Cadcorp has reported that many smaller housing providers are missing out on the benefits of using geographic information to help manage their housing stock because they are unable to justify the cost of employing a dedicated mapping expert. As a result, Cadcorp has launched a hosted, web-based GIS and mapping service designed specifically for housing providers with fewer than 10,000 properties.
The service includes internet access to Cadcorp’s Web Map Layers, an off-the-shelf application for presenting and interrogating spatial data. The software is hosted on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform and Emapsite supplies mapping data sourced from the Ordnance Survey, including both detailed licenced data and open data.
Martin McGarry, managing director, Cadcorp, said, “With this new service, the responsibility for managing both map data and web mapping software sits with Cadcorp. The housing provider can simply subscribe to a package that includes software, data and management services.”
Cadcorp will help housing providers set up and configure the service, and will manage all software and data updates on their behalf for the duration of a project. The company will also help them manage their own in-house business data visualised via web mapping; typically this will include static data, such as details about assets, and dynamic data, such as voids, arrears and repairs.
McGarry said, “For smaller housing providers, our hosted web mapping service can be cheaper, faster, and more cost-effective than an in-house alternative.”
