DMP Bolsters GIS Offerings with SaaS-Based Features

Focusing on Web-based services that are gaining traction in this slower economy for their convenience and low costs, an Irvine, California-based geographic information systems company today announced that it’s added new features to its so-called “Software-as-a-Service” offerings.

 

Officials at Digital Map Products Inc. say their so-called “Data Loader” and “Thematic Mapper” allow customers to import and thematically map outside spatial data sets in CityGIS and LandVision.

 

Translation: People are now expected to be able to produce more complex and thorough spatial data analyses.

 

According to the company’s chief executive officer, Jim Skurzynski, as more business and government users began using and appreciating the power of visualization technology, they asked for the ability to combine data from various sources.

 

“We wanted to give our customers new spatial tools so they could combine our data with any other data they like, control the display to make it more effective, and leverage the investment they have already made in spatial technology,” he said.

 

And the company settled on SaaS (News - Alert)-based solutions.

 

Generally speaking, SaaS is a model of software deployment where an application is hosted as a service provided to customers through the Internet. By getting rid of the need to install and run an application on the customer’s own computer, SaaS reduces the cost of software maintenance, operation and support.

 

And every day, it seems, as this economic downturn protracts, we’re reading more and more about the rising popularity of SaaS-based solutions.

 

Last week alone, as TMCnet reported, a France-based document process automation provider announced that it saw 66 percent revenue growth last year on its SaaS products. Also, a ienna, Virginia-based Appian Corporation, a provider of business process management software announced that their users now can model and run process improvements through an affordable SaaS subscription, and choose from among different SaaS deployment models.

 

And just hours ago, TMCnet reported that a Bethesda, Maryland-based company that leverages the Internet to improve operations is releasing a Web solution for dentists.

 

Officials at Dentisoft Technologies say their new “Office Online” appointment scheduling module brings real-time Web interaction with a hosted server, giving the solution anywhere/anytime access to an appointment book and allowing patients to request and confirm visits online.

 

According to Eric Wasserman, chief operating officer at the company, for many years, Web-based systems have relied upon technologies which prevented wide-spread adoption.

 

“This is no longer the case,” Wasserman said. “Software-as-a-Service has arrived in Dentistry. You can now interact with patients directly through the practice management system, providing opportunities for administrative savings, clinical discussions, and marketing.”

 

DMP’s solutions are a little different.

 

Data Loader lets users load shape and .csv files so that they can work with all their spatial data in one application, regardless of its source. Thematic Mapper is designed to make data mapping and display easy, enabling users to identify trends quickly and make more informed decisions based on their data.

 

Officials at DMP say that Data Loader and Thematic Mapper are now part of CityGI, their SaaS enterprise GIS application, which allows cities to load, display and analyze outside spatial data sets.