Month: August 2006

I thought it was best to sleep on my thoughts for day 1 of the conference to contemplate what I have heard… I’m still trying to get over seeing AutoCAD and Intergraph GeoMedia demonstrated on Mainstage at a ESRI UC – that’s real interoperability for you.

Many people I have spoken to were a little disappointed by the lack of “new” stuff, as many people were already aware of the functionality in ArcGIS 9.2 at least from a desktop point of view. The Big story here however is one of consolidation around desktop, but the new stuff is all around the Server products and the wider GeoWeb vision.

I not sure everybody really “gets” what this means or the real impact of this.. In many ways the focus on servers is a more fundamental shift in thinking than the move to ArcGIS from Arc/Info, but initially for the vast majority of users at the UC whose only experience is off the desktop products this may all seem a little remote.

As I noted on Sunday, the GeoWeb vision will not be a easy ride, there are many issues to resolve not only the technology, but there is no doubt about Jack and ESRI’s commitment to it.

Written and submitted from the Wyndham San Diego Hotel, using a local open wifi network.

Jessie and Sue of Very Spatial have some temporary competition in the shape of the Directions Magazine Podcast for the ESRI UC. Their first a review of the Senior Executive Leadership Seminar is a great start.

Written and submitted from the Wyndham San Diego Hotel, using a local open wifi network.

I of course knew it was coming, but is was nevertheless a very strange experience to see my face projected 10 metres high on the six screens at the ESRI user conference, as a video made by ESRI at the OS to celebrate the organisation winning this years Presidents Award was shown.

We are of course very proud to have been given the award, but what I don’t think came across very clearly today, is that it is really an award for the whole organisation, a wonderful team of people who are represented by the eleven of us here at the user conference.

The OS Away team with Jack, David Walsh, Steve Bennett, myself, Vanessa Lawrence, David Henderson, Matt White, Tim Warr, and Chris Maidens (Not in the picture Chiran Paruchuri, Rex Corfield and Malcolm Havercroft)

The OS has come a long way in the last few years and has even further to travel to really meet the needs of our customers, but where we are today is the product of hundreds of very bright people who care with a passion about their work and the organisation they work for.

My thanks to them and to Jack for recognising our success.

Written and submitted from the Wyndham San Diego Hotel, using a local open wifi network.