ArcGIS: A strategic asset for Hamilton City Council

Hamilton City Council (HCC) has enhanced their GIS capabilities as part of a major restructure. HCC migrated to Esri’s ArcGIS solution from Genamap, significantly upgraded their geodatabases and has increased access to HCC staff via web-based mapping. This initiative, undertaken in partnership with Eagle Technology, came in under budget and in line with HCC’s timetable. GIS is now seen as an enabling technology and will underpin operations and planning for a wide variety of City services in the years to come.

“Until recently,” says Chris Mardon, Senior Project Manager in the Phoenix Programme Office at HCC, “GIS was not regarded as a strategic Council application. The GIS team consisted of one specialist and only one ‘power user’, our geo-data was limited in scope and we relied on CAD applications and outsourcing to create specialised maps.

“At the same time,” continues Mardon, “the Council had implemented an initiative, the Phoenix Programme, designed to standardise Council enterprise applications, consolidate data and enhance access to these applications.” HCC made the decision to significantly upgrade their GIS capabilities within the framework of Phoenix.

Specific requirements

HCC had very specific requirements for their GIS initiative. “We were not just looking for a vendor to sell us software licenses,” explains Mardon. “We really needed a partner that would invest the time and energy required to help us raise awareness of GIS and how it could help us achieve our goals.”

HCC, after a careful evaluation process, selected Esri’s ArcGIS for their GIS platform and Eagle Technology to help with implementation.

“We cannot speak highly enough of the staff at Eagle and the approach they have taken,” says Mardon. “Eagle engaged with us on a variety of levels and were able to give us what we needed, when we needed it. Eagle’s staff went out of their way to ensure that the project was able to meet expectations and we are hugely thankful for the commitment they showed.”

Transition phase under budget

The first ‘Transition’ phase, completed in July, has resulted in the installation of ArcGIS Server and ArcGIS Desktop. In addition, Eagle has helped HCC develop CityView, a browser-based GIS application to provide GIS access to the rest of HCC staff.

“A key point,” says Mardon, “is that the Transition phase for GIS came in on time and under budget. In the overall context of the Phoenix Programme, this was a tremendous accomplishment and gave the GIS project a high-profile and a positive start.”

Positive about the future

“Now that we have all the tools in place we can really start to move forward,” concludes Mardon. “We have made a good start but still have a long way to go. By involving Eagle we have reduced our risk and have benefited from Eagle’s proven capability and approach. And most importantly, GIS is now seen as a strategic asset and a major contributor towards HCC’s ongoing success.”