SICAD, the leading developer of GIS software solutions for the utilities industry, has begun full integration of Esri's ArcGIS technology with its SICAD utilities (SICAD UT) product offerings.

Esri recently acquired 49 percent of the German-based SICAD Utilities GmbH from RWE Systems Applications GmbH of Essen, Germany. The remaining 51 percent is held by SICAD GEOMATICS, which is wholly owned by AED Graphics of Bonn, Germany.

A SICAD delegation of senior level executives, product managers, and developers recently visited the Esri campus in Redlands, California, to formally kick off the major integration effort of SICAD's utilities applications suite into the ArcGIS platform. The two companies' development efforts will be used not only to integrate the technologies of their current product offerings but also to create a next generation GIS utility standard based on Esri's technology.

Dr. Thomas Englert, CEO of AED-SICAD, comments, "Integration of Esri-based technology into the next generation of our utilities applications represents a significant opportunity for our customers--and for us--that we fully intend to take."

"Integration of Esri's ArcGIS technology into the SICAD UT products is being implemented at all levels," adds Kees van Loo, Esri's Business development manager for Europe. "In the future, ArcGIS will be used in the joint development of new products."

For more information, contact Kees van Loo, Esri (e-mail: kvanloo@esri.com).