R7 Solutions Completes Integration of GeoRoom 3.2 at City of Houston Public Works & Engineering

Posted in Client News, GeoRoom, GIS Consulting, Public Sector

HOUSTON, TX, August 22, 2007 – R7 Solutions has announced the finalization of integration and rollout of GeoRoom 3.2 at the City of Houston, Public Works & Engineering department.

The GeoRoom integration provides the City with a single interface for management and geospatial association of documents and map features, including thousands of documents stored in Microsoft SharePoint.

GeoRoom also pulled document metadata from SharePoint to allow for easier, faster identification and association of documents on the map. GeoRoom’s SharePoint integration capabilities allow documents to be geospatially indexed and searched directly from the GeoRoom interface.

GeoRoom also provides PW&E with an easy to use user interface for attaching new documents and SharePoint list items to locations on the map, as well as specialized polygon drawing tools both for project area designation and for geospatial search constraint.

The City expects to use GeoRoom for management of all asset documents on the map in the future, creating an easy way for up to 20,000 City users to find and access critical documents by location.

“With deep connections into the department’s existing GIS servers, document management process, SharePoint lists, and back-end security integration with Oracle user tables, this integration of GeoRoom makes full use of GeoRoom’s powerful Business Object model,” said K. Lawrence Epperson, CEO of R7 Solutions.

The project has been especially economical for the City because it leverages existing GIS and database licenses and infrastructure investment, builds on the PW&E’s existing staff skills around these technologies, and integrates directly with existing document management systems, in situ, without creating additional system administration overhead. GeoRoom used the City’s existing ArcSDE, ArcIMS, ArcGIS, Microsoft SharePoint and SQL Server and Oracle databases to eliminate the need for new license and server purchases by the City to build the new application.

“We were able to build complex connections quickly simply by editing the XML files that define the connections, and then adding specialized interfaces in the few places they were needed. Overall, it was a very interesting project for R7,” said Epperson.

“Because the map features change from time to time, with the collection of new, more accurate map layers, there was a tremendous need for a highly flexible, intuitive document management interface that integrated with SharePoint behind the scenes, but provided an easy way to associate and move document locations on the map to connect to the right map feature. This was a challenge that we were able to overcome using GeoRoom,” said Epperson.

About GeoRoom
GeoRoom is web-based workflow software that brings location intelligence and real-time project status to everyone in the enterprise. GeoRoom combines complete mapping (GIS) and on-line collaboration with rapid, easy enterprise application integration. GeoRoom is flexible and standards based. Integration modules are available for SQL Server, SharePoint, Oracle, Documentum, FileNet, PODS and a range of other data sources and applications.

About R7 Solutions
R7 Solutions develops and implements award-winning enterprise software for the energy, transportation, government and real estate industries. The company’s flagship product is GeoRoom, the real-time web-based map and data integration suite. Founded in 2001, the company has unique expertise in geographic information systems, enterprise integration of geospatial data, document management and workflow systems. For more information, please contact R7 Solutions at 713.529.3300 or via e-mail.