Windsor, Berks, UK – 4 February 2010 – Local Government Authorities are increasingly turning to Location Intelligence solutions for emergency contingency planning, public health initiatives and compliance directives, according to Pitney Bowes Business Insight (PBBI), the global provider of Location Intelligence, Data Management and Customer Communication Management solutions. As the democratisation of data drives the focus on new, on-demand delivery channels for public services, such as the government’s G-Cloud, Location Intelligence will play an ever more central role in local government planning and innovation.
These were the conclusions of more than 70 delegates from local government authorities attending the meeting of the independent MapInfo® User Group UK & Ireland (MUGUKI), which gathered in Bristol last month. The independent user group events are designed to share the knowledge and experiences of new and longstanding users of Pitney Bowes MapInfo Professional®, Pitney Bowes MapBasic®, Pitney Bowes MapXtreme® and other flagship technologies from the Pitney Bowes Business Insight location intelligence solutions portfolio. Providing critical context to the proceedings, guest speakers at the Bristol forum presented real-world insight into addressing public health, emergency planning and compliance directives, with presentations on Swine Flu mapping from Avon IM&T Consortium, Flood Risk Management from engineering consultants, Mouchel, and a case study on Sustainability Index from Liverpool City Council, among others.
John O’Hara, Pitney Bowes Business Insight’s Executive Vice President, International, commented, “Local Authorities are facing a myriad of challenges, ranging from pandemic planning scenarios, resource shortages, and rapid population growth, to legislation around carbon footprint reduction and EU directives – all the while having to do more with less. Location Aware solutions, such as MapInfo Professional, improve and accelerate business efficiency and performance, particularly in citizen-centric processes. The advent of Cloud Computing and the G-Cloud initiative, combined with Location Aware solutions, will help drive innovation, cost reduction and collaboration, helping Local Authorities to better prepare for ‘what if’ scenarios, planned growth and regulatory compliance, such as the INSPIRE Directive.”
PBBI plans to make Cloud Computing / Software-as-a-Service delivery standard for all new products. The company will be launching on-demand services, including major market innovations such as Data-as-a-Service in 2010, providing the definitive, cost effective infrastructure to delivering online public services.
