The U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) has selected Esri GIS software as a standard for creating a departmentwide GIS. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), on behalf of DOI, signed the enterprise site license agreement on December 20, 2002.

This agreement not only saves the government considerable costs but also makes available the full power of Esri's GIS technology to all DOI employees. The software includes all of Esri's ArcGIS Desktop products as well as ArcIMS and ArcSDE server technology.

DOI selected Esri after a rigorous year-long process. This procurement is designed to standardize and expand the use of GIS technology throughout the department. The agreement encompasses all eight bureaus of the DOI:

• National Park Service
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Bureau of Indian Affairs
• Bureau of Land Management
• Office of Surface Mining
• Minerals Management Service
• U.S. Geological Survey
• Bureau of Reclamation

The agreement will make available other Esri products, services, and training via an indefinite delivery and quantity schedule. The agreement gives considerable flexibility to the bureaus, allowing each to install software as needed.

"Each bureau will have a central support site that provides for the distribution of software and the first level of technical support. Esri will work primarily through these central support sites," says John Steffenson, Esri account manager for the U.S. Department of Interior.

According to Karen C. Siderelis, geographic information officer at USGS, the agreement also includes tribal governments and "means increased flexibility and reduced costs that will better enable U.S. Department of Interior agencies to respond to changing needs and the increasing demand for geospatial information."

While Esri products have been used throughout the department for many years, "The agreement with Esri marks an important step in our effort to provide a departmentwide standard for GIS and will help us reduce our overall costs and improve our operational efficiency," says Hord Tipton, chief information officer at DOI.

The nation's principal conservation agency, DOI has more than 70,000 employees and 200,000 volunteers located at approximately 2,400 operating locations throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and U.S. territories.

"We appreciate the opportunity to serve DOI in its efforts to extend GIS technology throughout the department and create GIS as a basic enterprise infrastructure," says Jack Dangermond, Esri president. "These efforts will not only contribute to the efficiency and enhancement of decision making at DOI, they will also lead to the development of a distributed network of geographic information for the nation. Ultimately, this network will support users at all tiers of government as well as the private sector and education. Information will be shared and used in an efficient and collaborative environment. We are committed to delivering open and interoperable technology that helps this network come into being."

For more information, contact John Steffenson, Esri (e-mail: jsteffenson@esri.com).