Autodesk has unveiled MapGuide Enterprise 2008 and Topobase 2008 software products, two geospatial offerings that provide organizations with a platform to share location, design and enterprise information across departments.
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 uses the Internet to deliver important, up-to-date asset and infrastructure information to the people who need it. Additionally, Topobase 2008 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."
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, accurate and compact DWF files.
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."
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.
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.