Autodesk unveiled Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise 2008 and Autodesk Topobase 2008 software products, two advanced geospatial offerings that provide organizations with a platform to share location, design and enterprise information across departments — delivering the right information to the right people at the right time.
The products help drive innovation, cost-effectiveness and competitive advantage at every stage of infrastructure design, construction and management.
Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise 2008 builds on Autodesk’s support for open source software to help public agencies, utilities and telecommunications customers extend the reach and value of geospatial information and knowledge through their organizations and beyond. As a central component of the Autodesk geospatial solution, Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise software utilizes the Internet to deliver important, up-to-date asset and infrastructure information to the people who need it.
Additionally, Topobase 2008 – including a new customized module for the gas industry – incorporates the latest Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise and AutoCAD Map 3D 2008 software capabilities to help utilities’ planning, engineering and operations personnel make better decisions based on a holistic understanding of their infrastructure assets.
"The open source community plays an essential role in Autodesk’s commitment to providing geospatial solutions that enable the convergence of data, knowledge and people," said Lisa Campbell, vice president, Autodesk Geospatial. "Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise 2008 reflects the open source community’s input on the features most important to organizations, such as native support for Google Earth, while new Topobase 2008 features apply those enhancements to the specific requirements of utility companies."
Updates Speed Development of Web-based Geospatial Applications
Valuable contributions from the open source community reflected market need and fostered many innovations within Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise 2008. The software improves enterprise users’ ability to integrate design and spatial data from a variety of sources, develop new geospatial applications and distribute maps and spatial data faster and more easily through dynamic Web pages or in the form of detail-rich, highly accurate and compact DWF files. New and improved functionality makes Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise 2008 a powerful development solution, while gains in performance, stability and interoperability deliver a stronger and more dynamic user experience.
Members of the geospatial community such as DM Solutions Group have driven the development of features important to their customers, which are now incorporated in Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise 2008. "Today’s news demonstrates the advantages of collaboration with the open source community," said David McIlhagga, president of DM Solutions Group. "Everybody wins: open source developers don’t have to clear huge cost or technical hurdles to build the tools they feel are most important, while our solutions and Autodesk customers gain relevant, enterprise-class features and functions."
Comprehensive Solution Purpose-Built for Utilities
Autodesk Topobase 2008 software incorporates all of the functionality of Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise 2008 and AutoCAD Map 3D 2008 products, as well as Oracle Spatial database technology, for unparalleled performance, scalability, reliability and security. Topobase software brings together design, spatial and enterprise data and bridges the communication gaps that separate people from the knowledge and insight they need to design, build and service infrastructure assets more effectively.
"Utilities need a comprehensive understanding of these assets in order to achieve strategic business objectives, such as improved productivity, cost-savings and rapid return on investments," said Nigel Nugent, vice president, CH2M HILL. "Autodesk Topobase serves as a tool that helps utilities to meet these goals by giving their people the information they need to make informed, timely decisions."
Topobase 2008 offers additional features that take advantage of the Web for project workflow management, job creation and editing, and visibility into existing infrastructure and new projects. With the 2008 updates to the Topobase Web component, remote users, such as customer service agents, managers, field operations and external contractors, can securely access asset information to make better decisions and improve operational effectiveness.
In conjunction with Topobase 2008, Autodesk introduced a new module developed expressly to address the needs of gas utility operators. The module includes data models, workflows and business rules that reflect the gas industry’s unique regulatory and local standards. Because the software is tailored to industry-specific requirements, customers can streamline set-up and implementation without expensive customization, which may result in a faster return on investment. Companies may also turn to Autodesk Consulting to accelerate deployment, integration and implementation of best practices.
Water and wastewater service operators already are measuring the impact of an industry-specific Topobase module. To keep pace with growth and demand for services, organizations need to be able to use up-to-date information that is often trapped in linear business processes. The Topobase solution can serve as a centralized platform for up-to-date network topology and greater consistency and efficiency in operations.
Availability
Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise 2008 is now available in English. German, Japanese, French and Italian versions will be released in the near future. Autodesk Topobase 2008 will be available in English later this month and in German, Italian and French shortly thereafter.
