Benefits of licensed data (BoLD) campaign

The Ordnance Survey - Great Britain's national mapping agency - has launched a new resource to explain the benefits of licensed data, as well as guides and case studies.

By adopting best practice and ensuring that the mapping you use is properly licensed you can take advantage of the following benefits:

• Whether dealing direct with Ordnance Survey or through a partner organisation you have the reassurance of using location-based information from a trusted content provider with data sourced from the master map of Great Britain.
  
  
• Being legitimately licensed supports your reputation in the marketplace.
  
  
• Maintaining an up-to-date licence is a legal requirement for use of Ordnance Survey data. Not having the correct licence could invalidate your indemnity insurance and result in costly legal fees.
  
  
• Mapping can be supplied in wide variety of formats suited to specific needs.
  

Click through to the website www.bestpracticemakesperfect.co.uk to find out more

(April 2008)

The user event you can't afford to miss

Interact 08, the Pitney Bowes MapInfo and Pitney Bowes Group 1 Software user event, is being held on the 29th and 30th April at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel (at the NEC site). You can choose your own conference experience from over 50 different session areas so it's bound to be of real interest to you. Whether you're a new or advanced user, you can't afford to miss Interact 08.

Who should attend

• All users from beginner to expert
• Pitney Bowes MapInfo Users
• Pitney Bowes Group 1 Software Users
• Thought leaders and business strategists
• Decision-makers and business managers

Event highlights

• Mike Hickey - opening plenary session
• Thought provoking discussions
• Face to face technical support
• Case studies
• Successful strategies for software application
• Handy hints and tips sessions

Click here to visit the Interact'08 website

(March 2008)

No Excuses - Recycle Lamps

CDR Group has just released its first Microsoft Virtual Earth web application for Recolight. Recolight was established by the UK Lamp industry in 2005 primarily for the purpose of operating a WEEE Compliance Scheme on behalf of Lamp Producers in the UK. Two key objectives of Recolight are:

• Finance and manage the separate collection and treatment of waste Gas Discharge Lamps in an environmentally sound manner.
  
  
• Provide information to all interested parties, including Distributors and End Users, as to best practice concerning Lamp Recycling procedures and encourage the development of an effective collection network for end-of-life lamps prior to shipment to the recycling plants for treatment.

Modern Low-energy light bulbs, as well as fluorescent tubes and gas discharge lamps contain small amounts of mercury, which require proper disposal and recycling. Whilst there are usually facilities through Local Authority sites for household users, Recolight has established a Compliance Scheme to meet the obligations of the producers of the UK Lamp industry.
CDR had already supplied the Geographic Information System, MapInfo Professional to Recolight to help manage the recruitment and geographic coverage needed for recycling sites to be set up prior to the Scheme going live.

Recolight revamped its website this year to include a "Find the Nearest" facility using the Microsoft Virtual Earth engine as a highly cost effective mapping platform. CDR provided the tools to export a GeoRSS feed out of MapInfo, which is then added to the Virtual Earth map content. Additional features were added to give driving routes and directions to the nearest Open Commercial Collection Point. There are frequent changes occurring to the database and a refresh of the website data is made on a regular basis.


(March 2008)

MapInfo Professional 9.0.2 Patch Released

Pitney Bowes Software has made version 9.0.2 of MapInfo Professional available to download. Registered users of MapInfo professional version 9.0 can download the patch for free by clicking here or from the Help menu, by selecting > Check for Update.

The patch release addresses a number of known issues with Licence Registration and improving the raster handling tools.

There are also some New Features to this release:

• Upgrades to the curved labelling capability
  
  
• Various issues related to working with databases, Geocoding, importing/exporting, localisation, selection/querying and more
  
  
• New projection support for Ireland and Germany
  
  
  
  

(December 2007)

HOTSPOTTING MADE EASY - REALLY EASY

CDR Group are proud to announce a new business arrangement with Portolan Technology of Australia to sell their HS_Gridder for MapInfo product.

Initially developed for Victoria Police, HS_Gridder is a MapBasic tool to assist with the spatial and temporal analysis of crime locations within MapInfo Professional. The tool was designed with speed and ease of use in mind for identifying crime hotspots but can be used equally as well for other point datasets. So easy, there are only 3 buttons on the toolbar!

The program uses kernel density methods to identify and map crime hotspots (clustering). There are a number of options to generate hotspots, including the ability to view the hotspots only or a full surface depiction. The output is provided in a MapInfo grid file (.mig), which is typically a very small file size, and can be made to appear translucent in the map window.

