Bluesky Achieves Irish Aerial Survey Milestone

Aerial mapping company Bluesky is celebrating a successful 2015 flying season in Ireland. Having captured nearly 10,000 square kilometres of high resolution aerial photography, Bluesky is well on the way to achieving its ambitious plans to capture high resolution aerial photography for the whole of Ireland. Bluesky is also pleased to announce the early take up of its ground breaking Irish datasets, with sales of aerial photography and detailed LiDAR height models to early adopters including Local Government organisations, Central Government departments and commercial businesses.

“We are extremely pleased with the amount of high quality imagery and data we have been able to capture, in spite of the challenging weather conditions we have experienced this flying season,” commented Rachel Tidmarsh, Managing Director of Bluesky. “The interest in this new data from both public and private sector organisations has also been immensely encouraging, and we are already delivering high quality data products to end users.”

Bluesky originally announced its plans to capture high resolution, leaf on, aerial photography and colour infrared imagery for the whole of The Republic of Ireland in 2014, and began flying as planned during the Spring of 2015. Bluesky has already committed to a three year update cycle for core data products, and will recommence flying in early spring of 2016 as soon as weather conditions allow.

Products from the Bluesky 2015 Irish flying season include 25 cm and 20 cm resolution coverage for nearly 10,000 square kilometres, including the county of Waterford, and higher resolution, 12.5 cm and 10 cm, data for urban areas including Sligo, Limerick, New Ross, Enniscorthy, Gorey and Wexford.

In addition to the aerial photography and CIR imagery already captured, national Digital Terrain Models (DTM) at 2m resolution and Digital Surface Models (DSM) at 25cm, 12.5cm and 10cm resolutions, are being created. The first datasets, available in a variety of GIS ready formats, are already being delivered to clients and will soon be available online at Bluesky’s Mapshop (www.blueskymapshop.com).

Bluesky’s team is expert in the capture of remotely sensed data and the production of innovative geographic data products. Bluesky’s work includes providing a technical lead in a European Commission funded project into a web based renewable energy rating platform, the laser mapping of overhead power line networks, new technology for air quality mapping, night time thermal surveying and the creation of the National Tree Map (NTM).

Contacts:
Bluesky
tel +44 (0)1530 518 518

www.bluesky-world.com

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Ordnance Survey Ireland Launches GeoHive

New platform will provide a deeper understanding of topics that impact on our lives


GeoHive, a free platform which enables people to combine and layer location-based information from a range of public sector bodies has today been launched by Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Alex White TD.

An initiative of Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSi), GeoHive provides easy access to definitive, trusted and maintained spatial data services from a range of public sector bodies.

The ‘Economic assessment of Ireland’s Geospatial Industry’ report commissioned by OSi, estimated that the use of geospatial or location-based information accrues annual savings of €82m in the public sector, time savings with an economic value of €279m, and competition benefits of €104m.

According to OSi Chief Executive Colin Bray, “Accurate information helps us all to make better decisions. GeoHive will allow citizens, the public service and business to realise the benefits which we know can be derived from using geospatial information”.

Mr Bray explained that “GeoHive is designed to allow users to join or ‘mash-up’ information on a map, providing a deeper understanding of topics that impact our lives. For example, one of the stories we tell with GeoHive – called Buying a Property in Ireland – gathers together data from many different sources to enable people to view that information in a single site to assist with the evaluation of one location to another. The information presented includes property prices, transport, education and planning”.

“GeoHive is an important development for OSi. The portal replaces the existing map viewer on the OSi website which has attracted over 1.5m unique visitors a year. It represents the first time OSi has developed a collaborative service to meet the needs of its user community”, added Mr Bray.

Minister White welcomed the launch of GeoHive saying that “ GeoHive is going to help us modernise public service delivery by providing a free and accessible portal where it’s easy to find, share and use the State’s location data. With data on education, population, travel times, commuting patterns, and the labour force in specific towns and cities, it will also provide businesses with information that will help them make investment decisions. This will add to our competitive advantage and help us to further promote Ireland as a good place to create jobs and do business. GeoHive showcases the innovation at the heart of the Irish public service.”

GeoHive can be accessed on all platforms – PC, tablet and smart phone. Users will be able to create and share access to web maps that they have created via social platforms such as email, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more.

Contacts: GeoHive
www.geohive.ie

About Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSi)

Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSi) is responsible for providing quality mapping and spatial information services to meet society's needs. OSi products and services are widely used in all sectors of Irish society, supporting the social, economic, legislative and administrative functions of the state in Ireland.

Ordnance Survey Ireland is a vital national asset, providing information which contributes to effective decision-making in government, better commercial decisions and economic growth. The work undertaken by OSi enables other bodies and companies to do what they do.

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Irish Households Lost The Most In The Financial Crisis

from Niall McCarthy

A report by the European Central Bank has revealed that Irish people lost more wealth than any other country inEurope during the financial crisis. In the four years up to and including 2013, the average net worth of Irish households fell €18,474. During the same period, average househeold net worth in Greece and Spain fell €16,909 and €12,780 respectively. As the Irish, Greeks, Spanish, Italians and Portuguese got poorer, other EU countries prospered. Dutch households had a per capita gain of over €33,000 for the four years to the start of 2015.



