Archive for the ‘Conferences’ Category

Introducing the Geocortex Viewer for HTML5

April 9th, 2012 by David Stevenson

Since mid-2011, we’ve been working away, developing our new Geocortex Viewer for HTML5 to serve organizations deploying Esri’s ArcGIS Server technology. I’m happy to announce that version 1.0 is now available.

It’s clear Esri users are excited about exploring how to leverage HTML5 and ArcGIS Server.  Because it’s still relatively early in the evolution of the HTML5 standard, we’ve been careful to take an approach that strikes the right balance between delivering powerful functionality today and not overextending what browsers can currently support.

The Geocortex Viewer for HTML5 serves different use cases than our feature-rich web mapping/GIS viewers based on Silverlight and Flex. While its capabilities will grow over time, for the foreseeable future the Geocortex Viewer for HTML5 will serve as a complementary viewer geared towards providing simple, targeted web-mapping applications serving desktop browsers, tablets, and a broad array of mobile devices. It allows you to deliver applications across platforms and devices without having to worry about plugins or building native applications, which is especially applicable to mobile scenarios.

The core framework of the Geocortex Viewer for HTML5 is architected after the Geocortex Viewer for Silverlight (named commands and events, shells, regions, and views, and configuration), and prior Workflows you’ve created should just work.

The Geocortex Viewer for HTML5 has already undergone a number of iterations as part of professional services implementations that started back in October, but version 1.0 is still largely an infrastructure release geared towards workflow-driven mobile apps. Nevertheless, the foundation is all there and we have an aggressive R&D scheduled for the remainder of 2012.

To get started now, Geocortex Essentials customers can download the Geocortex Viewer for HTML5 from the Geocortex Support Center. In addition to documentation and sample code, we’ve also developed a half-day training course; the first is scheduled for May 2nd.

The online Geocortex User Conference (June 6-7) will also offer sessions on HTML5 strategy and development.

Remember, though HTML5 today delivers when applied in the right ways, it remains an emerging standard. If you want to learn more about HTML5 and Esri technology, including when it might make sense for your organization to get started, be sure to visit www.geocortex.com/html5.

Posted in ArcGIS Server, Conferences, Geocortex, Geocortex Essentials, HTML5, Training, User Conference | 1 Comment »

Getting Ready for Palm Springs

March 19th, 2010 by Steven Myhill-Jones

Flex Sample ViewerI think this has got to be one of the most exciting months I can recall at Latitude Geographics in all the years I’ve been doing this!

Alongside some interesting developments on the business side, we’ve got several new REST Elements components coming together all at once in time for the ESRI Business Partner Conference (followed by the Developer Summit) kicking off this weekend in Palm Springs.

We’re an exhibitor on Monday, so if you’re attending the BPC or Dev Summit, be sure to stop by and say hello.

Posted in Conferences, Geocortex Essentials | No Comments »

2010 Geocortex User Conference goes virtual

March 9th, 2010 by Darin Herle

You’ll read it here first:  registration is now open for the 5th Annual Geocortex User Conference, scheduled to take place June 8-9th, 2010.

Same great content, delivered online.

Due in large part to feedback we’ve received from clients, we’ve moved your event online.  With so many organizations straining to justify travel costs for conferences and training, we felt it was appropriate to alter our 2010 conference to cater to these very needs.

As in years past, we’ll open the conference with a plenary session Tuesday morning (PST).  From there, the conference splits into technical and business tracks, combining live and pre-recorded content, with live Q&A throughout.  The conference concludes Wednesday afternoon with a wrap-up session and panel Q&A.  Feedback from previous years tells us you derive significant value from user presentations, and these are certainly included.

If you’re thinking about a tranistion from ArcIMS to ArcGIS Server or considering the implications of ArcGIS Server version 10, join us for a pragmatic look at the present and future of Geocortex technology, as it relates to your own organization’s needs.

Hope you can make it!

Posted in Business, Clients, Conferences, General, General Discussion, User Conference | No Comments »

2009 ESRI International User Conference Recap

July 21st, 2009 by Darin Herle

Our team just got back from the 2009 ESRI International User Conference in San Diego – what a week! The sheer size of the conference (rivalling that of any major software vendor) always surprises me, but, given the crowds, its never been hard to find a friendly client, partner or conference goer eager to talk about mapping.

