22 May 2007

Partner conference delivers praise for geographic information industry

Ordnance Survey’s biggest ever partner conference has brought industry recognition for some of the world’s leading geographic information specialists.

Representatives of Ordnance Survey partners, publishers and developers attended the two-day event at the five-star Radisson Edwardian Hotel at Heathrow, London.

Companies received awards based on different tiers of accreditation under Ordnance Survey’s partner programme. Garmin and Leica Geosystems were named Platinum and Gold Partners of the Year, respectively, with the online local search provider Whereonearth winning Silver.   

Team Warrior, a provider of white-label software and services for satellite navigation and other location-aware services, was named Developer Partner of the Year.

There were two new awards this year. AA won the Most Innovative Product accolade for its Close-up Atlas of Britain while Groundsure won Most Innovative Service for its online lender conveyancing solution. 

James Brayshaw, Ordnance Survey’s Director of Sales and Market Development, who presented the awards, says: “There is increasing recognition of accurate, consistent geographic information as a mainstream business tool relied on by people in all walks of life. Our annual conference and awards recognise the tremendous efforts of our talented and dynamic partners in growing the market.”                 

The conference had the theme Delivering today, creating tomorrow, reflecting a long-term view of partnership benefits. There were streams covering land and property, insurance, transport, publishing, government and navigation. Sessions were devoted to products, licensing, research and innovation, marketing and the Digital National Framework industry standard for linking and associating different kinds of information.

The event culminated in a series of firm plans for further partner activity, including a follow-up networking day at Newbury in the autumn.

This year was Ordnance Survey’s fifth partner conference and the biggest so far. Lord Sebastian Coe was guest speaker at the gala dinner. Other speakers over the two days included David Clark, CEO of SOLACE, the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives; and Nick Illsley, CEO of the world’s first multi-modal journey planning portal, Transport Direct, underpinned by Ordnance Survey data.   

As well as staging conferences, Ordnance Survey supports its partners through technical and marketing support, account management, a developer programme, online resources and a partner e-newsletter.

More information is available at www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/partnerships

Note to editors  

Ordnance Survey and the OS Symbol are registered trademarks of Ordnance Survey. AA is a registered trademark of The Automobile Association Ltd. Garmin is a registered trademark of Garmin Ltd. GroundSure is a registered trademark of GroundSure Ltd. Whereonearth is a registered trademark of Whereonearth.com Ltd.  

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Head of Corporate Communications - Rob Andrews

Email: rob.andrews@ordnancesurvey.co.uk

Phone: (+44) 023 8079 2265

Senior Communications & PR Officer - Paul Beauchamp

Email: paul.beauchamp@ordnancesurvey.co.uk

Phone: (+44) 023 8079 2568

Press Office fax: (+44) 023 8030 5295