Super Unitary Selects Aligned Assets For Gazetteer Management

Cheshire East Council, one of the nine ‘Super Unitaries’ created in 2009, are set to develop an award winning land and property gazetteer using software from Aligned Assets.

After a long assessment period, they selected the gazetteer management system from Aligned Assets, called Symphony iManage, to manage their new central Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG).

This unified database of addresses was formed from the LLPGs previously held by Congleton Borough Council, Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council and Macclesfield Borough Council, and will drive efficiencies across the authority.

They now submit their LLPG regularly to the national hub for inclusion in the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG), which is a national initiative that provides a definitive dataset for use in the emergency services. It is the NLPG that will form a key component of the new National Address Gazetteer.

“The iManage gazetteer was the perfect choice since it went along with everything the Unitary was established to achieve,” explained Mike Garrity, Spatial Data Manager at Cheshire East Council. “It helped us to centralise the previously separate datasets, it is efficient, user-friendly and cost effective, and ultimately, it helps to improve frontline services.”

“We went through a thorough review process and concluded that Symphony iManage was the best option in terms of standards and interoperability, ease of use, support and implementation, and of course LLPG management. Aligned Assets also supply a wide range of additional modules that will allow us to expand the use of the gazetteer in future.”

To find out more, visit www.aligned-assets.co.uk

Aligned Assets Announce Best Practice Days for 2011

Now in their third year, the latest dates for the Best Practice Days run by gazetteer specialists Aligned Assets have been announced.

In a change to the previous format that saw them based on the use of gazetteers across the public sector, these events have been split between the use of gazetteers in the emergency services and best practice in street naming and numbering.

The Emergency Services Gazetteer Best Practice Day is scheduled for 11th May in central Sheffield and is open to anyone within the emergency services who create, maintain or use address data. Attendance will also be advantageous for people in the wider public sector e.g. NHS, central and local government, who work closely with or supply data to the emergency services.

Topics to be covered include the National Address Gazetteer and how that will affect the emergency services, the use of corporate gazetteers to synchronise front line and back office systems, and using gazetteer data for the mapping of CCTV cameras.

Though only one date was originally scheduled, due to an unprecedented level of demand, five Street Naming and Numbering Best Practice Days have been scheduled, with venues in Oakham, Newcastle, London, Llandrindod and Taunton.

These events are designed to give a comprehensive introduction to Best Practice in Street Naming and Numbering through the first hand experiences those that regularly work in the process. Additionally, the legalities of the street naming and numbering will be presented on and discussed – everything from the adoption of the Towns Improvement Clauses Act 1847 to the requirements of the Local Government Act 1972.

As well as the best practice days, Aligned Assets are running further AGI Accredited BS7666 training courses on both the introductory level and ones designed for developers. The courses are designed to combine theory with hands on experience and see 97% of trainees rating the courses as exceeding their expectations.

Of the best practice days, Managing Director of Aligned Assets, Dinesh Thanigasalam said, “Since we started running these events in 2008, the message of best practice has reached over 350 people from almost 250 different organisations. In this age of austerity, when efficiency savings are top of the agenda, we are pleased to continue providing these free of charge platforms for education and learning.”

For more information, visit www.aligned-assets.co.uk/events

Software by Subscription Gains Support Across The Public Sector

Software by Subscription, the revolutionary new business model launched by gazetteer specialists Aligned Assets in the summer of 2010, has today been declare a resounding success by Managing Director of the company Dinesh Thanigasalam.

It sees all upfront software fees scrapped and replaced with a simple, cost-effective annual subscription, which includes on-going updates to the software and unlimited support.

Software by Subscription was brought in to make it easier, more flexible and vastly more cost-effective for organisations in the public sector to procure products that can be used to drive an agenda of ‘invest to save’

It has resulted in large interest from local authorities looking to invest in new gazetteer management systems, back office integration and web services. Additionally, there has been an unprecedented amount of interest in Symphony SNN, which is software to automate and simplify the Street Naming and Numbering process.

“We have been contacted by people across local government interested in finding out about how Software by Subscription can help them,” explained Thanigasalam. “Because our software modules are all independent and stand-alone, they do not require a change in system, which means people can see the tremendous benefits, without any disruption.”

“We are particularly pleased about how many police forces and fire & rescue services want to understand more about our range of Symphony Bluelight products. Designed specifically for use in the emergency services to support both front line and back office systems, through Software by Subscription, Symphony Bluelight is now not only the best range of corporate gazetteer products on the market, but also the most cost-effective.”

For more information, visit www.aligned-assets.co.uk/software_by_subscription

ABOUT ALIGNED ASSETS
Aligned Assets are an industry leader in gazetteer and address management solutions. They supply software to over 100 Local Authorities, Fire & Rescue Services, Police Forces and National Parks. They are the UK’s first reseller of the NLPG, providing superior address management across the commercial and public sectors. In addition to software and data solutions they can offer a complete range of consultancy, training, bespoke development and project management.

WebEx Wednesdays Set to Increase Knowledge of Gazetteer Solutions

Gazetteer Specialists Aligned Assets are pleased to announce the creation of ‘WebEx Wednesdays’.

