Spatial Data Management System (SDMS)

Introducing Spatial Data Management System (SDMS)
SDMS is an enterprise content management (ECM) system that is initially being developed to support Pictometry® business activities in Blom Aerofilms Ltd., and that will be extended to other business areas in future. ECM is defined as

"The technologies used to capture, manage, store, preserve, and deliver content and documents related to organizational processes. ECM tools and strategies allow the management of an organization's unstructured information, wherever that information exists" Source: AIIM

Data Delivery and Production Reports
Key advantages for clients and managers are the provision of intelligent reporting on the current status of projects during production and the immediate availability of completed data. The functionality of SDMS is provided through a web browser with controlled access to production reports that are up to date, structured to user requirements and geo-referenced: graphical views include map-based reporting with legends to indicate status. Clients can see when their data will be ready and access the completed data as soon as it is available.

SDMS in a nutshell
Overarching current business practices but without adding to them, SDMS supports the processing, management and delivery of Pictometry® imagery from data loading to image library dispatch using nothing more complex than a web browser.

No additional software is required and current procedures remain unchanged: except for one thing - it's easier. Why? Because SDMS, developed around existing business logic and built upon robust open source enterprise software, works server side. Administration, workflows, rules, storage and security are managed and maintained by the application server - from indexing text in Word documents, to tracking what stage has been reached in the Pictometry® Development process, so minimizing the risk of error and duplication, offering the ability to roll back to previous states, to making efficient use of disk space across the existing network clawing valuable bytes from disparate machines, unifying them as a single logical drive all within a secure IT environment.

Benefits of SDMS
Here are some of the key benefits of SDMS:

• Spatially enabled: incorporating ESRI's ArcGIS Server SDMS enables managers and clients to view the extent, status and availability of Pictometry® data worldwide (see next page for more details).
  
  


• Rich reporting: templates provide a quick and efficient means of creating standardised reports, tracking progress and monitoring productivity.
  
  


• Intelligent storage: SDMS creates virtual disks from available storage on different machines, in different offices and on different floors.

Seamless integration: SDMS fully supports current business processes streamlining and simplifying them within the framework of a project. Project data files are versioned and fully indexed on creation or modification so that they can easily be found in future and original states restored.