Victoria, BC – May 20, 2009 – The Integrated Cadastral Information Society (ICIS) received ESRI Canada’s Award of Excellence at the Regional User Conference in Victoria, BC earlier today. The award was presented to recognize the Society’s ability to develop a workable and successful model for provincial data sharing that is the first of its kind in Canada.

ICIS is a not-for-profit society, incorporated in May of 2001 as a partnership between major utility companies in British Columbia, local governments and the BC Provincial government to collaboratively share and integrate spatial data.

This partnership allows stakeholders to access data from a variety of contributors through a single agreement, removing the previous overhead that required each organization to have a unique agreement in place with data custodians.

“ICIS has demonstrated remarkable leadership by developing an innovative approach to data sharing that is unique in this country,” said Myron Doherty, Pacific Regional Manager, ESRI Canada. “Providing a common portal for all members to access spatial data has brought efficiencies and economies of scale to member organizations that are unprecedented even on a global scale.”

“By creating a mechanism to integrate spatial data through a single source, we have brought key provincial organizations together to meet around the same table,” said Barry Logan, General Manager, ICIS. “Organizations that wouldn’t normally interface are now collaborating on province-wide planning initiatives and sharing critical spatial information.”

About the ICIS
ICIS is a non-profit society created to collaboratively share and integrate spatial data for the economic and social benefit of British Columbia. To learn more about ICIS, visit www.icisociety.ca or contact Email Contact for specifics.

About ESRI Canada
Founded in 1984, ESRI Canada provides enterprise geographic information systems (GIS) solutions that empower businesses, governments, and educational institutions to make timely, informed and mission critical decisions by leveraging the power of maps. The company distributes the world's leading GIS software from ESRI Inc., Miner and Miner, Azteca, and other technology partners. Headquartered in Toronto, the company serves over 8,000 customers from 16 regional offices across Canada. Information about ESRI Canada can be found at www.esricanada.com.