From January through to March, every Wednesday, both morning and afternoon, WebEx demonstrations will be available, through which members of the public sector can watch, hear and interact with presentations on a range of innovative and powerful gazetteer solutions, all from the comfort of their own office.

Available without obligation and completely free of charge, there will be demonstrations on gazetteer connectivity software, Symphony iExchange, which gives the user the ability to share their gazetteer data throughout their organisation. As a standalone module, it has no limit to the systems they can send to – automatically and in a variety of formats.

Also available will be demos of Symphony SNN, which gives all Street Naming and Numbering Officers a method to speed up the entire process of naming a street or numbering a property. It allows multiple plots to be created with only a few clicks of the mouse, whilst the sending of notifications benefits from automation at every step of the way.

Demos will be available for SinglePoint, which gives access to both local and national address data via web services. Creating significant savings through reduced infrastructure costs and the removal of unnecessary licensing, SinglePoint allows for an organisation’s address data to be held centrally and accessed by all.

Dinesh Thanigasalam, Managing Director at Aligned Assets said, “WebEx demos are an exceptionally effective and efficient method for people to see products, and considering the recent inclement weather, they’re significantly more convenient for all.”

He went on to say, “With the announcement of the National Address Gazetteer, addressing in the public sector has been placed firmly at the heart of the agenda. I’m pleased that we are able to offer these WebEx demonstrations to show how address management can be advanced and made more cost-effective through simple software solutions.”

To find out more visit www.aligned-assets.co.uk/events

Aligned Assets Make Corporate Access to LLPGs Easy with iExchange

Gazetteer specialists Aligned Assets are pleased to announce that their LLPG (Local Land and Property Gazetteer) connectivity software, Symphony iExchange, is now available as a stand-alone module.

Previously only available to the users of the Symphony gazetteer management system, iExchange can now be used by everyone in local government to centralise their address data and give access to it across all departments.

By doing so, all local authorities can place their LLPG at the very heart of the organisation and through that enjoy huge gains in efficiency and quantifiable financial savings.

Examples of the savings that could be made through the greater use of the LLPG were demonstrated in a recent report produced by ConsultingWhere Limited and ACIL Tasman on behalf of the Local Government Association (LGA) entitled 'The Value of Geospatial Information to Local Public Service Delivery in England and Wales'.

Clear financial benefits are shown through an increase in tax revenue in both council tax and non-domestic rates through the identification of unbilled properties, whilst further financial savings come from the removal of multiple address databases and the expense incurred from having to maintain them all.

The gains are tangibly spelt out in the report with the assertion that the average benefit per linked system is £12,500 for district councils, rising to over £22,000 for Unitaries and London Boroughs.

Symphony iExchange works by allowing the user to export changes in their LLPG to other systems, where the data can be imported. For each separate system, the frequency can be set individually, as can the format used and the type of data sent e.g. only approved LPIs, only commercial properties etc.

Speaking about the announcement, Managing Director Dinesh Thanigasalam said, “It’s fantastic to be able to offer the opportunity for all local authorities to share and integrate their LLPGs into their back office systems, without restriction.”

“Because all our solutions are open, iExchange has no limit to the systems you can send your LLPG data to – automatically and in a variety of formats. Many existing suppliers allow linkages between their own systems, but iExchange enables the sharing of data well beyond this, regardless of department, regardless of supplier.”

“We don’t charge based on how many systems you link to and iExchange is intuitive enough that if you have good internal ICT skills, you can make virtually all the connections yourself.”

He concluded by saying, “As with all our software solutions, iExchange is available via software by subscription, which means there are no upfront fees to pay and savings can be recognised almost instantly.”

To find out more visit www.aligned-assets.co.uk/iexchange.

One Wales – One Voice Declared a Resounding Success

With over 60 delegates from 35 different organisations, the latest Gazetteer Best Practice Day from Aligned Assets has been declared a resounding success.

Held at the Media Resource Centre in Llandrindod on 2nd November, it saw six presentations focusing on best practice in gazetteers, all against the backdrop of unique complexities faced by the public sector in Wales.

The event started off with two presentations showing the diversity of addressing across the Principality. Phil Hall and Matthew Seymour from Cardiff Council spoke about the management of an urban gazetteer and how they work closely with other council departments such as non-domestic rates to maintain accuracy.

This was followed by Lynne Roberts from Gwynedd Council discussing the issues of running a bilingual gazetteer, an issue often underestimated by English custodians, yet essential to the commitments made by the Welsh Assembly Government.

After cups of tea and welsh cakes, the delegates were treated to a presentation from Dave Bennett of South Wales Fire & Rescue Service who spoke about poor quality address data, pointing out that joint working towards the full integration of the NLPG (National Land and Property Gazetteer) was the solution.

Sue Beetlestone from Powys County Council looked at how land & property gazetteers and the Location Wales programme have a mutually beneficial role to play in improving the quality and use of location information in Wales. She particular focused on collaborative working and data sharing, both of which would lead to far greater efficiencies.