HS_Gridder also performs temporal analysis on crime data, counting records by day of week, hour of day, or a combination of these. It uses the aoristic method when analysing times, so that 'From' and 'To' times are considered and output is given in graphs and charts.

Seen as a vital tool for local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships, the cost for a single licence is only £250 + VAT, with a generous sliding scale for multiple users. Surrey Police in the UK have already purchased this as a Site Licence.

Contact the CDR Sales Team for further information and a PowerPoint presentation.


(October 2007)

CDRs Survey Team have been TAMPing the Streets of Stockport

Earlier this year, CDR Group was awarded a contract by Stockport MBC to undertake a survey of highway and street furniture assets to populate inventories in support of the development of their Transport Asset Management Plan (TAMP).

The collection of information on highway assets in a Local Authority area presents a formidable task in both time and cost. In terms of value and importance, the highway carriageway has undoubtedly the most significance, but the remaining "street furniture" also has a major impact on maintenance budgets and thus has a need to be considered in any asset plan.

The option of carrying out a detailed survey of the Authority's entire highway network was rejected not only on grounds of cost, but more importantly because of the need to quickly generate data to assist in the formulation of the TAMP. Instead, Stockport MBC adopted the principle of requisitioning detailed surveys of carefully selected representative sample areas and then extrapolating the results to the Authority's area in total. 45 sample areas were chosen that provided examples not only of different road classifications, but also of different epochs of housing developments, and different land uses (industrial / commercial / residential). The areas included everything from fast dual carriageways and congested 'A' roads, to quiet modern suburban streets, older terraced housing, pedestrianised shopping precincts and local and district centres with higher quality 'aesthetic' street furniture.

By adopting simple modest proven technologies, CDR were able to provide Stockport MBC with a timely economic solution to aid them in developing their TAMP.

A case study document of the successful project can be downloaded as a pdf here.

(October 2007)

MapInfo Professional 9.0.1 Patch Released

Pitney Bowes Software has made version 9.0.1 of MapInfo Professional available to download. Registered users of MapInfo professional version 9.0 can download the patch for free by clicking here or from the Help menu, by selecting > Check for Update.

The patch release addresses a number of known issues with Licence Registration and improving the raster handling tools. This has improved support for many raster image formats, including:

• JPEG
• JPEG2000
• ECW
• GeoTIFF

(October 2007)

What's new in MapInfo Professional 9.0 Web Seminar - 12th September and 3rd October

What's New in MapInfo Professional Version 9.0

Attend the 'What's new in MapInfo Professional 9.0' web seminar on Wednesday 12th September and see for yourself the great new features and updates in the latest version of the premier desktop mapping software:

• Learn how MapInfo Professional 9.0 will help you to easily produce large numbers of maps with the new Layout Template capabilities.
  
  
• Take your analysis into a whole new dimension. MI Pro 9.0 has added support for visualising and analysing time based data! Analyse service delivery times, incident times and location, up time and down time of asset availability, any GPS data with a time element and more!
  
  
• Save time and effort by directly using popular CAD and GIS data formats with MapInfo's new Universal Open capabilities.
  
  
• See the new curved labels, multiple hotlinks, new symbol fonts, on-the-fly indexing and other frequently requested features from the MapInfo Professional customer base.

Get up to version 9.0! This session will cover the new features and capabilities in MapInfo Professional version 9.0. In addition, some information on the near and long term road map for releases beyond version 9.0 will be discussed. Click here to book your place on the What's New in MapInfo Professional 9.0 - 12th September - (14:00 - 15:15 GMT)

Can't make this date? This seminar will be running again on 3rd October. Click here to book your place on the What's New in MapInfo Professional 9.0 - 3rd October - (14:00 - 15:15 GMT)

Find out more about MI Pro 9.0 by visiting www.mapinfo.co.uk/getup

MapInfo, the Meridian Logo, Be Location Intelligent, MapInfo Professional and other product and service names used herein are registered or otherwise protected trademarks of PB MapInfo Corporation, all rights reserved.

(September 2007)

MapInfo ProViewer version 9.0 now available

Free Download ProViewer version 9.0 now available

Use MapInfo Proviewer to share maps and analyses with co-workers and clients. Visit the Proviewer page and find out how to download your free copy.







