SpatialNews Press Release
Syncline Chosen By OGC To Develop Software
Specifications for Geographic Web Services
www.syncline.com
BOSTON, Oct. 31, 2001--Syncline, Inc., today announced that it has been
selected by Open GIS Consortium (OGC) Web Services Initiative sponsors to help develop and test
software standards for Web-based applications ("Web services") that have a geographic component. The
goal of the project is to create specifications that make it easier for companies to locate, display, share,
integrate, and apply geographic information through online business exchanges. As a result, companies using
OGC specifications will be able to dramatically reduce the cost of application development, increase their
market reach, and accelerate product time-to-market, while offering users the ability to plug-and-play
application components.
Finding and Using Web-Based Geographic Information and Services Syncline will work with ESRI, a
leading developer of geographic information systems software, to create specifications for a geographic data
and services registry system. The specifications - which use the latest XML encoding standards, including
OGC's Geography Markup Language (GML) - will enable companies to publish geographic information
and services, such as Web-based applications in Web-based directories, making it easy to rapidly locate,
share, integrate and apply these resources to meet user needs.
Other participants in the project include BAE Systems, Compusult Ltd., CubeWerx, Dawn Corporation,
DLR (German Aerospace Center), Galdos Systems, George Mason University, Intergraph, Ionic Software,
Laser-Scan, PCI Geomatics, Polexis, SAIC, Social Change Online, and the University of Alabama in
Huntsville. OWS-1 sponsors include the Federal Geographic Data Committee, GeoConnection / Natural
Resources Canada, Lockheed Martin, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
EMPACT Program, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the US National Imagery and Mapping Agency.
Expertise in Web-Based Applications
Syncline and ESRI were chosen for the project because of Syncline's expertise in Web-based
geographic applications and ESRI's extensive knowledge and experience in delivering geospatial solutions to
the market. According to Jeff Harrison, OGC's director of interoperability programs, "Syncline has been
working with the issues of operating GIS services on the Web for some time, and ESRI is deeply
experienced in its field. As members of the OGC Web Services team, both companies' experience and
knowledge will be invaluable toward meeting the goals of this initiative."
About "Web Services"
Web services are a new breed of Web applications that are self-contained, self-describing and modular.
They can be published, located, and invoked across the Web. Web services perform functions ranging from
simple requests to complicated business processes. Once a Web service is deployed, other applications can
discover and invoke the deployed service.
The OGC Web Services project is developing an evolutionary, standards-based framework that allows
distributed geoprocessing systems to communicate with each other using technologies such as XML,
WSDL, SOAP, and HTTP. OGC Web Services will provide a vendor-neutral interoperable framework for
Web-based discovery, access, integration, analysis, and visualization of multiple online geographic data
sources. The project is focused on developing a more coherent model of heterogeneous services and clients
interoperating in a distributed setting.
About Open GIS Consortium, Inc.
OGC is an international industry consortium of over 225 companies, government agencies and
universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available interface specifications.
OpenGIS Specifications support interoperable solutions that "geo-enable" the Web, wireless and
location-based services, and mainstream IT, and empower technology developers to make complex spatial
information and services accessible and useful with all kinds of applications. Visit the OGC website at
www.opengis.org
About Syncline, Inc.
Syncline's software and services enable customers to visualize and analyze spatial data using maps they
create, share, and manage via the Internet. The company's offerings are MapCiti(TM), a hosted, automated
Web-based mapping service designed specifically for government and utilities; MapAnalyst(TM), a data
management platform that unifies disparate data streams into "intelligent maps"; and an Enterprise
Development group that designs, develops, and deploys customer spatial applications. Syncline's partners
are ESRI, GDT, Oracle, and Sun Microsystems. Clients include Verizon, Telephia, USGS, the City of San
Antonio, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Syncline, which was founded in 1997, is located in
Boston, Mass. For more information, visit www.syncline.com.
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