Emapsite And Autodesk Webinar To Challenge PSMA Data Barriers

Online, November 3, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Location content platform emapsite and software giant Autodesk are teaming up to help local authorities and contractors share geospatial data more easily.

The pair are holding a joint webinar for council contractors and custodians of Ordnance Survey mapping working under the UK government's PSMA (Public Sector Mapping Agreement).

The event will highlight the ease of combining emapsite's Contractor Link service for PSMA with Autodesk's software, AutoCAD® Map 3D, a better Autocad for connecting with external data.

Experts from each company will demonstrate how combining the two components creates a ready, integrated solution for accessing and managing mapping through CAD.

Free of charge to local authorities, Contractor Link is a self-service portal for contractors providing fast, flexible access to OS map data including OS MasterMap. The authority permits or denies access to the contractor on a project-by-project basis, while emapsite supplies an auditable, ongoing management record.

AutoCAD Map 3D is a leading software solution specifically designed to 'bridge the gap' between CAD and GIS and ensure AutoCAD® tools can support a range of data formats.

The webinar follows growing recognition that accessing and manipulating geospatial data for public sector projects remains a perceived barrier to many contractors and local government managers.

Research by the Local Government Association in 2009 found that councils spend around £3.5 million a year purely on managing their contractors' use of data.

James Cutler, Chief Executive of emapsite, said: "The webinar will address both the accessing of spatial data, through Contractor Link, and the ability to work with it in CAD once you have it, through AutoCAD Map 3D. Accessing and working with mapping has presented challenges for data managers in the public sector for many years. We want to help them overcome these barriers through integrating our solutions."

Tracey Stone, Autodesk's AEC Sales Manager, Infrastructure and Plant, for Northern Europe, said: "Many users of standard AutoCAD software struggle to handle mapping data and that's why AutoCAD Map 3D is so important. It allows you to work with geospatial data in a CAD environment alongside your GIS for more efficient workflows. This ensures better data quality and increased productivity. It's very easy to use and that's something we aim to highlight in the webinar. At the same time, Contractor Link provides the ideal means to source the data as it solves a range of issues around licensing, storage, distribution, auditing, cost and time management."

A Premier Partner of Ordnance Survey, emapsite has delivered geographic data for more than ten years to the contractor marketplace. Among its clients are leading consultants in planning and development, architecture, environment, engineering and asset management. The list includes URS Scott Wilson, WSP, Atkins, Mouchel, Halcrow and Mott MacDonald.

The PSMA, launched in April 2011 by Communities and Local Government, provides OS data to all public sector organisations in England and Wales including 375 local authorities. More than a third of these are already using Contractor Link.

The webinar takes place on Monday 14th November 2011 from 11am to 12pm GMT. To register, visit: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/159725562.