(August 2007)

Learn How to Create Better Maps - One Day Practical Workshop

Do the results from your analysis let you down?
Are you interested in developing your cartographic skills?
Do you want to learn from the professionals?

If any of these apply to you, then you will be interested to hear that the British Cartographic Society is running an event on 6th September 2007 at University of Chester.

Cartography Workshop: An Introduction to Better Mapmaking is a highly valuable one-day practical workshop designed for anyone who works with digital data and wants to enhance their understanding of mapmaking.

Designed for those with little or no experience, the workshop introduces the best ways to create a map which not only looks right but communicates its message well. Learn from expert cartographers for £195 plus VAT.

If you want to further develop your knowledge of mapping then why not add on another day? On Friday 7th September, you can also attend Mapping 2007: Putting the Pieces Together, The British Cartographic Society's annual conference.

Full details of both events can be found by clicking here

For further details or for an agenda email training@citiesrevealed.com or call Training4GIS, organisers of both events, on 01223 880077

(August 2007)

CDR Group delighted to be amongst the first

Ordnance Survey® of Northern Ireland have announced the first set of GI experts to be appointed as Licensed Partners and CDR Group is delighted to be amongst them.

OSNI® Licensed Partners are companies who have completed the OSNI® Licensed Partner Programme, gaining a good understanding of OSNI® data, strategies and processes, and work in a close partnership with OSNI®. Each Licensed Partner has completed a rigorous programme to obtain their licence, including verification of the GI expertise in their company, attendance at a seminar and signing of an agreement.

You can be confident that, if you choose an OSNI® Licensed Partner to supply your GIS, they have a detailed knowledge of OSNI® data and products. CDR also has access to the most up-to-date OSNI® data products so that we can provide the best solutions tailored to your business requirements.

This latest endorsement follows from the many years of CDR experience in Northern Ireland, having first supplied DoE with STC25 software back in 1991 and Belfast City Council with MapInfo in 1999.


(June 2007)

Introducing MapInfo Professional 9.0

We are delighted to announce the imminent launch of MapInfo Professional 9.0. The official launch date for English Language MapInfo Professional is 15th June 2007. For clients on the Annual Maintenance Program, you will receive your new release in the post shortly after this date.

MapInfo Professional version 9.0 is the latest release of the most powerful yet easy-to-use desktop location intelligence solution available. MapInfo Professional version 9.0 enables you to accelerate your analysis through an assortment of new features:

• New direct access to CAD and GIS data formats
• Leverage new, time-based analysis capabilities
• Create better looking maps using new templates, fonts and curved labelling
• Increase your productivity by using wizard-based processes and new preference settings
• Free MapBasic - MapBasic is a powerful programming language that enables customisation of MapInfo Professional to create specific applications to suit users needs.

Find out about MapInfo Professional 9.0

• Learn more about MapInfo Professional 9.0 New Features
• Compare MapInfo Professional 9.0 with past versions >> Comparison Chart
• Register for MapInfo Professional 9.0 Online Web Seminars
• View an Introduction Video
• See MapInfo Professional sin Action! View a Multimedia Demonstration

To find out more visit: www.mapinfo.co.uk/getup.part

MapBasic is FREE with MI Pro 9.0

With the release of MapInfo Professional version 9.0 we are pleased to announce that MapBasic will be made available as a free download from the MapInfo Web site.

New Pitney Bowes MapInfo Maintenance and Technical Support (MATS) program

We are pleased to introduce the new MATS program! MATS is a combination of Product Maintenance and Technical Support services. MATS is a cost effective way to keep up-to-date with MapInfo Professional releases and obtain technical support.

To find out more visit: www.mapinfo.co.uk/getup.part
email: sales@cdrgroup.co.uk
or phone 01433 621282 to speak to one of our sales team.

