SpatialNews Press Release
Smart Data Strategies, Inc. (SDS) Consults Montgomery County on Benefits of Online
Property Data Distribution
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SDS Partners with Montgomery County, AL
Today's increasing demand for information has forced professionals in many industries to consider new ways to
capitalize on the data that they use to do their jobs, and the assessment industry is no exception. Smart Data
Strategies, Inc. (SDS), has addressed this demand with the implementation of eMapsPlus, an online system for the
distribution of digital property data.
In April, Smart Data Strategies, Inc. (SDS), hosted a seminar at the Montgomery County Civic Center to discuss the
benefits available to Montgomery County through the company's new online property data distribution service,
eMapsPlus.com. SDS is a privately-owned company whose activities revolve around the management of cadastral
data by assessment offices and other organizations who have a similar need for property data. Several Alabama
counties are using SDS software and data services to streamline their routine parcel maintenance and analysis tasks.
The new eMapsPlus system helps such organizations to make better use of their digital cadastral data by making it
commercially available to third parties whose projects rely on accurate property data.
Montgomery County recently contracted with SDS to host its digital data. The purpose of the seminar was to
demonstrate the system's features to representatives from various local businesses and to field questions and
comments on how the system could be improved to better serve clients who desire access to Montgomery County's
property data. The eMapsPlus seminar elicited many positive responses from a variety of attendees, including public
officials. "This will be Montgomery County's first venture into the Internet," said Tommie Miller, Montgomery
County's Chief Appraiser. "And we believe this will be a great service to provide to the public."
The seminar was well-attended, with the audience including representatives from the public and private sectors.
Invitations were sent to local assessors, appraisers, real estate agents, attorneys, engineering firms, and surveyors
from the tri-county area. Additionally, notices were published in local newspapers to generate public interest in
attending the seminar. Attendees learned that eMapsPlus.com allows Internet users to easily locate and view parcel
maps, property ownership data, and property assessment data. The number and type of data layers available on
eMapsPlus varies by jurisdiction, but Montgomery County has chosen to host a wide variety that includes parcel
graphics and annotation, hydrology, road lines (centerlines and edge-of-pavement), subdivisions, school districts, and
census data, among others.
eMapsPlus.com Helps Data Providers, Private Citizens, and Commercial Data Users
According to Debbie Richardson, Montgomery County sales analyst and AAAO president elect, "Montgomery
County has been managing cadastral data in a digital format for quite some time now, and eMapsPlus is the logical
next step. eMapsPlus.com allows Internet users to subscribe to view-only datasets, or to order a variety of property
data layers on digital media, licensed for use in their own projects." The county already responds to a variety of
property-related queries, but eMapsPlus.com lets interested parties do much of the research without leaving their
home or office. "Montgomery County and SDS will both be promoting the use of eMapsPlus," added Richardson,
"and the county stands to realize a revenue stream directly related to the real-world value of its data to third parties."
Susan Marlow, founder and president of SDS, stated, "eMapsPlus is a win-win-win situation for all parties involved.
From any Internet-enabled computer, constituents will be able to answer many types of property-related questions
that previously required a visit to the Assessment Office. eMapsPlus will reduce the amount of walk-in traffic and
employee overhead related to researching this kind of information, and the new revenue created through the
distribution of this data can be used to defray the costs of its continual maintenance. Furthermore the publication of
Montgomery County's property data helps SDS continue its progress toward the creation of a seamless national
digital cadastre, a long-range goal of the company."
Mark Barrs, president of Barrs Appraisal Company and president elect of the AL Chapter of the Appraisal Institute,
attended the seminar and gave his opinion of the system: "eMapsPlus is a tool that is going to save us time and money,
and we are going to use it. I really appreciate the fact that SDS went to the trouble to get feedback from us. Not only
did they ask for our opinions, but they implemented our many of requests almost immediately."
Montgomery County and SDS are working together to deliver accurate property data to third parties through
e-commerce transactions. This data is available now, and you can work with SDS to receive similar benefits for your
organization. If you would like more information on Montgomery County's data, about setting up a similar seminar in
your area, or if you have other questions about eMapsPlus, please visit eMapsPlus.com or contact any of the
following SDS representatives:
SDS, Inc. provides a variety of GIS software and services focused on parcel data and its use by a variety of clients,
including local, state, and federal government agencies. Our services include parcel mapping, GIS/CAMA integration,
COGO construction, database normalization, CAD to GIS, systems integration, internet data access, e-commerce
data brokerage, training, toll-free support, as well as data conversion services. An industry leader in developing
innovative systems for use by assessment personnel, SDS offers the DREAMaps(tm) suite of products to provide a
complete, workflow-oriented data management solution for the assessment industry. SDS also operates
eMapsPlus.com , the innovative GIS data distribution portal.
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