By Allan Maurer
ATLANTA—The wealth of geospatial data available today from Google Earth and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is amazing, but putting it to work can be daunting for those without specialized training. TerraGo, which saw fourth quarter sales up 28 percent, helps companies get geospatial maps and images to non-technical users, including those in the field.
TerraGo Technologies delivers software applications that extend the access and application of maps and images for non-GIS users and customers.
More than 700 organizations, including many defense and intelligence agencies, utility companies, public safety/emergency response departments, natural resource management and engineering firms, depend on TerraGo software.
Leverages PDF
Its primary technology leverages Adobe’s PDF to help users view and collaborate with geospatial information.
“In a nutshell,” says TerraGo VP of Marketing Chris Watson, “We help companies take the investments they made in maps and images, big GIS systems or a relationship with Google Earth and disseminate the information more effectively to non technical people.
“A large number of people don’t even know what GIS stands for, but need the information. Our software allows them to take maps into the field and make annotations, edit them electronically, attaché audio or video, and send them back to the system of record.”
It replaces current paper-bound methods that are time-consuming and leave a lot of room for human error, he notes.
Saved $165K
“We did a return on investment study with one customer and just in one piece of their business, inventory verification, they were able to save $165,000,” Watson says. “Our software provides great value in cost reduction and more productive field resources.”
Founded in 2005, the company, which has just under 50 employees, has raised a total of $8 million and is in the process of raising a B round. It is one of the companies selected to present at TechJournal South’s third annual Southeast Venture Conference March 11-12th, 2009 at the Intercontinental Buckhead in Atlanta, Georgia (see: www.seventure.org for more information).
The company says customers include emergency first responders and the intelligence community as well as corporate clients such as utilities and engineering firm. I-Q-Tel, the intelligence community-backed firm that invests in startups of interest, is a strategic partner.
Fourth quarter Wins
In the fourth quarter Converse Consultants, a multi-disciplinary consulting engineering company, purchased TerraGo Mobile for more efficient field data collection and asset verification.
Seattle City Light, a publicly-owned electric utility company serving more than 300,000 homes and businesses in Seattle proper, purchased TerraGo Composer for its field-based map book applications.
TerraGo signed an agreement with Trimble, the leading provider of advanced positioning solutions.
As a part of this partner program, TerraGo will work closely with Trimble to develop technology and business opportunities across common customers in the government, mapping, utilities and transportation markets.
The company also celebrated the success of the Army GeoPDF project with U.S. Army Topographic Engineering Center’s geographer Ray Caputo, who received the 2008 Geospatial Intelligence Achievement Award.
Military, intelligence clients
The company also works with resource and land management professionals. “The U.S. Geological Survey is one of our largest customers,” says Watson. “We converted their maps and they went from 4,000 downloads to 60,000 downloads.”
The company sees a “huge interest” from the military and intelligence communities in its mobile application for handheld devices. The mobile application also was put to use during President Obama’s inauguration and will be at work during the Superbowl.
Watson says that while the company is seeing state and local governments curtailing spending, the down economy has not otherwise seeing a slowdown.
The company is also working on non-enterprise uses, such as consumers who want to do things such as take a picture of where they caught that big fish and show where it was caught.
Watson adds, “Our strategy lines up great with a lot of industry demands that are emerging.”
Online: www.terragotech.com
Southeast Venture Conference, February 29 – March 1, 2012 at the Ritz Carlton in Tysons Corner, VA – Where Smart Money Meets Smart People.
www.seventure.org
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