(June 2007)

Not Just a 3D Model

CDR Group is pleased to announce a new business partnership with Virtual Outlooks Ltd of Lancaster, to take the product Environ Planner to market. Two early adopters of the Environ Planner software were the South Lakeland and Barrow Councils, who used the product as the basis for a successful government backed e-Innovation project to use 3D visualisation in the planning process.
The synergy arose as CDR has been supplying the Geographic Information System, MapInfo Professional to these Councils, which also utilises the 3 essential datasets used to construct a 3D model:- NextMap™ digital height data, Ordnance Survey's OS MasterMap™ building footprints and aerial photography drapes.
Digital Terrain Models were nothing new to the experienced CDR team but they recognised that that this software had something pragmatic to offer and specifically designed to deliver 3D technology to aid Planning and Regeneration.
"3D town centre models look fantastic but we had been put off by price tags of tens of thousands of pounds and just like a traditional map, they are out of date the very next day following publication. The Environ Planner software breaks this mould by giving users a dynamic setting to easily amend the existing and to add new developments to the landscape - and very accurately too" commented John Ievers, Director of CDR Group.
"We can provide Large Scale models of the whole authority area (not just the town centre!) populated with procedurally generated generic buildings from existing data, over a moulded landscape, with proposed and new developments "dropped-in". Our sophisticated tools allow the accuracy and detail of the building models to be edited and refined to the level of detail required for any particular project" commented Roger James, Director of Virtual Outlooks.




(May 2007)

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU

The theme for the open day on May 4th is Mobile Data Capture.

This informal drop in session has been organised to offer you the opportunity to see the advantages of mobile data capture with PDA devices when undertaking on site projects.

Maps4Site has been designed to allow users to collect asset information on site quickly and accurately using GPS or background reference maps in both MapInfo and ECW raster format. The data can then be exported in Industry Standard formats for merging back to corporate databases.

It won't cost you anything to attend and if you are interested simply give us a call to let us know you're coming along.

(April 2007)

To Our Valued Customers:

On March 15, 2007, Pitney Bowes announced that it has entered into a merger agreement to acquire MapInfo Corporation.

"I firmly believe, as does our management team and Board of Directors, that this is the right move, at the right time, with the right partner - Pitney Bowes. This is all about creating a better future for our customers, our employees, and our partners. For MapInfo, it will always be about Customer First. This is first among our core values and is a priority shared by Pitney Bowes.

Even though we made the announcement on the 15th March, the merger is expected to close in the next two months. Upon closing, it is anticipated that MapInfo will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Pitney Bowes within its software segment. As a combined entity, we will be delivering better products and services.

In the interim, this merger will not affect your relationship with MapInfo. Our current offerings will continue to be supported. Your MapInfo contacts - including your Sales Representatives, Client Managers, and Service Managers - will all remain the same. They will be contacting you with new information as available. Please contact your account team with any questions.

We sincerely appreciate your business. I will continue to lead MapInfo and will personally ensure our unwavering commitment to your continued success."

Kind regards,

Mark Cattini
President and
Chief Executive Officer

(March 2007)

CDR Open Day March 2nd

The theme for our open day will be Creating Data Reliably.

This informal drop in session has been organised to give you the opportunity to find out how to manage a data capture project. We'll be presenting all the issues you need to address when undertaking a big chunk of data capture or even Positional Accuracy Improvement. If you are considering such a project please feel free to come along and 'pick the brains' of our projects team. We will also be introducing our new data capture training course, the first one of which is being held on April 26th.
Simply give us a call to let us know you're coming along and we'll put the kettle on!

Click here for more details.

(February 2007)

When North Lincolnshire Council were feeling the pressure as Christmas approached, CDR stepped in to supply experienced MapInfo GIS operators to work on-site with the North Lincolnshire team.
The Asset Management Department were hard at work producing detailed plans of all the Authority's Housing Assets prior to agreeing a Housing Stock Transfer. The aim was to have all the documentation completed by Christmas. Property Asset Manager, Rachel Harvey said "CDR's help in providing operators at very short notice was invaluable in enabling us to complete our project to time."
CDR has continued to assist North Lincolnshire with other on-site MapInfo work in the New Year.

(February 2007)

NEW Data Creation Training Course added to Schedule

A new training course has been added to the CDR schedule - MI5 MapInfo Data Creation. The 1 day course aims to equip the user with all the necessary skills to carry out data capture, maintenance and manipulation tasks. Particularly useful if you are using Ordnance Survey MasterMap. The course has been designed as a result of customer feedback from the 2 day Foundation Course. Whilst the Foundation course covers data entry and drawing techniques, there are users who require a greater understanding of the many features in MapInfo that are available to aid data capture - as well as some of the hot tips and tricks.

So much of GIS relies on accurate and up-to-date data - which emphasises the importance of getting the task of data capture done correctly. CDR's Projects Team has a wealth of experience in data capture operations and the new training course will be drawing on some of the real-world issues that we encounter.

Click here for further details.

