Autodesk and Kanotech Forge Strategic Partnership to Deliver Local Government Solutions Kanotech's CivicCenter Integrates With Autodesk's Municipal Solutions To Make Data Available to Nontechnical Users and the General Public SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Aug. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Autodesk, Inc., (Nasdaq: ADSK) and Kanotech Information Systems Ltd. announced today that Kanotech is the first company to enter the Autodesk Strategic Partner Program serving the local government industry. Through the strategic relationship, Kanotech's CivicCenter suite can begin to integrate with Autodesk(R) Municipal Solutions to deliver complete solutions for local governments. Kanotech's CivicCenter solutions combine the power of AutoCAD Map(R) for map creation and maintenance and Autodesk MapGuide(R) for publishing the information to nontechnical users and the public. The companies will demonstrate CivicCenter at the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) 2000 conference (Autodesk Booth #203) in Orlando, Florida, August 19-23. CivicCenter is a cost-efficient, user-friendly solution that offers similar functionality to a town of 10,000 people or a city of 150,000. It provides an achievable and affordable GIS solution for communities that cannot afford their own GIS specialists, and it better uses the time of GIS specialists in communities that can afford them. Smaller local governments can take immediate advantage of the CivicCenter products to deliver to staff members critical information they need to improve productivity. Larger local governments can employ CivicCenter to validate their data and quickly get a GIS solution functioning. The CivicCenter solution is a stepping stone to implementing the workflow-based Autodesk Municipal Solutions that use the Autodesk VISION*(R) and Oracle platforms. Moreover, it is designed to grow with a community as its needs change. "This is a great opportunity for Kanotech and Autodesk to address the needs of the local government market in North America," says Don Chapman, president, Kanotech Information Systems. "This is good news for small to medium-sized municipalities that will now have a best-of-breed solution supplied by a company they have been comfortable dealing with for years. No longer will these communities find themselves with less of a solution than is offered to large cities." Wayne Geary, Jr., vice president of InterSpatial Inc. and former GIS Coordinator of the Town of Okotoks, implemented the first Civic Center application in Okotoks. According to Geary, "CivicCenter provides the end user with an extremely useful platform for an improved decision making tool. Whereas it once took hours of research to gather all of the necessary data, now, within minutes a query can be made and a solution provided at your fingertips." Serving Smaller Local Governments with CivicCenter CivicCenter is a complete GIS solution for small to medium-sized municipalities. It links the municipality's assessment parcel-based data to the city's parcel map. This gives nontechnical users point-and-click access to information about ownership, assessment, zoning, and addresses for all parcels in the community. Until now, many of the solutions to link databases and maps have been restricted to large cities with full-time GIS professionals. Smaller cities have been excluded by the price of the software, the human resources costs associated with installing and maintaining the technology, and the months or years required to implement a solution. Many cities and towns maintain data on paper, in various electronic forms, or in a combination of both. Departments and individuals may not be able to share the information without wasting considerable time and effort. CivicCenter can be implemented and running with a single, easy-to-use graphical user interface in less than 90 days. The end result is a solution that allows the community's nontechnical staff-including the mayor, city council, city manager, and frontline workers-to access community data with a simple mouse-click on a map. This data can range from the property owner's name for a particular parcel to critical information needed in an emergency. CivicCenter is fully web enabled. Local governments can use its database-driven approach to rapidly generate configurable web pages for Internet deployment so users such as the general public can access the information anywhere. From the database, users can also display database fields, query forms, and standard reports and create customized letters and mailing lists. "Over the past 15 years, Kanotech has been an Autodesk reseller, systems integrator, and software developer, specializing in the local government market. By bringing Kanotech into our Strategic Partner Program we can combine our strengths to develop and deliver customized solutions for local governments," says Lance Maidlow, Government Industry Manager at Autodesk, Inc. About Kanotech Founded in 1985, Kanotech Information Systems Ltd. has its headquarters in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, with additional offices in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Regina, Saskatchewan. The company is a leading software developer and provider of automated mapping, facility management, and geographic information system (AM/FM/GIS) solutions and services in the United States and Canada. Kanotech can supply a comprehensive suite of productivity-enhancing tools and packaged solutions for end users and service companies or provide finished systems through its in-house service department. For more information contact 780-455-9197 or visit the website at http://www.kanotech.com. About Autodesk Autodesk is the world's leading design and digital content creation resource. The company provides software and Internet portal services to help customers drive business through the power of design. One of the largest software companies in the world, Autodesk helps more than 4 million customers in more than 150 countries turn designs into reality. For more information, contact any authorized Autodesk Reseller, call Autodesk at 800-964-6432, or visit http://www.autodesk.com. Discreet(TM) product information is available at 800-869-3504 or on the Web at http://www.discreet.com. Autodesk shares are traded on the Nasdaq market under the symbol ADSK. NOTE: Autodesk, AutoCAD Map, Autodesk MapGuide, and VISION* are registered trademarks, and Discreet is a trademark, of Autodesk, Inc., in the United States and/or certain other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks are used solely for the purpose of identification and belong to their respective holders. 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