December 22, 2011 -- New Delhi, India -- The 12th Annual Esri India User Conference was a big hit with Users and Partners from across all spectrums of GIS Users. Held at the Radisson Blu MBD Hotel at Noida on December 7th & 8th, 2011, it was a resounding success for the organizers, NIIT GIS Limited (Esri India), with more than 1000 delegates (around 70% higher than the previous edition) attending the conference over the two days. The delegates were extremely happy with the content of the Conference and the associated Exhibition where not only solutions from Esri India were exhibited but also Partner solutions like from IBM. Trimble, GeoEye and Hemisphere were shown along with that of Institutions providing GIS courses like NIIT University and Symbiosis Institute of Geoinformatics. Prominent Users like RGI and NATMO too had showcased the work they had done using GIS.
The Theme of the Conference this year was ‘ Understanding our World’. At the Inaugural Session, Mr. S.Sridhar, President & COO, NIIT GIS Limited, spoke on how Esri India has grown in the last 15 years and showcased some of the work done by their Users in the recent past. Mr. Rajendra S Pawar, Chairman, NIIT Group, spoke on the theme of the Conference, highlighting the need for using GIS in reaching the benefits of large government aided programs and policies to the grass roots of society and the need for capacity building. Mr. Jim Higgins, Regional Manager, Esri Inc., spoke on the Vision of Esri and how geospatial technology is now reaching out to every nook and comer of society.
The Plenary Session saw talks by two prominent users. While Mr. Prashun K Dutta, Sr. Executive VP (IT & Quality), Reliance Infrastructure Limited, spoke on the various segments, especially Utilities, where Reliance has used GIS, Dr. K.M.Reddy, Scientist F, NRSC, spoke on how GIS has been used successfully in different areas by AP State Remote Sensing Applications Centre (APSRAC) for the Andhra Pradesh Government. Mr. Pradeep Lamba, IBM India, spoke on how IBM’s Asset Management Tools like Maximo have seamlessly interfaced with GIS solutions like ArcGIS and the benefits this has for their users.
During the Technology Exposition the delegates were shown by the Technology & Solutions Team of Esri India the latest products and updates from Esri, Exelis VIS and Telvent, with a talk by Ms. Victoria Kouyoumjian, IT Strategies Architect, Esri, on ArcGIS Online, Esri’s cloud-based geospatial content management system for storing and managing maps, data, and other geospatial information
The Technical Papers presented during the Conference were of a very high standard and they were evaluated by major users of GIS like Maj Gen Girish Kumar, DSSDI, Dr. A.K.Gosain, IIT-D, Dr. Vandana Sharma, NIC, Mr. A.K.Mukherji, Forests, Dr. A.P.Singh, RGI and Mr. Shailesh Shankar, TCS. The Posters at the Map Gallery were also highly appreciated by the judges, Mr. Ashok Kr. Malik, NATMO, Brig (Retd) KKV Khanzode, Symbiosis, Mr. Jim Higgins, Esri and Dr. Deb Jyoti Pal, Esri India.
The Panel Discussion held on the Evening of the second day on the theme of the Conference ‘Understanding our World’ was well attended and the points made by the distinguished Panel consisting of Dr. Shailesh Nayak, Secretary, MoES, Mr. S.Subba Rao, Surveyor General of India, SOI, Dr. Vandana Sharma, Dy. Director General, NIC, Dr. Devendra Pandey, Former DG, FSI and Mr. Rajesh C Mathur, Vice Chairman, Esri India, were well received. The interaction with the audience during the Open House was also of a very high quality. The event ended with an invitation to the delegates for the next User Conference being planned in December 2012.
A day prior to the Conference, two Technology Seminars were held at the same venue. The topics were Technology Paradigm : The Geospatial Cloud Computing and Modernizing Mapping Agencies : Technology Direction. These had talks from experts from Esri, Microsoft, Amazon and Major Users like SOI. Both had a very good audience response. These set the tone for the Esri India User Conference 2011.
About NIIT GIS Limited
NIIT GIS Limited, known by its brand name Esri India, is a GIS company that provides end-to-end GIS based solutions ranging from software products, application development, training, data conversion and technical support. NIIT GIS Ltd. today enjoys a leadership position in the field of GIS, especially with a large ArcGIS installation base across different vertical segments in India, Nepal and Bhutan. NIIT GIS Ltd. is a joint venture between NIIT Technologies Limited, India, the preferred choice of Global Organizations for IT Solutions, and Esri Inc., USA, the world leader in GIS Mapping and Solutions and creator of the famous ArcGIS solution package.
Apart from Esri’s ArcGIS products and solutions, NIIT GIS Ltd. provides to its customers ENVI Image Analysis and Processing solutions from Exelis VIS, ArcFM Utilities solutions from Telvent, Navteq Maps from Navteq and Cityworks from Azteca Systems. It provides solutions and services to the Industry through its Corporate Office at New Delhi, and it’s Regional Offices across the country.
For further information on Esri India please visit www.esriindia.com
For NIIT GIS Ltd. queries please contact:
Prakash N Menon
GM – Corporate Marketing
+91(11) 40570700