This chart shows household net worth across countries in the 4 years up to Q1 2015 (Euro per capita).

Source: Statista

SIRO Selects Intergraph® and IMGS for Fiber Broadband Project

Intergraph G/Technology® to aid ESB and Vodafone joint venture in Ireland



(PRNewswire) — SIRO, a joint venture company between ESB and Vodafone, has selected Intergraph's partner in Ireland, Irish Mapping & GIS Solutions Limited (IMGS), to supply and implement Intergraph software to aid in the planning, design and build-out of a 100-percent fiber-to-the-building broadband network.

SIRO will use Intergraph's commercial-off-the-shelf software, including Intergraph G/Technology®, Fiber Optic Works® and Hexagon Geospatial GeoMedia®, to perform high-level network planning and design. Third-party contractors will also use the software to survey and build the fiber-to-the-building network. The Intergraph and IMGS solution will integrate with SIRO's operations support systems (OSS) and business support systems (BSS), including Amdocs Operations Support Systems (previously known as Cramer).

"IMGS and Intergraph were the obvious choice due to their experience and understanding of large-scale utility projects and experience with ESB Networks. SIRO required a dependable, dedicated and flexible partner to deliver this leading-edge, fiber-to-the-building GIS to meet SIRO's ambitious plans to bring the only 100-percent fiber network to Ireland," said John McIntyre, information technology director at SIRO.

SIRO selected Intergraph and IMGS based on ESB's existing relationship with the companies. An Intergraph customer for 20 years, ESB Networks Ltd., an ESB subsidiary and the licensed operator of the electricity distribution system in the Republic of Ireland, worked with Intergraph and IMGS to implement a geographic information system (GIS) to support the planning, design, construction and day-to-day operations of Ireland's electricity distribution network.

"SIRO required a trusted and reliable partner to deliver the software necessary to implement the new fiber network," said Alun Pearsey, U.K. country manager, Intergraph Security, Government and Infrastructure (SG&I). "Working with IMGS, we are rapidly deploying a proven, flexible solution that can consume the electric network data on which the fiber network will be built. We are proud to assist ESB and Vodafone is this critically important endeavor."
SIRO is investing €450 million in building Ireland's first 100-percent fiber-to-the-building broadband network, offering speeds up to 1000 Mbps to 500,000 premises in 50 regional towns, revolutionizing the broadband market inIreland. The network will be built on ESB's existing over ground and underground electricity infrastructure.

"For Ireland's knowledge economy to continue to grow, a world-class communications network is critical," said Ciaran Kirk, general manager, IMGS. "SIRO will ensure businesses and consumers across the country can access super-fast broadband. The Intergraph GIS will be fundamental in ensuring an efficient roll out and maintenance of this critical service."
Intergraph SG&I helps utilities and communications companies streamline work processes and make smarter decisions. A pioneer in the development and application of location-based technology for more than 45 years, Intergraph SG&I provides solutions to hundreds of utilities and communications customers around the globe, supporting network engineering and operations, customer services and more.

About Intergraph
Intergraph helps the world work smarter. The company's software and solutions improve the lives of millions of people through better facilities, safer communities and more reliable operations.

Intergraph Process, Power & Marine (PP&M) is the world's leading provider of enterprise engineering software enabling smarter design and operation of plants, ships and offshore facilities. Intergraph Security, Government & Infrastructure (SG&I) is the leader in smart solutions for emergency response, utilities, transportation and other global challenges. For more information, visit www.intergraph.com.

Intergraph is part of Hexagon (Nasdaq Stockholm: HEXA B; hexagon.com), a leading global provider of information technologies that drive productivity and quality across geospatial and industrial enterprise applications.

About IMGS 

IMGS is Ireland's leading supplier of spatial solutions for government, utility and telecommunications industries. Its solutions enable customers to capture, manage and embed spatial data and engineering documentation into their enterprise information systems. IMGS serves more than 50 customers across the island of Ireland, including ESB Networks, Northern Ireland Electricity, BT Ireland, Ordnance Survey Ireland, Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland, the Irish Naval Service and 34 local authorities.

IMGS have a long track record in developing and supporting GIS for national network companies such as ESB, as well working government agencies across the country. In fact, currently in Ireland, the majority of utility networks are managed using software supported or developed by IMGS. For additional information, visit http://www.imgs.ie.

© 2015 Intergraph Corporation. All rights reserved. Intergraph is part ofHexagon. Intergraph and the Intergraph logo are registered trademarks of Intergraph Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and in other countries. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.

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SOURCE Intergraph
Contact:
Intergraph
Irish Mapping & GIS Solutions Limited
SIRO
Hexagon
Jim Dobbs
Phone: +1 256.730.8558
Email Contact
Web: http://www.intergraph.com

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