The course qualifies for 4 points towards AGI Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

(February 2007)

Next MapInfo User Group Meeting, London, 16th January 2007

CDR will be at the next MUG meeting at the Institution of Electical Engineers, Savoy Place, London on Tuesday the 16th January 2007. Nearest Underground stations are either Charing Cross (Bakerloo/Northern) or Temple (Circle/District).

"This conference is a very important one as not only have we got some interesting presentations and two extremely useful workshops, we also have John O'Hara - the new boss of Mapinfo's operations outside the USA - tee'd up to tell us about the changes over the past year at Mapinfo and what it could mean for our community.

There has been major change within the Company and a new Management Team have given quite a lot of attention to the views of the UK & Ireland User Group as expressed by the committee & myself. It is really important to the success of the Group and the MapInfo community at large that we follow this up with a good turnout to hear what John has to say.

As always, details of the meeting and booking facilities can be found on the web site www.muguki.com so please pass this email on to anyone else in your organisation who may be interested in attending.
Your subscription covers entry to the conference, there is nothing else to pay. However, we do need to give the venue an idea of the expected attendance so please, please book asap !

If you have any problems in making a booking e.g. getting an official order number in time etc, please email the organiser@muguki.com immediately and we will do what we can to expedite your booking.

Very much hoping to see you there."

Jac Cartwright, Chairman of MUGUKI

(January 2007)

CDR's Trainer/Consultant/Programmer/Tree Pruner has reached the ripe old age of 40 today. Doctor Who fanatic Darryl was presented with a limited edition Gold Dalek cookie jar for his birthday (amongst other presents).

Can you think of a suitable caption to go with this photo of Darryl? Click here for our feedback form to enter a caption under notes.

(5th November 2006)

The Northern Regeneration Conference 24 - 25 October 2006

With the focus very much on delivery, this year's second annual Regeneration & Renewal summit will assess what has
been achieved in the last few years to grow the North's economy.

Over two days, gain insights into the ten hottest economic drivers to help propel the North into one of the top global economies:

1 Local Government Reform
2 City Regions
3 Art and Culture
4 Enterprise Growth
5 Double Devolution
6 Science and Innovation
7 Infrastructure and Transport
8 Skills Development
9 Property Development
10 Sustainable Housing

CDR will be exhibiting at this event at the Magna Centre in Rotherham.

Click here for more details and to register.


(October 2006)

CDR training courses now with added CPD

CDR Group are pleased and proud to announce that all of our MapInfo training courses have been approved for Association for Geographic Information (AGI) Continuing Professional Development (CPD) accreditation. This means that delegates attending CDR's training courses can allocate points toward their own CPD programmes or the Royal Geographic Society Certified Geographer (C.Geog GIS) programme.

This award recognises the structure, currency and relevance of all the courses. If you are interested in attending the Entry Level, Advanced Level, MapBasic Essentials or Vertical Mapper course please contact our sales team. See the relevant training page on this web site for the number of points gained for each course.


(September 2006)

Following the successful launch of Environ Planner in May 2006, the CDR Group is pleased to announce a free half day seminar in conjunction with Virtual Outlooks Ltd. detailing the use of Environ Planner and its use for 3D Town Planning and Regeneration projects. "Practical 3-D" is here!

Environ Planner is a suite of software for 3-D digital terrain modelling. South Lakeland and Barrow Councils worked in association with Virtual Outlooks Ltd, to develop this powerful application. The pilot project received match funding from the ODPM (now DCLG) from its e-innovation budget. Environ Planner is now more than just an interesting concept!

CDR Group, as specialists in Geographic Information Systems, realise that
3-D Mapping is not a new capability, especially with the abundance of digital data available today. CDR do recognise that Environ Planner offers powerful features and capabilities that make the communication of proposed developments very impressive:

• Rapid generation of buildings with height and roof styles

• Highly accurate terrain models

• Visual impact calculator

• Walk the streets or fly overhead to view the model

• Visibility wedges and camera towers

• Import GIS data and third party models

The seminar takes place on September 21st at CDR's offices in the Peak District, 1:30pm for 2:00pm start.

If you require further information, please contact the sales team on 01433 621282.


(August 2006)

MapInfo ProViewer version 8.5 now available

Free Download ProViewer version 8.5 now available

Use MapInfo Proviewer to share maps and analyses with co-workers and clients. Visit the Proviewer page and find out how to download your free copy.


Free Download EasyLoader 8.5 now available

EasyLoader is a utility that allows you to upload MapInfo tables into your remote database system. Click here for more information.


