The more than 18,000 people attending the 2019 Esri User Conference (Esri UC) in San Diego, California, saw the phrase SEE WHAT OTHERS CAN’T everywhere. It was emblazoned on a banner wrapping around several floors of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, on the signs and banners blanketing the San Diego Convention Center, and on T-shirts and water bottles handed out to those at the 39th annual conference, held July 8–12.

More than a slogan, this phrase describes the power of GIS. The stories told by Esri software users from government agencies, nonprofits, private companies, and schools on the plenary stage and in presentations throughout the week demonstrated how GIS lets them see relationships, dependencies, and connections that have enabled them to understand the how and why, as well as the where, to make better decisions and respond effectively.

Everywhere they looked, Esri User Conference attendees could SEE WHAT OTHERS CAN’T.

The conference theme, GIS: The Intelligent Nervous System, is built on the metaphor of the human nervous system. As Esri president Jack Dangermond observed, “Our world resembles a living organism in that it is complex, interconnected, self-healing, resilient, and constantly changing. GIS integrates data from many sources and couples it with values and emotions and carries...

Most organizations only use a small amount of their data’s analytic potential, according to a December 2018 report by research and advisory firm Gartner. But leveraging data—and being data driven—is essential to creating a sustainable advantage over the competition.

So what does it mean to be data driven? And how can an organization build a culture that’s galvanized by data, where employees use data and analytics to drive growth, profitability, and innovation?

A data-driven organization does two things really well. First, it understands that data is a valuable asset. Second, it empowers employees at every organizational level with the access, knowledge, and tools they need to use that data to turn business insights into actionable opportunities.

Many companies attempt to develop a data-driven culture by employing a highly skilled and creative data science team that works with volumes of data and puts together related reports that, all too often, fail to get acted on. Following a data strategy like this—that relies heavily on a data science team—usually ends in failure. While these experts are highly qualified to generate the data and reports that enable analysis, a stand-alone data science team does very little to build a company-wide culture of data-driven decision-making.

Why is that? According to the Gartner report, entitled Predicts 2019: Analytics and...

BELLEVUE, Wash., Oct. 21, 2019 — (PRNewswire) — EagleView^[1], a leading technology provider of aerial imagery and data analytics, today announced that on Friday, October 18, 2019, Judge Renee Marie Bumb for the U.S. District Court of New Jersey ruled that a permanent injunction against Xactware Solutions, Inc. and Verisk Analytics, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSK^[2]) will take effect immediately to protect EagleView's proprietary intellectual property (IP) and prevent Xactware and Verisk's further willful infringement of EagleView's technology.

"The Court's order allows us to connect with new, returning and existing customers whom we are excited to support," said Rishi Daga, CEO of EagleView. "Our commitment to serving all customers with innovative products of the highest quality remains as firm as ever. We are pleased that the Court safeguarded our innovative technologies and halted the Defendants' illegal activities that sought to undermine our business for years."

The Court's order^[3] and 39-page opinion^[4] detailed that, "[the] Defendants announced in their formal, written business strategy that they viewed EagleView as a 'threat,' and so set out to 'aggressively' erode EagleView's market share...

System offers streamlined access to real-time data, improving drone integration and safety

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21, 2019 — (PRNewswire) —  Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN^[1]) and AirMap, the leading global airspace intelligence platform for drones, have integrated AirMap's unmanned aerial systems (UAS) monitoring capabilities onto a working prototype of Raytheon's next-generation air traffic controller workstation called Multi-platform ATC Re-hosting Solution, or MARS^[2]. 

With this integration, MARS now offers air traffic controllers streamlined access to UAS monitoring designed to improve the safety of drone integration. The MARS workstation integrates commercial off-the-shelf technologies into a consolidated touchscreen display that provides access to multiple automation applications at one workstation, without changing re-hosted applications.

"When drones fly in controlled airspace, they're sharing the skies with many other types of aircraft," said Matt Gilligan, vice president of Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services. "Air traffic controllers need real-time airspace awareness and alerts to unusual drone activity; it's a key step on the path toward safe drone integration into the national airspace system."

AirMap's intelligent airspace management tools, such as real-time^[3] remote identification, airspace authorization, and dynamic geofencing provide air traffic controllers access to UAS flight data through automated digital...

RangePro X8 is proudly designed and assembled in the U.S.A.

VALENCIA, Calif., Oct. 21, 2019 — (PRNewswire) — TerraView, a California-based aerial technology company, today unveiled the RangePro X8 — an industrial unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed to fly for more than 70 minutes in real-world conditions with a standard sensor payload. Proudly engineered and assembled in the USA, the RangePro X8 was engineered specifically for industrial, first responder and government enterprise data capture.

"We're extremely excited about the RangePro X8's record-breaking flight time and data capture capabilities, which make this drone the highest performing in its class," said Bruce Myers, president of TerraView. "The RangePro X8 is a game changer that employs military-grade technology to make drone missions more efficient and effective. This product will instantly elevate business' capabilities, perspective, and competitive advantage."

