Welcome to GISWeekly! Welcome to 2009! This year we will truly looking forward, not just as GIS folks but as people looking forward to a new American presidency and subsequent and much needed changes.

GISWeekly examines select top news each week, picks out worthwhile reading from around the web, and special interest items you might not find elsewhere. This issue will feature Industry News, Top News of the Week, Acquisitions, Agreements, Alliances, Announcements, Financials, New Products, Around the Web and Events Calendar.

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Best wishes,
Susan Smith, Managing Editor

Industry News
Welcome to 2009 – GIS Going Forward
By Susan Smith

Over the holiday season, I’ve been noting the various news coverages on what industries are expected to survive the recession. How companies survive the recession is another interesting topic --are they laying off hundreds of people or are they cutting back?

We are painfully aware of the dilemma of the banks and the auto industry at this point, and many industry pundits suggest that there won’t be much growth in banking or banking related industries such as mortgage and non-mortgage loan brokers for some time. Scott Shane A. Malachi Mixon III, Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Case Western Reserve University, has done some research on the various recessions over the past century and has come up with some interesting data about recessions, as follows:

Those industries that will show growth during this recession include: accident and health insurance industries, offices of health practitioners, and business consulting. He said that even during a recession, some industries grow “at a gazelle-like pace across a variety of different dimensions.” To look at past recessions shows that very few industries that do well during one recession will do well during other recessions. However, those industries that lean toward being “recession-resistant” are insurance, health care and consulting.

As of December 25, preliminary data gathered from Spending Pulse showed weak sales over the holiday season, which was attributed to the troubled economy and winter storms across the country. Total retail sales were down between 5.5 percent and 8 percent from a year ago. Interestingly, an area of retail that reported strong sales was in the hobby and crafts industry, where retailers were finding people who were making more of their gifts this year, rather than heading off to Best Buy for the latest electronic toy.

How does this impact the geospatial industry?

Geospatial is now an industry that has become pervasive, and trickled into many different industries – including insurance, banking, retail, health care, consumer products, in addition to the traditional land and space-based and government uses for which it originated. It is unlikely to geospatial will go away, but it may change and become lean and specific to address economic changes.

One company doing just this is Pitney Bowes MapInfo, producers of demographic map software which is actually used to track spending, among other things. The company is cutting 8 percent of MapInfo’s global work force of 1,600, or 128 full time workers worldwide. Approximately 10 percent of the cuts will take place at MapInfo headquarters in the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Park in North Greenbush, New York.

The layoffs are an attempt to lower operating expenses by approximately 7 percent by job cuts and other measures.

This is interesting because the company was well positioned to add 50 new workers to that location only 13 months ago, plus planning to relocate 120 sales and finance workers from Colonie facility, now closed.

What prompted the layoffs was that customer’s credit concerns led to delayed purchases, primarily in the area of software and production mail businesses. According to company spokesmen, some customers have not renewed their licenses or expanded their licenses as expected.

Pitney Bowes’ customers are some of the hardest hit by the recession – in the areas of banking, retail, and publishing. MapInfo’s market simulation software is critical to companies such as Home Depot, Cleveland-based KeyBank; Glendale, Calif.-based IHOP; and North Andover, Mass.-based Eagle-Tribune Publishing Co. for targeting locations for new retail branches, restaurants or circulation growth.

Pitney Bowes ended the third quarter with a net income of $98.2 million, down 23.1 percent from the same period of 2007. Its software arm posted a 7 percent increase in revenues, but sales fell flat when excluding the impacts of acquisitions.

Charles Foundyller, CEO of Daratech, said that what differentiates this recession from past ones is that previously, the GIS and CAD industries “shrugged off” the recessions, with little or no effect. Today, the closing of auto manufacturers and possible “bail-outs” are causing a ripple effect into the GIS industry, which provides location technology for in car navigation systems, fleet tracking systems and other uses. The geospatial industry is also now a vital part of retail, a ubiquitous element in personal navigation devices (PNDs), smart phones and even in video games and other entertainment. By entering the device market, it has entered mainstream, and is now available at Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy and a host of other stores. This Christmas season, sales of electronics and appliances were down 26.7%, according to SpendingPulse.

Serving Many Markets

If geospatial and GIS were entirely dependent upon the consumer market, we may be in for some very rough times indeed. However, GIS serves numerous markets today, so that although we will see cutbacks in some areas such as retail, banking and consumer, the technology remains critical to government, and in particular, in homeland security and geospatial intelligence. The need for geospatial technology is huge not only in the area of security but in addressing real issues of great magnitude such as the environment, global warming, agriculture, and infrastructure. These issues are of such paramount importance to the health of our planet and inhabitants that we can no longer ignore them, and they will create jobs rather than trim them in the long run.

