Press Release

Centro/West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority selects Cadcorp SIS as its new corporate GIS.

Web-based system will enable information from existing, disparate systems to be shared throughout the organisation.

Digital mapping and geographic information systems (GIS) software developer, Cadcorp, has announced that it has been awarded a contract by Centro/West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority (WMPTA) for the supply and installation of Cadcorp SIS – Spatial Information System and Cadcorp GeognoSIS software to provide Centro with a web mapping facility.

Cadcorp SIS desktop software will be used by Centro’s GIS development team to develop a range of end-user applications, while GeognoSIS will be used to develop and power a web-based corporate GIS that will make information from these applications, as well as spatial information from the organisation’s existing, disparate GIS facilities, available to everyone via the corporate intranet.

Centro’s remit is to develop a public transport system for the West Midlands, on behalf of the West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority, that will encourage motorists to use it in preference to their cars. To support its work, the organisation had invested in a number of GIS from other vendors over the years. However, these GIS had been developed in isolation from each other to meet specific, individual needs.

The new Cadcorp SIS-based corporate GIS will serve to consolidate the information from these previous systems; to ensure that data regarding public transport is accurate; and to make spatial information readily available throughout the organisation in order to help it in its planning activities and to be more responsive to queries.

Among the reasons cited by Centro for its selection of Cadcorp SIS and GeognoSIS were the software’s ability, as standard and at no additional cost, to read and display and/or write to over 160 GIS, CAD, graphic and database formats on the fly, plus its ease of use and its value-for-money.

“The journey to a corporate GIS and the selection of Cadcorp SIS and GeognoSIS to power it was a tough one, involving a technology shift, countless reports from our consultants and other GIS users and a battle of hearts and minds,” said Jamill Usmani, MIS technical programme manager, Centro/WMPTA. “The end result is a GIS strategy that will stand us in good stead for the future and a GIS platform on which Centro/WMPTA will be able to grow.”

“The task that Centro/WMPTA has in terms of developing a 21st century public transport system for the West Midlands is a major one and we are proud that they selected Cadcorp SIS as the basis of a new corporate GIS that will help the organisation achieve its aims,” said Mike O’Neil, managing director, Cadcorp.

About Centro/WMPTA

Centro, the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive, works under the policy and financial guidance of the West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority. It is the key body charged with trying to facilitate the difficult task of increasing the use of public transport throughout the West Midlands.

Centro employs nearly 300 dedicated transport professionals, including planners, designers, transport policy experts, marketing and public relations professionals, customer service specialists, maintenance operatives, research experts, legal advisors and information technology specialists.

With a revenue budget for 2007/2008 of over £130 million, Centro is funded by the seven West Midlands local authorities of Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton. Local rail service provision is secured by Centro/WMPTA through a franchise agreement with Central Trains which is fully funded by direct central government grant. Capital projects are financed from central government grants, European Community Funds, PTA capital receipts and through borrowing and partnerships with the private sector.

About Cadcorp

Established in 1991, Cadcorp is a leading UK developer of digital mapping and geographic information systems (GIS) software. With offices in the UK and the USA, Cadcorp's distribution and value-added reseller (VAR) network stretches worldwide. The company also plays a pivotal technical role in the Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc.® (OGC®).

The Cadcorp SIS - Spatial Information System product family is fully integrated digital mapping and GIS software that uses OGC certified compliant interfaces. Cadcorp technical director Martin Daly is an OGC Gardels Medal holder for his contribution to the OGC, and was one of the original members of the OGC Architecture Board. Cadcorp is an ISO9001:2000 and ISO/IEC 27001:2005 certified company, an Ordnance Survey GB Licensed Partner and Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland Licensed Partner. Cadcorp SIS applications exist in local government, central government, emergency services, insurance, oil & natural gas, mapping and surveying, commerce, utilities and many other markets.

ENDS

Editors:
For further information contact: Martin McGarry, Tel: +44 (0)1438 747996, e-mail: martin.mcgarry@cadcorp.com or
Neil McLeod, Tel: +44 (0)1666 504293, e-mail: neilmcleod@btopenworld.com.

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