(August 2006)

CDR GROUP PLANNING TO PUT BARNSLEY ON THE MAP

CDR Group are pleased to announce the successful award of a data capture contract a bit closer to home – by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. This contract is for the capture of 50,000 Planning Application records from 1976 to the present, from old paper records, microfiche and scanned documents. Barnsley MBC are long-established clients of CDR, having been involved with the supply and implementation of MapInfo® Professional™ software and services for deploying geographic information within the Council. CDR’s Browse-A-Map solution was installed in December to deliver the Council’s Local Development Framework maps to the public from the Barnsley website. CDR are also providing a range of training courses over the next couple of months in the MapInfo software application, from Entry and Advanced Level, to programming with MapBasic.

(July 2006)

OSNI Launch Northern Ireland Mapping Agreement

Under the new Northern Ireland Mapping Agreement (NIMA), Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland will supply Geographic Information to all Northern Ireland Civil Service Departments, Agencies and NDPBs, at zero net cost, for a period of 3 years. Also, under the agreement, local Councils will be able to purchase OSNI data at a significantly reduced cost.

NIMA has been developed to improve the quality and efficiency of services delivered by the Northern Ireland public sector through the increased use of Geographical Information Systems. 18 products are available through NIMA including: large-scale vector data, various raster map scale products, the 800,000 address records of Pointer® and Orthophotography.

CDR will be exhibiting at the OSNI event at Stormont on 26th June 2006, presenting the details of the agreement to eligible organisations. Contact OSNI or CDR for further details.

(June 2006)

CDR Announce the Release of MapInfo Professional version 8.5

MapInfo Professional v8.5 is due for release in June 2006 with new features that are in direct response to customer requests. There are a number of exciting new features that make this a valuable upgrade. Further details can be found here. Clients already in an Annual Maintenance contract will automatically be receiving their new products shortly.

New Upgrade Policy: Very old versions of MapInfo Professional will no longer qualify for upgrade pricing

As from 1st October 2006 customers with MapInfo Professional v7.0 and earlier, will no longer qualify for upgrade pricing. These customers will be required to purchase a new license at full price in order to receive the latest version of MapInfo Professional. Customers with v7.5 and later will continue to qualify for upgrade pricing.

We would like to offer you this 'last chance' opportunity to upgrade before this policy comes into effect and to enter into maintenance (maintenance is only available when making a purchase). Remember that we can also combine old licences into a Volume Licence, if you have 5 or more licences, to gain from even lower costs.

Please note that upgrade prices are rising by 10% from June 12th 2006.

If you would like to see a presentation of the new features - why not come along to one of our Open Days at CDR Group. Feel free to visit our offices in the Peak District on the first Friday of every month for a drop-in session to discuss any of your GIS requirements over a cup of tea - with no strings attached. Just give us a call to let us know you are coming. The first of these open days has been scheduled for July 7th.

For further information on any of the above items please contact our sales team who will be happy to advise you.

(May 2006)

CDR PREMIER PARTNER STATUS

This photo was taken at the recent MapInfo Partner Conference in Stratford-upon- Avon. It shows CDR's Sales Director, John Ievers (left), receiving the new Premier Partner plaque from MapInfo's Group Sales Director EMEA, Steve Broughton.





(March 2006)

South Kesteven reaps the benefits of Location Intelligence

South Kesteven reaps the benifits of Location Intelligence.
South Kesteven District Council, a mostly rural but highly progressive Local Authority.

