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From The Floor - A Daily Report
The following column was originally published in the GITA XXIV "Conference News Daily".
Ever since I can remember, I’ve always been eager to hear about real-life experiences
from an international perspective. I watch Aussie rules football, enjoy seven a side
rugby, listen to CBC radio, watch BBC news, and skim countless international
publications available on the Internet. I’m also in the fortunate position of being a media
representative to a global audience of geospatial industry professionals. This provides me
with a chance to correspond with people from the British Ordnance Survey, AUSLIG, the
Canadian Center for Remote Sensing (CCRS), and countless other agencies in dozens of
countries around the world.
As in previous years, this year’s GITA conference has seen an increase in the number of
international participants. So, holding true to form, I began my search for the
international flavor of the conference. I began with the Sunday evening
international/Newcomer Reception. This was an informal gathering of first-time and
international participants of the conference. It was also a nice way to break the ice and
ease in to “conference mode.” Several hundred guests wined and dined, shared
introductory stories, and listened to a welcome greeting from GITA executive director
Bob Samborski.
Prior to the heavily anticipated opening of the conference exhibition hall, I had a chance
to meet a number of international exhibitors. These people have traveled great distances
to strut their stuff and meet some new potential business partners.
- Helmut Paeslack, and several others from SHH GmbH made the trek to San Diego from
Germany. The company has 250+ employees in offices located in Germany, Poland, and
India. SHH is showing PARIS, a geo-net information system based on efficient and
modern object-oriented technology. Paeslack is eager to explain, however, that the
company’s main focus is on the overall project and not just the product.
- A brief encounter with Joon Gwang Lee of KSIC introduced me to the Korean-based
company. KSIC has some 30 employees and prides itself on offering “total solutions.”
The company grew out of the Han Yang University Lab and has developed a number of
geospatial software solutions. They are showing a impressive collection of products for
PC-based, Web-based, and wireless applications. Most of the company’s clients are in
Korea, however, Lee eagerly shared with me his feeling of how the GIS world knows no
boundaries.
-Exhibiting at GITA XXIV for the first time is Datamatics Ltd. From Mumbai (Bombay),
India. Manoj, Thakur, Assistant General Manager, and his two colleagues are here
representing the 25 year-old full-service geospatial solution provider. Impressive is the
company’s commitment to quality, which is backed up by their certifications. Datamatics
is ISO 9001, SEI-CMM Level 3, and P-CMM Level 3 certified. They offer full geospatial
information solutions to AM/FM, telecommunication, and utilities without being
restricted to any one platform. The scope of their expertise also includes mobile
computing and location-based service.
- Of course the usual large contingent of Canadians are here in San Diego eh! As luck
would have it, I bumped into Andrew Nellestyn, President of Enghouse Systems, Ltd.,
Markham, Ontario. Nellestyn was quick to inform me about the company’s recent
announcement that they have teamed up with ESRI to deliver solutions to utility and
telecommunications organizations. The agreement will see Enghouse build its next
generation of WORKS™ applications on ArcGIS. Additionally, future versions of the
company’s enterprise applications will also be based on the ArcGIS component
technology.
- Another fellow Canadian at the show is Jeff Hoedeman of Safe Software, Inc., Surrey,
BC. Jeff is here to show off new developments with FME and SpatialDirect, Safe’s
flagship data translation products. Additionally, the company is also holding a Safe
Software user meeting Tuesday evening.
Every day we meet new challenges and are faced with unique problems. After all, the
world would be a pretty dull place if we weren’t. I choose to look for solutions to my
daily challenges by considering what others are doing and how they are dealing with
similar situations. To accomplish this I often turn to the international community.
Consider doing this yourself the next time you're at a show.
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