Marin Municipal Water District among First to Leverage Geo I.App to Integrate ESRI ArcGIS with SAP® Solutions for Improved Business Processes

Waltham, Mass. and San Diego, Calif. – July 25, 2005 – Impress Software, a leading provider of packaged integration applications for SAP Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) and Enterprise Project Management (EPM) customers, today announced the general availability of Geo I.App, the first packaged integration application for ESRI and SAP users.  Using Geo I.App enables businesses that run mySAP™ ERP to bridge Plant Maintenance and Project Systems information with location-related, spatial data in ESRI’s ArcGIS.  Announced at the ESRI International User Conference, the general availability of Geo I.App follows a successful implementation at Marin Municipal Water District, a veteran user of both SAP and ESRI systems.

Geo I.App enables the use of ESRI’s ArcGIS as a front end to mySAP ERP, and allows ESRI users to create, modify, manage, and synchronize asset data and work orders between the two systems.  Through real-time integration with SAP, the application enables the execution of maintenance operations and facility management directly from the ArcGIS maps.  Geo I.App ensures that functional locations, equipment, work orders, and other geographical data elements are consistent across the systems at all times.  The use of Geo I.App eliminates the need for duplicate data entry and the risk of mismatched locations and resources.

 Marin Municipal Water District is a public agency providing high-quality drinking water to 170,000 people in a 47-square-mile area in California.  Working with mySAP ERP as its backbone system and recognizing the need for integration with ESRI, the agency invested considerable time and resources building a custom interface between the two systems.  However, ongoing support and maintenance of the interface proved to be costly and time-consuming, prompting the agency to seek a commercially available solution.  After a careful consideration of the available solutions, the Water District chose Impress Geo I.App.  The selection was made primarily due to the fact that as a packaged solution, Geo I.App could be quickly implemented and deliver immediate results.  The implementation of Geo I.App at Marin Municipal Water District was completed within eight weeks from start to finish.

 “SAP solutions and ESRI’s ArcGIS are integral tools for our business, and it was important that we find a solution that could offer a quick and easy implementation, and provide the resulting integration necessary to run a seamless operation,” said Bob Fairchild, IT director, Marin Municipal Water District.  “By working with Geo I.App, we can now unleash the power of both systems and expect substantial returns due to decreased service times, reduced error frequency, lowered operation costs and increased overall efficiency.”

 “With its deep knowledge of SAP and related business processes, Impress provided us with the solution we had been looking for,” said Steve Benner, ESRI Industry Solutions Manager.  “Impress was able to deliver the first release of Geo I.App with remarkable speed and ample functionality.  With Geo I.App, our customers across all industries, particularly in utilities, public sector, oil & gas, and telecommunications, can reap the benefits of Enterprise GIS and SAP.”  

 “We are excited to offer our Geo I.App solutions to the general public after the successful implementation at Marin Municipal Water District,” said Warren Utt, Impress CEO.  “By combining SAP as a system of record and financial management with the graphical user interface of the ESRI maps, Geo I.App opens up a world of possibilities for organizations that look for greater efficiency in managing geographically-distributed facilities and services.” 

 About Impress Software
Impress Software is a leading provider of packaged integration applications (I.Apps™) that enable quick and cost-effective integration of project management and geographical information systems resulting in streamlined business processes across multiple enterprise systems.  Impress I.Apps allow integration to be completed at a fraction of the time and cost compared to traditional EAI development platforms.  Impress Software customers include global leaders such as Bayer, DuPont, Halliburton, Nebraska Public Power District, New Brunswick Power, British Petroleum, Ontario Power Generation, Valero, Total, and many others.

 ###

All trademarks, trade names, service marks, and logos referenced herein belong to their respective companies.