The suite comprises: Cadcorp SIS Map Manager, which provides the casual user the ability to view, explore, query, symbolise and print digital map and associated tabular data; Cadcorp SIS Map Editor, which in addition to the facilities provided by Map Manager, provides the GIS data custodian with tools to view, manage and edit map and tabular data; and Cadcorp SIS Map Modeller, which adds 3D modelling, terrain analysis and several thematic and analytic mapping tools.

Cadcorp ASC (Active Server Component) extends the functionality of Cadcorp SIS for use over the Internet or a company-wide intranet. It is a dynamic, server-side Web-based GIS, not merely a map publishing tool for pre-authored images. Cadcorp ASC provides a true, interactive Web-based solution for real time map creation and analysis.

About Cadcorp

Established in 1991, Cadcorp is a leading developer of digital mapping and geographic information systems (GIS) software. Based in the UK and with offices in the USA, Cadcorp's distribution and VAR network stretches world-wide. The company also plays a pivotal technical role in the OpenGIS Consortium.

Cadcorp SIS (Spatial Information System) is a range of software modules covering spatial data viewing, data management, data editing, data modelling and analysis. Cadcorp SIS Active X components are available for embedding into third party systems. Cadcorp ASC is an Internet/intranet developer toolkit designed for Web based GIS solutions.

Cadcorp SIS applications exist in local government, emergency services, mapping and surveying, commerce, broadcasting and many other areas.

ENDS

For further information and pictures, contact: Chris Holcroft at Cadcorp, Tel: 01438 747996, e-mail: chrish@cadcorp.com

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