Creative Work Options

URISA's members are primarily city/county GIS professionals and consultants and vendors, and with government budgets being cut, consequently the organization’s members are being affected. Hilary Perkins, president of URISA said that “while some local governments will be cutting back services during the upcoming difficult economic times, some sectors may be well positioned to do well should an infrastructure-oriented economic stimulus package move forward. For example, regional planning authorities typically pass through federal funds for infrastructure projects, from initial design, to environmental impact studies, to air and water quality monitoring - for both roads and transit. Many local government departments - such as public works or engineering - typically are involved in the process as well. This could also be true for State Departments of Transportation. There are many opportunities to use geospatial technologies in these types of projects.”

In past recessions, the first thing to go were the workers. However, this time around, not all employers are cutting their staff. Some, in an effort to avoid or limit layoffs, are introducing options such as unpaid vacations, fewer-day work weeks, wage freezes, pension cuts and flexible work schedules. Employers who use these options are still cutting their labor costs, but they want to hang onto their work force in the event that times change and the economy swings upward.

To hire again after the recession is over would be more costly in the long run. Jennifer Chatman, a professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, said in a recent article, “Organizations are trying to cut costs in the name of avoiding layoffs. It’s not just that organizations are saying ‘we’re cutting costs,’ they’re saying: ‘we’re doing this to keep from losing people.’ ”

Summary

Without available credit for acquisitions and R&D, the GIS market will definitely be impacted until money is made available. However, anyone who has been to a trade conference recently or read GIS news will see that geospatial technology innovation has not slowed down, but rather, it attends to the issues at hand and looks to the future. Vendors are offering products that if they work as promised, offering greater efficiency and accuracy to address real issues, there will be a market for them. A new spin is being added to products: during the economic downturn, you will need to save money, have greater efficiency, be able to make use of your data, etc. The good news is that products that allow more work to be accomplished by one individual, products that increase accuracy, clean up data, provide more accurate data, will always be in demand to solve real world problems.

Top News of the Week

Trimble announced it has acquired the FastMap and GeoSite software assets from KOREC, a privately-held Trimble distributor serving the United Kingdom and Ireland. The acquisition, which includes software development, professional services and business development teams, will allow Trimble to expand its Mapping and Geographic Information System (GIS) solutions to provide optimized software and professional services in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Financial terms were not disclosed.

TomTom announced the introduction of the TomTom Route Planner, a free Web-based routing application available at the website. TomTom’s online Route Planner, which is currently in a BETA test program, allows users to easily pre-plan a route to obtain precise driving directions and arrival times before leaving for their destination.

Geographic Information Services, Inc. (GISi) is excited to announce the release of Data Viewer, the first in a suite products built using ESRI’s ArcGIS Server 9.3 technology. The products are geared to offer organizations a practical way to transition from desktop to server without ever needing a programmer.

Powered by ESRI’s ArcGIS Server and the new Flex Application Programming Interface (API), Data Viewer delivers a very easy-to-use, aesthetically appealing interface centered on a tabbed view concept. Data Viewer offers organizations the opportunity to deploy one application with multiple tabs (or views) defined by individual departments or other business requirements.

Acquisitions, Agreements, Alliances

Trelligence, Inc., a provider of architectural programming and schematic design software, announced the addition of Microdesk to its growing reseller network. Microdesk has 13 offices nationwide and is one of Autodesk’s leading partners. Microdesk is also an Autodesk Premier Solutions Provider, and an Autodesk Authorized Training Center.

eSpatial, provider of GIS and Location Intelligence capabilities over the web, and RSI SOFTECH INDIA PVT LTD, an Indian Geomatics Company, announced the signing of an exclusive Reseller Agreement. Under the agreement, RSI SOFTECH will act as master distributor for iSMART, eSpatial's leading GeoSpatial software suite for development of integrated, enterprise grade spatially enabled applications, throughout the Indian Marketplace.

GeoDecisions, an information technology (IT) company specializing in geospatial solutions, was recently awarded a contract from the United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) for IRRIS sustainment, enhancements, and new capabilities. The contract is for a one-year period with four additional option years. The total value of the contract is $20 million.

Rand McNally, and DeLorme jointly announced a major distribution partnership in which Rand McNally becomes the exclusive North American distributor for DeLorme’s print-based product line.

Kongsberg Maritime and CARIS announced the renewal of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate in delivering ping-to-chart solutions. Kongsberg Maritime is a leading supplier of acoustic instrumentation for precision seabed mapping and inspection. Correspondingly, CARIS develops software covering the complete workflow from the processing of the acoustic “ping” through to the production and distribution of the “chart”.
The combined offering presents the hydrographic survey market with a complete technological solution with a harmonious, non-disparate workflow.

Two major Brazilian electric distribution companies, AES Sul and AES Eletropaulo, signed an enterprise license agreement (ELA) with ESRI's Brazilian distributor Imagem Geosistemas E Comércio Ltda. The ELA will provide deployments of current ESRI geographic information system (GIS) software for the desktop and server as well as support, training, and maintenance. Both utilities are taking advantage of this program, which allows them to expand GIS technology across the company while keeping costs low.

