An M Squared Holdings group company, Open Spatial supplies and implements a range of vertical-market intranet and Internet-based spatial solutions to the spatial information market. These are based on world-leading Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies such as Autodesk, ESRI and MapInfo, and databases such as Oracle.

The workshop, held in Christiana from 15-19 October, focused on the company's offering for Agricultural Co-Operatives, which these organisations use to aid farmers to create accurate crop yield forecasts and manage their supply agreements. Pieter Schoeman, Manager of GIS Services and Technical Support, says a tightly focused group of 20 users within the agriculturally related sector, attended the workshop.

These included 15 technical personnel and five managerial staff from various agricultural co-operatives, the Department of Agriculture, Nature Conservation in the Northern Cape, and the Irrigation Board. "We received excellent feedback on the workshop," he says. "Delegates were highly appreciative of the fact that we took the time to focus specifically on their own application, rather than offering generic GIS training, which is the traditional industry approach."

According to Schoeman, all of Open Spatial's workshops will similarly focus on different market sectors. "In line with our slogan: 'Working with people', Open Spatial Solutions is dedicated to working with our clients to ensure that they will fully capitalise on the benefits of spatial technology. These workshops provide dynamic support of this approach, adding value to our services and giving us further market edge."

Schoeman believes that as market demand for spatial information systems increases, so suppliers need to change their approach to make GIS more user-friendly and application-specific. "Not to do so is to risk becoming a dinosaur of the spatial information market," he concludes.

About Open Spatial Solutions

Open Spatial Solutions (Open Spatial) specialises in providing spatial solutions to companies with a need to incorporate spatial information into their business decision-making processes. The company offers a range of vertical market applications including: local councils and utilities, government and environmental organisations. A range of support and related services backs these applications, from project management, training and software development, to the capturing, provision and analysis of digital map data.

Open Spatial Solutions, (011) 324 3800

pschoeman@openspatial.co.za