Integrys Energy group (www.integrysgroup.com) has been using iFactor’s Vector Rubber Sheeting (VRS) to re-align their geographic data to more accurate positions – moving both 
their landbase and facility geometries so they align more closely to reality so they can now be rendered along with many geographic layers generally available.
The disconnect between the locations shown within Integrys’ GIS system and the GPS coordinates being gathered by field crews was causing difficulties when locating and updating existing facilities, designing and estimating projects and responding to customer and emergency situations. Integrys identified and weighed the options:
… before choosing iFactor’s VRS module. Why? Integrys noted that VRS was designed specifically for Smallworld, was relatively inexpensive, user friendly, worked seamlessly with iFactor’s Web Maps Connector they were already using and allowed them to use in-house labor to do the time consuming Ground Control Point (GCP) digitization after a single day of on-site training. Integrys’ experience with iFactor gave them the confidence to use this relatively new Vector Rubber Sheeting software.
Integrys’ conflation project has moved over 420,000 geometries across multiple datastores. A detailed look at the project was presented at GITA 2011 in Grapevine, Texas (http://tinyurl.com/4olpfw3) with the title: “Deflating the High Cost of Landbase Conflation – A Low Cost Approach at Minnesota Energy Resources”
Entergy (www.entergy.com) chose VRS for similar reasons: cost, simplicity, ease of training for internal resources and a long standing relationship with iFactor. An on-site training session had technicians digitizing GCPs after a few hours and over the next few months they digitized some 16,500 GCPs to closely define the various shifts across the region. The production move of the gas infrastructure in the Baton Rouge area is scheduled to run before the end of March 2011.
Xcel Energy has joined the growing list of utilities enjoying the benefits of iFactor Consulting’s Web Maps Connector (WMC). Xcel Energy recently purchased WMC to enable access to ArcGIS Data Appliance tile layers from their Smallworld applications. Users get access to high quality data that works with any Smallworld application, including PowerOn and SIAS. WMC is typically used to access map data from the cloud, including data from Bing Maps, Open Street Map, Digital Map Products, and an expanding list of other sources. This particular implementation, however, illustrates the versatility of WMC within the corporate firewall as well.
“Xcel Energy is able to leverage the WMC to support data access from our core basemap reference data, the ESRI Data Appliance, within the Smallworld GIS,” said Scott Bundy, Xcel Energy Senior Solutions Consultant. “This enables data consistency across many software solutions throughout the company where we are able to utilize a single solution to support our work processes and minimize our software and data footprints. iFactor’s WMC solution enabled us with rapid development and deployment of the product within our environments with excellent performance results.”
The list of WMC-supported data vendors continues to grow at a steady pace, with the number of international resellers increasing as well, making WMC an accomplished and adaptable product used worldwide. Xcel Energy’s WMC implementation of the ArcGIS Data plugin is yet more evidence of the flexibility with which WMC can be extended to integrate new data vendors.
Xcel Energy is a leading combination electricity and natural gas company, with a comprehensive portfolio of energy-related products and services to 3.4 million electricity customers and 1.9 million natural gas customers. Xcel Energy has regulated operations in eight Western and Midwestern states, and has received awards and recognition from the American Wind Energy Association, Platts, and the Solar Electric Power Association.
For more information on how your company can leverage the power of WMC, contact us at sales@ifactorconsulting.com.
SYKORA Data Center, part of the SYKORA Group in Czech Republic, has been a leading producer of Spatial Network Inventories for telecommunication companies and utilities since 1995. SYKORA acts as an integrator of applications supporting technical processes related to large networks for nationwide operators in central Europe and German speaking countries. Among these are national telecommunication operators and multi-national telecommunication networks, including RWE, one of Europe’s largest utility corporations.
SYKORA’s customers operate their networks in several countries with different legislations, surveying traditions, and map standards. Accurate and actual background maps to locate their networks as well as up-to date postal addresses for their customers are critical for these customers. Such data is often provided by 3rd parties as web services. With the Web Maps Connector SYKORA can reliably combine such data with their customer’s spatial data. This results in efficiently solving spatial operations such as location searching.