Announcements

GeoWeb 2009 will take place in Vancouver, Canada July 27-31, 2009 and its organizers are currently seeking submissions for presentations and workshops at GeoWeb Conference website . GeoWeb is the industry-leading conference focused on the collective impact of the Web on geographic information standards, architectures and technology and is a must-attend conference for anyone involved in shaping the future of the geospatial industry. GeoWeb 2009 will focus on the convergence of GIS and the Internet and the economic, social and technical consequences of this convergence with a particular focus on urban environments, hence the theme of Cityscapes. Sharing and collaboration with respect to geospatial information remains the core of the GeoWeb conference, and this is especially important in the context of the urban environment; Cityscapes builds on the CAD/GIS/BIM integration theme featured at GeoWeb 2008.

ERDAS announced New Year, New Tools – Turn up Your Stereo (Feature Collection), a free webinar on January 6, 2009 at 11 a.m. EST.
Stereo visualization improves the interpretation of images and promotes more precise collection, leading to greater accuracy in resulting layers. This webinar includes interactive demos, introducing a new suite of tools for the ArcGIS 9.3 platform. These tools enable users to quickly collect features from stereo images to create maps.
FeatureAssist for ArcGIS includes a suite of templates to collect rooftops of varying complexity in an ESRI Multipatch format. A multipatch shapefile allows a 3D model to be constructed and optionally textured for realistic scene generation. ERDAS Terrain Editor for ArcGIS provides point, breakline and area tools to edit geodatabase terrains. These new tools are add-ons to Stereo Analyst for ArcGIS.

Each month, ERDAS is offering at least two different webinar topics. In addition to a live presentation and demonstration, each webinar also includes the opportunity for customers to interact directly with the presenters. Scheduled to last forty-five minutes, each webinar will include approximately thirty minutes of presented material and fifteen minutes for Q&A.

To register for New Year, New Tools – Turn up Your Stereo (Feature Collection), or find out more about other upcoming webinars, please visit: the website.

Financials

IceWEB, Inc., a storage technology company and provider of computing hardware, on-demand software, advanced networking solutions and innovative online services, announced that it has filed its Form 10KSB with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the 2008 fiscal year, ended September 30, 2008.

New Products

Rand McNally introduced significant additions to its IntelliRoute and MileMaker commercial trucking solutions to help carriers and shippers save time and money. These enhancements will provide more flexibility and customization in freight rating and truck routing, more specific routing in Mexico, and the most up-to-date U.S. ZIP and Canadian postal codes, weigh stations and toll costs.

Tele Atlas and CADTECH, a Moroccan company specializing in geographical information systems and geolocalization applications, announced the availability of the first fully navigable digital databases of Morocco for personal navigation, wireless, Internet, automotive and enterprise navigation solutions companies worldwide. The maps, which enable navigation both within the country and from any point between Europe and Morocco, feature street-level coverage for Casablanca Fez, Marrakesh, Rabat and Tangier as well as the entire road and highway network for the country.

Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS) announced the GMS-2 Pro, the new handheld GIS mapping solution with integrated auto-focus digital camera and laser distance meter. The GMS-2 Pro provides technological advancements to the GMS-2 that “raise the bar” on what a hand-held GPS device can do for GIS professionals. When Topcon introduced the GMS-2 hand-held mobile GPS GNSS receiver, the rugged, compact unit was the industry’s first GIS-GPS product with 50-channel dual-constellation tracking, and an integrated digital camera and electronic compass.

Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS) has released a new version of Field Tools for ArcPad. The new version will support the new GMS-2 Pro receiver and the latest version of ArcPad v7.1.1.

Field Tools for ArcPad allows customers with ESRI’s ArcPad software and ArcPad customizations to take full advantage of their Topcon GPS receiver. With this extension, customers can use the GMS-2 and GMS-2 Pro internal camera, internal compass and internal laser distance meter (GMS-2 Pro only) and have all the convenient GPS configurations in addition to their existing ArcPad functions.

Laurel Hill GIS, Inc. announced the release of GeoData Sentry 3.0. GeoData Sentry is an off-the-shelf automated QA/QC software product for ArcGIS geodatabases. GeoData Sentry 3.0 features a rich set of attribute, spatial and logical connectivity tests. GeoData Sentry’s easy to use configuration interface allows for rapid test development and automatic test generation. GeoData Sentry’s error reports are designed for ease of use with coordinated HTML files including summary metrics and details of individual errors.

GeoLytics has just released an expanded list of new housing, poverty, and employment variables for all estimate years from 2001 to 2010. This data set is an add-on piece to any of our baseline demographic estimates or CensusCD products.

The new Housing, Poverty, and Employment Estimates 2001-2010 from GeoLytics includes 5 groups of demographic estimates; 1) housing – including median home value, median gross rent, plumbing, telephone service, and households with transportation vehicles, 2) family income, 3) poverty indicators, 4) labor and unemployment, and 5) detailed occupation estimates broken out by sex. For the complete list of variables, go to: Geolytics website,Housing-Poverty-Employment,Data,Variables,Products.asp

Around the Web

After six years, Homeland Security still without 'cybercrisis' plan, by Declan McCullagh, CNET News, December 19, 2008.

Events