Government of Saskatchewan Wins Award for GIS Excellence

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Enterprise geodatabase enhances data accessibility across the province in support of collaborative decision-making

REGINA, Esri Canada User Conference – November 15, 2016 – Esri Canada today recognized the Government of Saskatchewan with an Award of Excellence for its outstanding use of geographic information system (GIS) technology. The Government leveraged GIS for the Saskatchewan Enterprise Geo Database project, a spatial data warehouse that consolidates more than 350 datasets from various government archives and makes the information widely available.

“Saskatchewan’s enterprise GIS is a significant asset for the province,” said Alex Miller, president, Esri Canada. “With better information sharing, the government and the public can increase collaboration to support various concerns, including economic growth, public safety and environmental sustainability within the province.”

Before the consolidated geodatabase came online earlier this year, all of the Government’s datasets were managed in disparate systems, which greatly inhibited the sharing of spatial data. This siloed approach led to costly data duplication, inaccuracies and productivity losses, as staff struggled to find information and verify its accuracy.

“In the past, it was difficult for end users to locate spatial information relevant to their business requirements because ministries managed their own datasets,” said Ken Yurach, manager, Provincial Office of Geomatics Coordination, Government of Saskatchewan. “With our enterprise GIS, we’re now able to easily distribute vital, location-based information that our ministries and the public need to make timely, informed decisions. The system also provides all of our internal and external customers with a range of sophisticated mapping and data services.”

The Government worked with Esri Canada’s Professional Services team to identify and catalogue the province’s spatial data holdings and deploy ArcGIS technology for the geodatabase. ArcGIS Server and ArcGIS Online are used to serve up spatial data and mapping services to internal and external stakeholders. As well, the team provided support in establishing a comprehensive set of data governance practices for maintaining datasets in the new system.

The Government has already put its new spatial data warehouse to good use by offering a selection of maps and datasets related to the environment, agriculture, forestry, geology, health and social services, mining, recreation, transportation, wildlife and other topics on its public-facing website.

The Government is also using the enterprise system to leverage all of the province’s spatial data holdings for more detailed, authoritative analysis and map-based application development. ArcGIS provides a secure operational environment in which staff can prepare, test and edit spatial datasets, as well as deploy mapping services on-premises or in the cloud. In addition, Esri’s scalable platform supports the province’s growing library of remotely sensed data and aerial photography.

To learn more about ArcGIS, visit esri.ca/arcgis.

About Esri Canada
Founded in 1984, Esri Canada provides enterprise geographic information system (GIS) solutions that empower businesses, governments and educational institutions to make timely, informed and mission-critical decisions by leveraging the power of geography. The company distributes the world’s leading GIS software from Esri, Schneider Electric, Cityworks–Azteca Systems, LLC and other technology partners. Headquartered in Toronto, the company serves over 10,000 customers from 16 regional offices across Canada. Esri Canada joined the elite rank of Canada’s Best Managed companies in 2012 and became a Gold Standard winner in 2015. The company has also been named to the Branham300. More information can be found at esri.ca. Follow Esri Canada on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.