DATA+, a longtime Esri international distributor in Russia, recently reorganized, and Esri CIS was formed as Esri's distributor in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Originally founded by the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Esri, DATA+ has served and continues to serve as a touchstone for GIS sales and support in the CIS—a political and economic entity that was created within the territory of the former Soviet Union to preserve the economic and political ties among the countries that became independent after the Soviet breakup.

According to Yulia Bystrova, director general of the new office, "The opening of Esri CIS allows us to better represent the interests of Esri in the CIS and promote the growth and maturity of the GIS market in Russia and in other countries of the CIS. Esri software has been used in the region for more than 17 years, and the addition of Esri CIS will provide better support for both end users and partners."

Countries included in the Esri CIS territory are Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The subdistributor network within the Esri CIS market consists of 25 companies, including DATA+. The management of this network will become one of the most important tasks of the new company.

DATA+ will now focus on professional services, including application development, Web services, implementation, and the production of digital maps. Joint activities between Esri CIS and DATA+ will include the organization of user conferences, training, language localization of software products, and publication of the quarterly ArcReview magazine.

With vast petroleum deposits located within the CIS, regional oil and gas producers continue to be among the major users of ArcGIS software. Together with subsidiaries and related agencies, there are approximately 150 petroleum companies in the region that use Esri's software solutions.

In addition, there has been significant progress in the application of GIS technology in government agencies. Federated GIS systems have been implemented at the Emergency Committee of Russia, Land Cadastre and Ministry of the Interior of Kazakhstan, and the Land Cadastre of Belarus. DATA+ has also developed many joint projects with both national and international organizations.

Esri CIS plans to expand its GIS training efforts. Bystrova says, "In 1997, we initiated the University Support program, and we have helped organize classes and provided Esri software and training materials to more than 190 institutions of higher learning in CIS countries. We plan to further expand the education market in our region, especially in those CIS countries that are beginning to look for an advanced and reliable technology for their economies.

"Looking to the future, we have a dedicated team working on Web services for our enterprise clients and expect Web-based GIS services to grow rapidly in the coming years."

More Information

For additional information about Esri CIS, visit www.esri-cis.ru.