CUSTOMERS > Public Sector > Braunschweig

Cooperation matters: Integrated GIS and communal Geodata Infrastructure based on the AED-SICAD GIS Portal in Braunschweig, Germany


Braunschweig, second largest city of the German Federal State of Lower Saxony, is currently modernizing its GIS landscape and at the same time realizes a communal geodata infrastructure (GDI). Following a Europe-wide call for tender, the City signed the contract with AED-SICAD as Prime contractor in July 2006. The general concept focuses on central data management, components based on standards and services as well as integrated use by means of Portal technology.


Core products are the GIS Portal applications for local authorities by AED-SICAD as well as terraCatalog, the metadata catalog of the sub-contractor con terra. With this configuration, the City of Braunschweig now realizes its new Web-GIS, the Professional-GIS as well as domain-specific information systems entirely on ArcGIS technology. The project partners AED-SICAD and con terra bring in their competences and the products with which Braunschweig will be able to further enhance its pioneering task in GIS, communal GDI and GeoGovernment.


The order confirms AED-SICAD's leading position in GIS products and customer-specific solutions for geodata infrastructure. The implementation will start with a kick-off workshop with all involved persons from administration, GIS, organizational departments as well as representatives of the vendors. The project is scheduled to last nine months. Milestones are the data migration into the new system, the realization and release of the Professional GIS and Web-GIS as well as the connection of the domain-specific information systems.


Leading in experience and know-how

Hans-Uwe Hartmann, Manager Geodata for the sectors city planning and environment of the City of Braunschweig: "We see a general concept with remarkable advantages in the offer of AED-SICAD and con terra. Both companies are leading with their ArcGIS based products. AED-SICAD already has realized important developments in applications for local authorities and GDI solutions; the same applies to con terra with regard to the sector meta information. We make use of these previous investments during the targeted and fast implementation of our project."
Braunschweig's decision-makers underline the specific know-how and the convincing references of AED-SICAD in the sectors GDI and Web-GIS as well as the successful introduction of terraCatalog in numerous cases. Both vendors are important partners of von ESRI in Germany and therefore, thanks to their complementary competences able to professionally carry through GIS projects of any size and demand.


Services for the entire city

In 2002, Braunschweig's previous authorities for construction, environment, geoinformation and city planning have been merged to a new department City Planning and environment, with around 200 employees and which now includes the department Geoinformation. The target is, to offer GIS services for the entire administration and in addition also for the companies owned by or linked to the city. For the cooperation is decisive, the responsible persons wanted to acquire a complete solution and not single components that would not have served as a homogeneous whole within the key task "integration".



GDI is a key task within local authorities

The effective construction of cross-sector geodata infrastructures was at first a project coming from the Federal State Administration. Braunschweig participated in this development already at an early stage. Dr. Falko Menge is manager of the department "Geodata infrastructure" in the city council and represents Braunschweig in the GDI working group of Lower Saxony. The focus of his work, apart on purely technical issues, lies on the integration and evaluation of geodata. Now, Menge sees "the significant chance to retrieve GIS from its niche as a system for limited and specialized tasks and handpicked experts. For this, the Portal concept of AED-SICAD in our Web-GIS offers the ideal conditions. With this connection, we bring the services directly to the customer. In Braunschweig, GIS is understood more and more as a cross-sector task. Our perspective is, to integrate more and more domain-specific information."


On the right path by means of the Web

Braunschweig has special expectations regarding the Web-GIS, in other words the AED-SICAD GIS Portal. According to the estimation of the city's project managers, with an optimized Web-GIS, many of the users don't need own desktop applications anymore. In the mean time, also the central data management and update via the Web provides a powerful and efficient alternative. Technical information is stored centrally in the Oracle database but updated decentrally by the individual departments.


Characteristics of the solution:

  • Central data management, decentral update
  • Special focus on data modeling
  • Basis for abundant geodata infrastructure
  • Service-based Web applications
  • Consequent use of standards
  • Professional task sharing
  • Standard-based solution for processes
  • Process orientation in the sense of GeoGovernment