Intergraph Annual International Users Conference 2009

Intergraph 2009, Intergraph’s annual international users conference, attracted approximately 2,000 professionals to the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Washington, D.C. from June 15-18. With more than 100 conference sessions on the latest best practices and customer case studies complemented by hands-on training and certification workshops, Intergraph 2009 provided attendees with extensive informational content and networking opportunities including a private evening reception at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. Guest keynote speaker, broadcast anchor and author Tom Brokaw, spoke of the challenges of the greatest generation and motivated the audience to act in today’s trying times.

In his executive keynote address, Intergraph Chairman, President and CEO Halsey Wise recapped notable Intergraph innovations during its first 40 years:
Computer-Aided Dispatch: first to integrate mapping and dispatch, first multi-agency interoperability, first call taking, dispatch, mobile and records management

• Security: first to integrate multiple sensors into a Common Operational Picture (COP) 
  
• Smart Grid: first to provide outage and field response with centralized distribution control
  
• GeoMedia: first truly open GIS, enabling organizations to combine datasets from multiple sources for spatial access and analysis
  
• Video & Imagery Management: first to market with video stabilization/dewarping, leadership in video analysis/video mosaicking, image search and management
  
• SmartPlant 3D: first “intelligent,” comprehensive, multidisciplinary plant design and modeling system with concurrent global execution (“worksharing”)
  
• More than $400 MM invested in R&D and 150 patent applications in 25 countries over the last 5 years.

Wise also outlined Intergraph’s data management-centric strategy.  Intergraph technologies enable customers to manage and understand complex data through intelligent visual representations and actionable intelligence.  Historically, Intergraph solutions have been primarily focused on the data creation phase of a workflow lifecycle.  As a result, Intergraph’s solutions produce an immense amount of valuable data that its customers can utilize to improve the efficiency of their operations.  For example, Intergraph SG&I’s geospatial and incident response solutions produce an immense amount of data that can be utilized in future analysis and planning functions. 

Icon Awards

COO Reid French in his keynote described how software and technology can help customers address today’s unprecedented market volatility. Through Intergraph software, French described how Intergraph customers are better enabled to meet their growing business challenges and to make better decisions, faster. For instance, French referred to the company’s current smart grid initiative whereby Intergraph software can tie together into a single user interface SCADA, asset management and outage management, enabling control room operators to make the right decisions quickly regarding the operation of an electrical grid. Finally, French discussed Intergraph’s initiatives to embrace the service oriented architecture (SOA) approach within its products to enable organizations to more rapidly deploy, reuse and configure critical geospatial applications.
French also bestowed Intergraph’s highest customer award, the Icon Award, to: Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), a fully integrated nuclear technology and service provider; Enersource Hydro Mississauga, an electricity distribution company for the city of Mississauga in Ontario, Canada; Istituto Geografico Militare Italiano (IGMI), a national institution that produces digital cartography and provides integrated geospatial data for the Italian government; Saipem, an Italy-based turnkey contractor in the oil and gas industry; SINOPEC Engineering Incorporation (SEI), a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp., China’s largest petrochemical producer and crude oil refiner; and Surrey Police, a metropolitan London police department. 

Underscoring the international presence of conference attendees from more than 50 countries, Intergraph also announced that its Latin American distributor, SISGRAPH, opened an office in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to meet demands of Intergraph’s growing customer base. Sao Paulo-based SISGRAPH is the exclusive distributor for Intergraph Process, Power & Marine enterprise engineering solutions in Brazil. It is also a distributor for Intergraph Security, Government & Infrastructure geospatial software for public safety and security, government, transportation, utilities and communications, and photogrammetry customers throughout Latin America, the Caribbean and Mexico. 

SDI
Further announcements made at the show include, among others:
SBB, Switzerland’s biggest travel and transport company has selected Intergraph next-generation infrastructure management technology to manage rail assets that support the transport of 9,000 trains per day and 306 million passengers a year. Intergraph G/Technology will serve as foundation for the largest geographic information system (GIS) in the country.
Keeping track of and up-to-date on every asset that makes up such an extensive transportation network is a challenging proposition, according to SBB. The availability of current data that enables users to access key information at the right time, in the right form and through the appropriate medium is becoming increasingly crucial for the operation of the railway.
The region of Veneto, Italy will use Intergraph technology to create a centralized spatial data infrastructure (SDI) database to improve access to spatial data across the region and to conform to standards such as INSPIRE (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe). The project will consolidate and standardize multiple databases into one SDI geographic database, harmonizing and securing geospatial data exchange between Venetian government entities, businesses and the public for improved collaboration and productivity and ease of maintenance and administration.

"Our new SDI will dramatically improve the way Veneto manages and leverages a wide variety of spatial data,” said Maurizio De Gennaro, director of geographic database and cartography of the Veneto Regional Authority. “In such a geographically diverse region that includes mountains, plains and coast, the mapping of assets can be quite a challenge. The open architecture, flexibility and scalability of Intergraph technology will be critical to the success of this project.”
E.ON Mitte AG, Kassel, a Germany-based electric, gas and water utility, is the latest E.ON unit to standardize on Intergraph technology for more efficient infrastructure management. E.ON is the world’s largest investor-owned energy service provider.
“E.ON Mitte has been keeping electronic network data in a geographic information system (GIS) for 30 years, making us a pioneer of online graphical network documentation in Germany,” said Wolf Hatje, technical and operations director at E.ON Mitte AG. “Due to its scalability, open architecture and mobile capabilities, Intergraph technology will allow us to take our use of GIS data to a new level and continue to innovate for future success, while at the same time saving on maintenance and operational costs.”

Internet: www.intergraph2009.com
Intergraph 2010 will be held in Nashville, Tennessee, June 14 - 17, 2010. For more information, visit: www.intergraph2010.com