Municipality of Lisbon and ESRI Portugal Sign Cooperation Agreement

Redlands, California-ESRI, the leading developer of geographic information system (GIS) software, announces that the Portuguese municipality of Lisbon and ESRI Portugal have signed a cooperation agreement for GIS implementation in the city. This agreement establishes ESRI as the designated supplier of GIS software to the municipality of Lisbon and anticipates the expansion of the use of ESRI's GIS technology solution throughout the municipality. Pedro Santana Lopes, Lisbon's mayor, indicates that this agreement constitutes a crucial element in the city's information technology (IT) modernization strategy. The city intends to develop an information system using the highest standards of technology that will provide effective support not only for the government decision-making process but also for the city's residents, according to their needs and demands. Comments Mayor Santana Lopes, "It is necessary to implement an IT system with the most advanced capabilities to promote effective city management that is capable of facing the challenges of social and municipal concerns set in today's difficult economic environment." Vitor Lopes Dias, president of ESRI Portugal, observes that, "The greatest challenge faced today by any organization is not to simply implement good specific systems but to have a true integrating platform that allows decisions to be based in an enterprise wide context within the organization." Lopes Dias added, "GIS systems, which are capable of information integration, play an important role in all modern organizations and, particularly, in local government, since their main role is the effective management of geographic areas." Concerning the agreement, which ESRI Portugal and Lisbon's municipality, Lopes Dias indicated that the work ahead was "both challenging and exciting because of the cooperation established between the two entities." The municipality's system is to be implemented within three years.