FOSHAN, CHINA -  August 6, 2009 - ESRI Canada, in conjunction with ESRI China (Beijing) and Guangzhou Digital Cities Institute (DCI), today announced that the City of Foshan will implement ESRI's geographic information system (GIS) solution to establish a standard GIS platform across the city and improve urban planning.  ESRI Canada will provide consulting services for the project, with DCI and ESRI China providing software sales and service support. 

The third-largest city in China's Guangdong province, Foshan covers more than 3,800 square kilometres and has more than 5.4 million residents.  The city is situated in the Pearl River Delta, a region that has seen significant economic growth over the past several years.  To drive effective urban planning across Foshan's five districts and protect the Pearl River Delta environment, the city will deploy ESRI's ArcGIS Server. This technology will integrate and manage data from multiple sources and enable city planners to make timely and informed decisions. 

"As Foshan's communities grow, we need a GIS solution to provide a solid platform for the maintenance, exchange, update and sharing of geographic information," said Ruixin Chen, Director of the Information Technology Centre, Foshan Bureau of Planning.  "In collaborating with ESRI Canada, ESRI China and DCI, we are leveraging international and domestic expertise to ensure that we establish uniform standards for GIS data and processes across the city."

The project, partly funded by the World Bank, is expected to increase the efficiency of the city's urban planning by setting standard guidelines and technical specifications for the procurement of GIS hardware, software and services.  It will also help the city to ensure quality control of topographic map surveys and database loading services provided by third-party agencies. 

"Fast-growing municipalities such as Foshan need GIS solutions that are open, scalable and provide comprehensive functionality," said Zhenyu Song, President, DCI.  "ESRI has been a GIS leader for many years and ArcGIS Server technology delivers complete, integrated capabilities that meet all of Foshan's requirements.  In addition to gains in efficiency and productivity, the solution will also help Foshan reduce costs by centralizing data management and leveraging existing IT systems."

ArcGIS Server enables organizations of all sizes to publish and share geographic data, maps, imagery, analyses, process models and GIS-based Web applications - providing organizations with extensive capabilities to improve internal workflows, communicate vital information and engage stakeholders. The solution simplifies access to large volumes of imagery resources while reducing storage and data processing costs.  ArcGIS Server also helps organizations gain new value from existing information by integrating spatial data with enterprise systems such as customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning systems.

"Municipalities in China and worldwide are increasingly leveraging GIS solutions to access real-time geographic information and strengthen decision making," said Alex Miller, President, ESRI Canada.  "With the powerful capabilities of ESRI software, combined with the expertise of DCI, ESRI China and ESRI Canada, we look forward to helping the City of Foshan achieve its objectives and deliver enhanced value to its residents."

For more information about ArcGIS Server, visit:  http://www.esricanada.com/EN_products/2479.asp.

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About Guangzhou Digital Cities Institute Co. Ltd. (DCI) 
Founded in 1999, DCI is committed to the provision of professional services and solutions for the development of China's digital cities.  The company provides a variety of spatial and basal GIS products and application services in relation to urban planning, environmental protection, statistics, and commercial automatic and intelligent traffic. DCI is headquartered in Guangzhou, China and has 150 employees.  For more information, visit:  http://www.chinadci.com/.

About ESRI China (Beijing) Ltd. 
Founded in 1991, ESRI China distributes the world's leading GIS software from ESRI and remote sensing image processing software from ITT. It also provides eYaImage image compression tool sales and service support. ESRI China is headquartered in Beijing, China and has offices which are located at Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu. For more information, visit:  http://www.esrichina-bj.cn/.

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, Miner and Miner, Azteca Systems, 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  http://www.esricanada.com/.  

Media contacts:
China:
Jun Zhong
General Manager
Data Engineering Division, DCI
+86 (20) 8557 3068
pipal518@sohu.com
http://www.chinadci.com/

Juan Liu
Media Manager
ESRI China
+86 (10) 6554 1618
liuj@esrichina-bj.cn
http://www.esrichina-bj.cn/

Canada:
Joy Chan
PR Specialist
ESRI Canada
+1 (416) 386-6488
jchan@esricanada.com
http://www.esricanada.com/