Recognising the power of a web-based Location Intelligence solution for the delivery of both public facing communications and internal data sharing, South Kesteven DC deployed MapInfo Exponare in March 2005, through MapInfo partner CDR. South Kesteven already report significant increases in efficiencies across the council. 'MapInfo Exponare allows us to do precisely what we want to do', says Andy Nix, IT Support Manager.
'Although it's still early days, Exponare is already knocking down internal and external communications barriers whilst helping us to streamline our processes and support efficiency drives across the council.'
'Exponare is a new generation solution, compatible with our core platforms like the .Net environment, providing an excellent fit with our drive to share Location Intelligence internally whilst providing a public interface which communicates effectively with our processes. 'CDR helped us to deploy MapInfo Exponare which now presents the public with a valuable planning and environmental service and has been rolled out across the 400-plus council users to centralise critical data such as grounds maintenance for contractor relations, planning data and communications with key departments such as environmental services.
'Roll-out internally is now complete, providing access to all council users while the external, web interface is already serving the public on key environmental and planning services - it's extremely helpful for a small rural council like South Kesteven.'
'We selected MapInfo Exponare through CDR because nothing else on the market was designed to address the holistic need we had to implement one central solution to such a wide range of need. This was coupled with the fact that it was an easy to deploy solution requiring no programming and yet took spatial data into our core operational systems and delivered on our main corporate objectives.'
South Kesteven is a predominantly rural community (population of around 150,000 spread over more than 365 sq miles) and effective council communications requires efficient public interaction. Key drivers like e-Govt directives and ODPM Priority Outcomes have helped South Kesteven and many UK councils, to focus on efficient delivery of public services. Exponare offers both depth and breadth of capability due to its strong emphasis on central deployment and management, data integration, ease of use and its ability to be configured by non-programmers. It allows for the efficient sharing of information across an organisation and is a simple, powerful solution that makes location-based information an everyday business tool.

(February 2006)

CDR GROUP ON BOARD WITH A PRESTIGIOUS UKHO CONTRACT

CDR Group are pleased to announce the successful award of a digitising contract with the UK Hydrographic Office in Taunton (part of the Ministry of Defence). The award follows a stringent series of tests to achieve accurate digitising of old Admiralty surveys into a computerised format. Indeed, the contract demands "double-digitising" of the information (similar to double-entry typing), where both sets of results are compared to ensure the utmost accuracy. The contract demands tight deadlines and high levels of Quality Assurance, which CDR has been able to demonstrate in winning this contract. The resulting data will be used by the UKHO in its digital mapping systems.

(February 2006)

MapInfo Professional Maintenance Release and Google™ Earth Utility now Avaliable

Maintenance Release v8.0.1 (Build 33)

A maintenance release is now available for all MI Pro 8.0 users. Users can either manually enter their serial number and version number here or use the Install or Help > Check for Update feature in MI Pro to access. This maintenance release may be applied to any commercially available version of MapInfo Professional or MapInfo Run Time v8.0.

For detailed information on the content of the maintenance release please see the release notes included in the download.

MapInfo enables Google™ Earth users to benefit from Location Intelligence

MapInfo has made available a utility that will enable MapInfo Professional customers to share maps and analysis results with Google™ Earth users. The Google™ Earth utility is a free download and is available to users of MapInfo Professional version 8.0. To download the tool, users can use the Help > Check for Update menu command in MapInfo Professional or manually enter their serial number and version number here.

(January 2006)

MapRite wins Innovation Award 2005

We are pleased to announce TENET has won the AGI Technical Special Interest Group Innovation Award 2005 for our Positional Accuracy Improvement (PAI) solution MapRite.

Presented by Ed Parsons the Chair of AGI Technical SIG "MapRite from TENET ITMapping Ltd demonstrated the application of both geometric and semantic mapping to the problem of applying Positional Accuracy Improvement (PAI) and data cleaning to land parcel data. This means that, as well as moving a land parcel, it attempts to determine the relationship of the parcel to the underlying base map.

This information is used to determine the equivalent relationship in the changed base map according to business rules. The process refines the alignment with base data.

We feel that this is the application of innovative technology to a widespread business need, allowing businesses to improve both the accuracy and quality of legacy data."

MapRite remains the leading PAI and Data Quality solution with over 50 new users in the last 12 months.

If you would like to know more about MapRite or would like a demonstration then call CDR Group on 01433 621282 or contact the sales team.

(January 2006)

More than 600 NHS organisations are to have direct access to Ordnance Survey's most detailed geographic information under a ground-breaking pilot agreement.
The agreement covers the use of Ordnance Survey data by NHS organisations in England, including Acute, Care, and Mental Health Trusts, Primary Care Trusts, Strategic Health Authorities and Cancer Registries.

Ordnance Survey is working with the NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre to support the wider health sector through greater use of Ordnance Survey data. As you may already know, geographic intelligence helps to power effective and confident health planning and implementation of strategy.
Among the many vital applications of geographical information systems (GIS) in the health sector are the identification of health inequalities, causal analysis and trends. These factors can guide strategic decisions on the targeting of services to clinical hot spots, investment priorities, the extension of patient choice and the supply of health advice to the citizen.
Health service managers can also use Ordnance Survey data to support decision making on performance management, estate planning, efficient routing of mobile services, asset management, feasibility studies, scenario modelling, epidemiology analysis, and all forms of internal and external communications.
CDR Group already deal with a number of Trusts in the NHS and it is expected that this deal will open up GIS to many more practitioners through the use of MapInfo Professional software.
Click here for more details.