Our booth was well positioned this year, and we had some steady traffic. Its interesting to note that fewer people each year seem to wonder what Geocortex is – our multi-million dollar marketing campaign must be working. :) All kidding aside, I think the steady delivery of compelling software and services to organizations worldwide continues to propel our brand.

picnic2009The Geocortex Picnic set a high water mark of around 300 people – between the shaded location bayside and the ongoing struggle to find lunch in the Gaslamp district, many clients chose to join us for our annual hosted BBQ lunch. And our caterer, with mobile smokehouse and slow cooked BBQ in tow, makes for a good draw too.

Our latest work with the ArcGIS Server REST, Javascript, Flex and Silverlight APIs, showcased in the Geocortex Resource Center, seemed well received. The buzz on the exhibit hall floor seemed to suggest many organizations see significant value leveraging REST based development paradigms. I also noticed a number of demonstrations of Geocortex Optimizer happening, and early peeks at our mobile asset tracking solution for ArcGIS Server, Geocortex Fleet Tracker.

Posted in Conferences, ESRI, Events, Events: Travel, User Conference | No Comments »

2009 Geocortex Picnic at the ESRI International User Conference

July 2nd, 2009 by Darin Herle

We’re coming up on another ESRI International User Conference in San Diego (but a week away!), which means its time to talk about our BBQ Picnic again…

picnic07Join us for sun, games and southwest BBQ at the 4th Annual Geocortex Picnic, Wedenesday July 15 from 12 – 2PM. Prior years have brought us a great seaside gastro-experience with Latitude staff, clients, partners and select prospective clients. Throw in some lunchtime relaxation and games (a welcome respite after two busy days of sessions) amongst the tree dotted enclave that is Embarcadero Marina Park South, and you’ve got the makings for a great lunch!

Registration is open and we’re looking forward to seeing you there.

Posted in Conferences, Events, Events: Travel | No Comments »

Ursus americansus as Elephant in the Room

January 12th, 2009 by Darin Herle

More on the 2009 Geocortex User Conference… we had a planning meeting back in December, and the topic of mascots/motif came up (2006 was the Blue Heron, 2007 was the Orca, 2008 was the Glaucous Winged Gull ).

Someone joked about selecting Vancouver Island’s iconic Black Bear, and everyone quickly agreed that given the current state of the economy, it was probably about the worst motif for a conference happening in 2009. But then we all decided that to address the ‘elephant in the room’ head-on and in a humorous way would be very Geocortex.

So we picked it. Because no matter what happens in life, we don’t want to lose our sense of humor. Besides, we’re designing a 2009 Geocortex User Conference that’ll represent an even smarter investment given the prevailing economic winds.

Posted in Anecdotal, Around the office, Business, Conferences, Events: Travel, General, User Conference | No Comments »

ESRI EMEA Conference

November 8th, 2008 by Steven Myhill-Jones

London_EMEALast week we attended and exhibited at the ESRI EMEA Conference in London (organized by ESRI UK). The weather was great, everything went smoothly, and I even found some time to catch a few presentations. For the Wednesday night party attendees had the run of the impressive Science Museum, which proved to be a memorable event. I found that the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre had an unexpectedly fragmented feel (everything was spread over several floors), though I think ESRI UK did the best they could with the venue. The location made up for this; right by the Houses of Parliament and across the street from Westminster Abbey.

The teams had both the Geocortex Optimizer 1.0 Beta and the Geocortex Essentials 1.5 Beta 1 (Beta 2 is out today) ready for the conference, and Steve Maddison and I got to be the first to kick the tires while previewing these new versions for business partners and attendees.

Posted in Conferences, Events: Travel | No Comments »

The 2008 ESRI Southwest Users Group Conference

November 3rd, 2008 by Rob Lenarcic

Laramie, WY October 22-24, 2008

For the last six years, Latitude Geographics has attended every Southwest Users Group (SWUG) conference. From Jackson Hole in 2003 through to Laramie in 2008, the SWUG conference brings together GIS users from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. This year’s high plains geospatial roundup offered up blowing snow and chilly temperatures – a big departure for a guy like me accustomed to Victoria’s moderate climate. But the warmth of the SWUG organizers (kudos to the entire organizing committee for an awesome job!) allowed the attendees to quickly forget about the cold temperatures, and settle into a dose (actually, many, many doses) of Wyoming hospitality!

