Redlands, California—The ease of use and accuracy of ESRI’s 2008/2013 demographic data update in Business Analyst Online, ESRI’s Web-based, on-demand analysis product, was previewed at the Global Retail Real Estate Convention (RECon), May 18–21, 2008, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Updated demographic data variables include new figures for population, home value, marital status, education attainment, age, income, and diversity, ensuring that analyses are conducted with the most current information. These figures were derived from ESRI’s proven demographic data update methodology.

“ESRI’s 2008/2013 updates contain new data plus enhanced site analysis for users of the ArcGIS Business Analyst products,” says Lynn Wombold, chief demographer and manager, data development, ESRI. “For our 2008 updates, we developed a current database of the block weights used to retrieve information for user-defined polygons. We believe this innovation will enable our users to derive even more accuracy and benefit from their analyses.”

Conference attendees in the real estate, retail, financial services, and economic development industry sectors saw demonstrations of the new data inside Business Analyst Online. Interactive features, such as live thematic mapping and more flexible study-area definition and comparison using ESRI’s 2008/2013 demographic data, were included in these demonstrations.

Users can now easily compare market areas and update and change map elements with live thematic visualizations, then view the changes as they occur to ensure that the map results fit the requirements of each project. Users save time and money with this capability by being able to quickly analyze many what-if scenarios to produce one set of boardroom-ready materials based on the latest demographic data. The increased flexibility in designing and comparing study areas, which was previously available only in ArcGIS Business Analyst desktop software, enables users to perform custom analyses that will more precisely locate optimal sites, the most profitable customers, and the best markets.

“Customers want immediate access to the most useful and current information without having to sift through piles of reports. Business Analyst Online with 2008/2013 demographic data provides customers with the ability to quickly understand their sites and markets,” says Brenda Wolfe, Business Analyst Online product manager, ESRI. “These new functionalities allow customers to complete their research and analysis projects faster with better results.”

The 2008/2013 data is available on Business Analyst Online in more than 70 reports and maps including the Demographic and Income Profile, Market Profile, and Age by Race Profile. Information from these reports can be used to analyze trends, identify growth, and discover new marketing opportunities.

“The 2008 version of the Market Profile report is now available to Business Analyst Online subscribers. Other reports will follow on a flow basis as they become available. We are very excited about incorporating ESRI’s 2008/2013 demographic data into Business Analyst Online,” says Wolfe. “This information is invaluable to our customers, enabling them to make better business decisions that can improve efficiencies and grow revenues. These Web services from Business Analyst Online enable ESRI to provide information quickly to a wide variety of customers.”

Demand for reports and maps from Business Analyst Online has steadily increased as users across many industry sectors recognize the value of accurate and current business, consumer, demographic, and lifestyle data. Economic development and urban planners, commercial real estate agents, retailers, and financial services analysts use Business Analyst Online to analyze markets and determine specific product and service offerings.

For more information about the 2008/2013 demographic data on Business Analyst Online, visit www.esri.com/bao or call 1-800-292-2224.

About ESRI

Since 1969, ESRI has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in GIS, ESRI software is used in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. ESRI applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of Web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world’s mapping and spatial analysis. ESRI is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms. Visit us at www.esri.com.

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