(November 2005)

Patch for MapInfo Professional v8.0

This is an incremental patch that will update MapInfo Professional v8.0 Build 18 to MapInfo Professional v8.0 Build 21. This patch can only be applied to the release versions of MapInfo Professional v8.0. This patch is not valid for any pre-releases of MapInfo Professional v8.0, MapBasic v8.0, MapInfo Professional Runtime v8.0 or ProViewer v8.0. There are no user interface changes, and it can be safely applied to any localised releases of MapInfo Professional v8.0.

Click here for more information and to download the patch or click in Help>Check for Updates whilst in MapInfo Professional v8.0.

FURTHER MOVEMENT IN PAI ACTIVITES

CDR Group has recently delivered solutions to a new batch of clients tackling Ordnance Survey’s Positional Accuracy Improvement Programme. CDR has been a Partner to TENET for both the resale and use of MapRite™ software in support of project work for well over a year now. The end and start of a new financial year for Local Authorities has seen another flurry of activity, building upon CDR’s expertise in tackling this thorny issue of re-aligning GIS data with Ordnance Survey’s new releases of digital map data.

Recent sales of the MapRite™ software – complete with training and support services - include Neath Port Talbot CBC, Teignbridge DC and Calderdale MBC. Meanwhile, CDR’s project team has successfully undertaken bureau work for West Wiltshire DC and ongoing work with Derbyshire County Council, following a pilot exercise. As Ordnance Survey’s PAI programme nears completion, there remains a great deal more work to be carried out.

MAPINFO PROVIEWER v8.0- NOW AVAILABLE!

Use MapInfo ProViewer® to share MapInfo Professional® maps and analyses with clients and colleagues. ProViewer allows others to view and manipulate your creations - even if they do not have MapInfo Professional®.
Click here for more details

Ordnance Survey Accreditation for CDR Group Staff

CDR Group's already high level of expertise has been further enhanced by two of its key members of staff being awarded the status of Ordnance Survey Accredited Data Consultants. John Ievers (Director) and Darryl Beresford (Trainer/Consultant) have both been awarded the qualification after intensive training and examination by OS.

This means that CDR group can offer an enhanced service to its clients old and new, including detailed knowledge of OS MasterMap, its uses, structure and implementation. The accreditation also includes a deep understanding of OS's Positional Accuracy Improvements that many organisations are currently dealing with the implications of.

CDR announce online Streetlight Fault Reporting facility

Responding to customer demand, CDR have added a Streetlight reporting facility to their Browse-A-Map product. Users are able to interface GIs datasets through a simple web browser interface...

1. A general location can be found easily using a post code or street name search.
2. Any individual streetlight can then be identified and selected.
3. A form then prompts users to report any problems or faults back to the data custodian immediately.

"The idea is to allow Local Authorities to fulfil the G5 and G14 [GIs] requirements of the Priority Outcomes document [published by the ODPM in April 2004] quickly, with minimum fuss and expense." - Ben Farrow - CDR Software Development Team.

Try it out by following this link.

CDR Group Pick Up A Prestigous Web Mapping Oscar

Following the successful launch of Browse-A-Map at AGI'04, CDR Group has been awarded a prestigious "Oscar" in this years Web Mapping Contest , held by Directions Magazine.

The award was for Best Home Grown Map Renderer judged by Steve Lombardi of Microsoft:-

"… you meet a surprisingly quick and versatile map renderer built on .NET that can deal with MapInfo and ESRI formatted data and handles raster imagery in TIFF or JPG format."

The concept is simple and easy to deploy and without great expense.

More information is available on-line here.

Malicious Application Targets MapInfo Professional

MapInfo Corporation has confirmed the existence of a malicious application written in MapInfo MapBasic language that targets MapInfo Professional versions 5.5 or higher and MapInfo Professional-based applications. This application has the potential to corrupt data used in MapInfo and spread to other MapInfo Professional users who share that data. It does not harm operating systems or other non MapInfo/MapBasic-based programs.

Click here to download a .pdf document from the MapInfo website that provides more information about the program and its potential effects on your system and data. It also provides information about how to detect if your system has been infected and recommended courses of action to remove it.