Intergraph promotes open standards

Open GIS Consortium

Intergraph Corp. has awarded grants to 20 organizations worldwide to promote the use of geospatial data standards.

The Intergraph Open Interoperability Grant Program allows grant recipients to consolidate information from multiple sources and publish data in industry-standard formats on the Web. The organizations will be able to maximize the use of spatial data while eliminating data translation and reducing integration requirements.

The program supports and emphasizes the use of specifications set by the Open GIS Consortium Inc.

Among the recipients were the Dallas County, Texas, GIS Department and the Jo Daviess County Government, in Illinois. The program also included international recipients from countries such as Spain, Thailand, Belgium, Germany, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom.

Each recipient will receive a full version of Intergraph's GeoMedia Professional and GeoMedia WebMap software, along with Web server kits and technical support. Through these programs, data can be published in open formats regardless of vendor brand, format or platform.

"The initial grant recipients are involved in projects that will make a significant impact on building open interoperability standards within national and international communities," said Fiona McKee, global program manager for Intergraph Mapping and Geospatial Solutions.

The program focuses on development and deployment of open standard spatial data infrastructures. Receiving the grants will allow the organizations to increase public access to geospatial information, provide a center for mapping, develop a spatial data infrastructure and increase access to critical spatial data.