The day was rounded off with two higher level presentations, firstly from Shaun Powell of the Welsh Assembly who gave a well-received presentation on efficiency savings and how to attain them. This was followed by Pete Roberts of the Ordnance Survey who spoke about the PSMA (Public Sector Mapping Agreement) and its implications for those present.

The event was best summed up by Marc Davies of Isle of Anglesey County Council, who described it as a, “Very informative day, which provided me with many ideas to take back and apply at Anglesey.” This was reiterated by Phil Mountain of Caerphilly County Borough Council, who said it was, “Becoming an important date in the annual addressing calendar.”

For more information visit www.aligned-assets.co.uk/events

Combined CRM and Gazetteer Creates Cost Savings Across The Public Sector

Front line staff across local government and the emergency services can now more effectively manage contact and address data through a new software offering from proven Microsoft Dynamics CRM reseller and integrator Optevia.

Optevia has joined forces with gazetteer specialists Aligned Assets to offer a CRM solution that not only offers a means of managing contacts and the information relating to those contacts, but sources all of its address data directly from an organisation’s locally held Land and Property Gazetteer data.

Currently, the sources of address data can vary tremendously with multiple departments relying on multiple legacy systems – Excel spreadsheets, membership databases and their own in-built address applications for example. This results in contact record duplication, mis-addressed mail and out of date and inaccurate information, which in turn leads to unnecessary costs through wasted effort and the need for unnecessary resources and money. This lack of accurate data also has a detrimental effect on the image of the local authority or emergency service.

To overcome the problems inherent in other CRM systems, Optevia and Aligned Assets are delivering a solution based on Microsoft Dynamics CRM acting as the master system for contacts and Aligned Assets’ Symphony Gazetteer forming the master system for address data. Close working between the two companies has achieved a seamless integration that ensures contacts and their addresses are accurate, completely consistent across the entire organisation and constantly up to date.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service is an early adopter of the combined Optevia, Microsoft CRM and Aligned Assets solution and benefits are already clearly evident. Jon Chapman, Head of Community Safety at Kent Fire and Rescue Service explained:

“We are using the combined solution to enable the more effective delivery of Home Safety Visits (HSVs) to the 1.6 million residents of Kent. We had a number of address databases across the organisation which often resulted in data duplication. Now if a change is made in one source it will be reflected elsewhere in the organisation. As a result, we now have increased accuracy of our HSV marketing campaigns which enables us to more accurately target the most vulnerable members of our communities and help protect them from the risk of fires in their homes”.

“We can also now use the combined solution to add important information relating to an address, such as potentially hazardous materials located at a particular address and relate this to an individual associated with that property, so helping improve the safety of the public and our officers on the ground.”

Dinesh Thanigasalam, Managing Director of Aligned Assets explained that, “Optevia has a proven track record and was the national launch partner for Microsoft CRM in the UK. They were the first organisation to successfully start integrating Microsoft CRM into UK local authorities and continue to be the preferred Microsoft CRM supplier across local government and the emergency services.”

He went on to say, “The benefits of an integrated Microsoft CRM and gazetteer solution will help public sector organisations quickly realise efficiency gains and cost savings through greater contact record accuracy and a reduction in processing errors.”

Tim Vernon, Managing Partner, Optevia Ltd comments, “Aligned Assets is one of the leading providers of Gazetteer Management Systems to local government and the emergency services.

“We have combined our expertise and best of breed products to develop a practical and cost effective solution to help organisations make the best use of their contacts and address data. Through our provision of one, central source of contact information and associated address data, there is simply no longer any need for the public sector to have multiple sources of address information.”

ABOUT ALIGNED ASSETS
Aligned Assets are an industry leader in gazetteer and address management solutions. They supply software to over 100 Local Authorities and Fire & Rescue Services as well as the British Transport Police and Transport for London. They are the UK’s first reseller of the NLPG, providing superior address management across the commercial and public sectors. In addition to software and data solutions they can offer a complete range of consultancy, training, bespoke development and project management.

ABOUT OPTEVIA
Optevia are a proven, CRM reseller and integrator, dedicated to the UK and Ireland’s public sector with a special focus on fire & rescue services, central government agencies and local authorities. Optevia also serves regulators and licensing & grant management organisations, including regional development agencies. Since helping launch Microsoft Dynamics CRM in January 2004, Optevia has evolved to become Microsoft’s premier Dynamics CRM public sector partner successfully completing over 60 deployments. Optevia has a range of value-add sector specific Optevia Essentials software products for all of the public sector markets it serves and a range of cross sector Optevia Dynamics software products – Optevia Dynamic Audit, Optevia Dynamic Decision, Optevia Dynamic Correspondence and Optevia Dynamic Portal. These help reduce the cost & timeframe for delivering high quality, low risk Microsoft Dynamics CRM solutions. The Optevia Essentials and Optevia Dynamics software products are provided with a portfolio of supporting Optevia business analysis, design, development & deployment services, so helping ensure good end-user adoption, post implementation support, and a return on investment in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

ABOUT MICROSOFT
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise their full potential.