The company will help the Council establish a corporate geographic framework which will underpin the widespread use of geographic information to support policy, planning and decision making at operational and strategic levels.

The appointment follows the development of a three year corporate GIS strategy targeted at ensuring staff, customers, members and partners can access and use geographic information in an efficient integrated manner to improve the planning and delivery of shared services within and beyond the organisation.

The move to corporate GIS will give all 8,000 staff and 47 councillors access to centrally held , up-to-date information essential to delivering a wide range of services across the Council. Development of new business applications is also planned for many service areas and GIS will be integrated with a range of key business systems including planning, works management, asset management and fleet services.