Compared with competitors, RangePro X8 offers:...

• Longer Flight Times: Its highly efficient design coupled with higher capacity batteries result in flight times that are on average two and a half times longer than the competition, allowing users to accomplish more work with fewer batteries and less time spent on battery swaps and maintenance.
• Longer Service Life: Not only does the RangePro X8 fly longer, each battery can support over 500 charging

SINGAPORE, Oct. 20, 2019 — (PRNewswire) — The Year in Infrastructure 2019 Conference -- Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the leading global provider of comprehensive software and digital twin cloud services for advancing the design, construction, and operations of infrastructure, today announced the acquisitions of global mobility simulation (CUBE) and analytics (Streetlytics) software provider Citilabs, and global provider of 3D and mobile mapping software, Orbit Geospatial Technologies (Orbit GT). The newly acquired technologies, in conjunction with Bentley's existing design integration and digital cities offerings, enable engineering-based mobility digital twins. Road mobility digital twins converge cities' digital context (including 4D surveying facilitated by Orbit GT for drone-and vehicle-mounted mobile mapping), and digital components (including from Bentley's OpenRoads engineering applications) with CUBE simulations—to model and assure real-world throughput capacity for proposed and existing roadway assets. Streetlytics traffic data will become increasingly available through Bentley's cloud services to calibrate and validate mobility digital twins.

Robert Mankowski, vice president, digital cities, for Bentley Systems, said, "Mobility is a priority opportunity for city digital twins, because too often existing planning and simulation efforts are disconnected from the infrastructure's engineering reality. As the roadway design software leaders, we're very enthusiastic to be...

New global company introduces digital integration services, advancing constructors' innovative digital workflows

SINGAPORE, Oct. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Year in Infrastructure Conference -- Bentley Systems, the leading global provider of comprehensive software and digital twin cloud services for advancing the design, construction, and operations of infrastructure, and Topcon Positioning Systems, a world leader in positioning technology for the survey and construction industries, today announced that its new, jointly owned company – Digital Construction Works – is open for business, with a full global staff of digital construction experts who have been contributed by Bentley Systems and Topcon, respectively. Digital Construction Works provides digital automation, integration, and "twinning" services around a portfolio of fit-for-purpose software and cloud services, from Topcon, Bentley, and other software vendors, to realize the breakthrough potential of constructioneering, for industrializing construction.

Bentley Systems and Topcon joined forces in 2016, to jointly develop enhanced integration between their respective MAGNET and ProjectWise cloud services so that engineering and construction workflows could be integrated for improved project quality and performance. Since then, Bentley and Topcon have continuously introduced new "4D" innovations in surveying, reality modeling, scheduling and logistics, work packaging, machine control, and progressive assurance for construction. In 2017, they together opened Constructioneering Academies, including at Topcon's "sandbox"...

SINGAPORE, Oct. 21, 2019 — (PRNewswire) — The Year in Infrastructure 2019 Conference -- Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the leading global provider of comprehensive software and digital twin cloud services for advancing the design, construction, and operations of infrastructure, today announced new capabilities for its industry-leading ProjectWise collaboration platform and comprehensive expansion of its SYNCHRO 4D construction environment. Together, these robust offerings extend the value of project digital twins across the entire project delivery ecosystem, improving design and constructability coordination workflows. New ProjectWise 365 cloud services, leveraging Microsoft 365 technology and office productivity tools, extend the reach, affordability, and accessibility of BIM and infrastructure design data for organizations of all sizes. In addition, with Bentley's new SYNCHRO cloud services, contractors can 4D-visualize design data and construction models for project and field management, advanced work packaging, and Microsoft HoloLens 2 augmented reality solutions.

Noah Eckhouse, senior vice president, project delivery for Bentley Systems, said, "Project digital twins for infrastructure engineering and construction surge forward with these announcements, particularly with our new cloud services. Users of ProjectWise, the #1 BIM collaboration software in ARC's new market study, have made Bentley one of the largest ISV users of Azure. We...

Everyone loves a good story. The new ArcGIS StoryMaps is a great way to tell one.

Demonstrate your storytelling skills using this next generation story builder by entering the 2019 StoryMapper of the Year Contest sponsored by Esri.

A Simple but Powerful Map Builder

Many government organizations have been using classic Esri Story Maps apps to create stories on many topics, including social issues, the environment, agriculture, sports, health, and tourism. Esri Story Maps apps use templates to combine maps, text, and multimedia content to tell stories.

“Esri Story Maps has evolved tremendously over the past eight years, but this is our biggest leap forward yet,” said Allen Carroll, program manager for storytelling at Esri. “We’ve taken the feedback provided by our storytelling community to create this next generation storytelling tool and deliver a great new experience for our users. Our goal is to enable tens of thousands of people to create sophisticated, map-driven narratives that rival the New York Times, the Guardian, and the Washington Post.”

ArcGIS StoryMaps is a simpler way to tell your story. With ArcGIS StoryMaps, you no longer need templates—you can build stories using the new builder block palette. Mapping is also much simpler. Easy-to-create express maps can be made...