geo_cortex_Rodeo_v1The SWUG event is not your regular, regional GIS conference. John Calkins, ESRI’s “Corporate Technical Evangelist” kicked things off with an interactive keynote session that engaged the group in a geographic approach to problem solving. Plenty of great user and vendor presentations followed, topped off with an evening keynote by Wyoming historian Bruce Blevins. Aside from all the interesting work-related stuff, I’d have to say that the highlight of the conference was the BBQ, Bluegrass, and Broncs event (disclosure: we were also a sponsor). This was not my first rodeo – but it was undoubtedly one of the most unique I’ve seen. The University of Wyoming Rodeo Team put on a presentation just for us, and we got to enjoy steer wrestling, calf roping, barrel racing and bull-riding. Yee-Haw! Later in the evening, we two-stepped to music served up by the Zarks, a local country-western band. I reckon the user sessions were a little subdued the next morning, but attendees (AKA SWUG-uhs) seemed to be wearing a collective grin.

It’s events like these that make me appreciate the industry we work in, given its great mix of knowledge sharing, professionalism, and appreciation for local cultural activities!

Posted in Business, Conferences, ESRI, Events, Events: Travel, General, Photos, User Conference | 1 Comment »

Introducing Geocortex to Latin America

October 6th, 2008 by Steven Myhill-Jones

valparaisoI just returned from the 2008 Latin American User Conference in Santiago, Chile. It was a great trip and an excellent event. ESRI Chile hosted a well-organized conference, the attendees were very focused and interested, and everyone was very welcoming. Most of the ESRI Distributors I met seemed very progressive, and there appears to be lots of good work going on in the region with ESRI technology.

My Spanish proved even less effective than anticipated. I quickly realized the most pragmatic way to manage expectations around my language abilities was to simply claim to have no knowledge whatsoever. This meant that having Fernando of ESIMEX there with me was of immense additional value, and aside from translating my presentation on Friday to a standing room only audience (which wouldn’t have happened if I’d presented in English), he delivered numerous demos and was able to answer questions about who we are and what we do.

esri chile 2There seemed to be considerable interest in our technology. Unfortunately, for the first time ever at a conference, we ran out of both Spanish and English marketing materials on day three (despite having, as always, 50% more than we thought we’d require based on the number of attendees). We had a hard time getting more printed locally on short notice.

Prior to the conference, I took a few days to tour the region. This included a long, steep hike in a national park that left me limping and wincing through the first two days of the conference.

Posted in Conferences, Events: Travel | No Comments »

Post-San Diego Commentary

August 11th, 2008 by Steven Myhill-Jones

I intended to blog once or twice during the ESRI International User Conference, but found my conference schedule and meetings all-consuming. This was our seventh time exhibiting at the conference, and I think it was the best one yet. ArcGIS Server 9.3 is what we hoped it would be, the new/emerging developer APIs are valuable, and I generally think ESRI is on the right track. I’m excited about the coming year.

Since it was first released, I’ve been very candid about my perspective on ArcGIS Server 9.2 (that it was the future but not quite ready for prime-time). This has caused consternation among some, but I always defended my position because our customers count on us for advice about technology and timing.

I’ve always contended that, regardless of new capabilities, the majority of ESRI customers will be reluctant to move from ArcIMS to ArcGIS Server until the shift doesn’t involve any significant steps backward from ArcIMS. There have been two main aspects to this; comparable performance and comparable functionality.

I think I can now see the tipping point. Aside from the general improvements in 9.3, during the plenary on Monday afternoon, ESRI announced that the new rendering engine for ArcGIS Server (which everyone was expecting as part of 9.4) would ship as part of ArcGIS Server 9.3 Service Pack 2 in January or February 2009. Even though you can actually do lots to improve performance (Mapservice/application tweaking and pre-rendering), this is big news for organizations that have been awaiting improved performance that doesn’t require much rearranging of the furniture.

As for the latter aspect (functional parity), the complementary use of Web ADF and the new developer API’s allow/will allow functionality, ease-of-development, and ease-of-use to be taken to the next level. We’ve been working hard over the last twenty months to be prepared with comparable and/or superior functionality (relative to ArcIMS-gen technology) in time for ESRI’s release of comparable performance. And we’re nearly there.

Bottom line… things are falling into place. Last year, we talked mostly with people who wanted to learn more about ArcGIS Server. This year, we talked mostly with people serious about getting going with ArcGIS Server. I predict 2009 will be remembered as being a significant year in the widespread transition from ArcIMS to ArcGIS Server.

Posted in ArcGIS Server, Conferences, ESRI | No Comments »