SYKORA joins we-do-IT, Globema, Diakinotiki, and breakoutimage as an authorized reseller of WMC.
Interested in learning more about the Web Maps Connector? Contact us at sales@ifactorconsulting.com or call us at (800) 631-9839.
we-do-IT is the most recent addition to iFactor’s Web Maps Connector partner network. We are excited to work with we-do-IT, who has partnerships with GE Energy, Mettenmeier, Tensing, and several others.
we-do-IT is a leading provider of Geospatial Solutions to major utility companies. They are a growing company, currently employing more than 70 people though out Australia, New Zealand and North America. we-do-IT has a strong commitment to excellence and since 1995 has been providing consulting, application development and system administration services to the largest utility companies in Asia-Pacific. They work closely with their clients and pride themselves on delivering innovative and well managed projects.
This partnership will allow we-do-IT to bring the power of Web Maps Connector to their Smallworld customers throughout the region. WMC provides Smallworld users with direct access to powerful street maps, aerial images, geocoding, and routing directly from Internet data sources. This includes access to data from services such as Bing Maps, Nearmap, and Open Street Map, providing a rich collection of raster and vector data.
we-do-IT joins Globema, Diakinotiki, and breakoutimage as an authorized reseller of WMC. They will make the product available throughout Australia, New Zealand, and Asia.
Interested in learning more about the Web Maps Connector? Contact us at sales@ifactorconsulting.com or call us at (800) 631-9839.
Digital Map Products (DMP), a leading provider of software-as-a-service spatial technology solutions, recently partnered with iFactor Consulting to offer the utility industry seamless access to nationwide parcel data through its Web Maps Connector product. As an authorized reseller of DMP’s ParcelStream™ web service, iFactor makes it easy for GE Smallworld users to leverage parcel boundaries for improved efficiency and decisions in areas such as right of way management and transmission corridor planning.
The utility industry increasingly uses GIS technology and parcel boundary data to improve customer service, reduce costs and meet regulatory requirements. iFactor’s Web Maps Connector product makes it easy to integrate geospatial data and aerial imagery into existing Smallworld-based applications by employing leading web services such as ParcelStream™. With Web Maps Connector and ParcelStream™ utility users can easily add a parcel boundary layer, retrieve detailed parcel information and access related data sets.
“The integration of ParcelStream with Web Maps Connector allows Smallworld users to increase the value of their data, reduce maintenance costs, and even leverage the investment in Smallworld with additional users in the enterprise,” said Brad Sileo, Vice President of business development at iFactor Consulting. “This new offering with Digital Map Products helps us continue to expand our solution as we work to help utilities get out of the landbase data maintenance business.”
Digital Map Products has one of the largest parcel boundary data collections in the US, with over 110 million parcels covering virtually all cities population 100,000 or greater. ParcelStream™ bundles access to this nationwide parcel boundary data with mapping display technologies so software developers and integrators can easily incorporate parcels into their applications. Through Digital Map Products’ partner program companies can harness DMP’s leading spatial technology and data to enhance their offerings and generate new revenue opportunities.
“The utility industry, like many other sectors, relies heavily on GIS technology and geospatial data to increase operational efficiency and strengthen organizational decision making,” Digital Map Products CEO Jim Skurzynski said. “Parcel boundary data is a key component in this equation and we’re excited to partner with iFactor to make this valuable data set more accessible to GE Smallworld users and the utility industry as a whole.”
For more information about ParcelStream™ for the utility industry or Digital Map Products’ partnering opportunities, visit: www.digmap.com/Info/ParcelStreamPartner.html
Digital Map Products is a leading provider of web-enabled spatial solutions that bring the power of spatial technology to mainstream business, government and consumer applications. SpatialStream™, the company’s SaaS spatial development platform, enables the rapid development of spatial applications. Its ParcelStream™ web service is powering national real estate websites with millions of hits per hour. LandVision™ and CityGIS™ are embedded GIS solutions for real estate and local government. To learn more, visit http://www.digmap.com.
