AEC TECH NEWS: Salt Lake City hosts largest GIS-centric management solution gathering

Sandy, Utah — More than 900 people from around the world gathered at the Salt Palace Convention Center in downtown Salt Lake City for the 2016 Cityworks Conference. Preconference training began Sunday, Dec. 4, followed by the conference held Tuesday, Dec. 6, through Thursday, Dec. 8. The Cityworks community of users, partners, and staff collectively shared experiences and exchanged knowledge in a variety of workshops and technical sessions while also enjoying social networking opportunities.

The conference began Tuesday morning with the plenary session, in which Cityworks president and CEO Brian Haslam discussed how clients can leverage Esri’s web map with Cityworks to provide real-time data to internal users as well as citizens. Haslam spoke about using the web map as a critical tool to combine dynamic data from a variety of sources.

Presentations from Cityworks staff followed, presenting on the seamless integration of Cityworks with Esri’s apps such as Crowdsource Reporter, Workforce, Navigator, and the Operations Dashboard. Due to its GIS-centric nature, Cityworks can provide seamless integration with Esri’s apps. Cityworks also revealed development updates supporting asset management initiatives.

“The design of the tool (Cityworks Insights) leverages Insights for ArcGIS to deliver analytics, charts, and visualization of the data generated from Cityworks. This integration was accomplished seamlessly by utilizing Esri’s web map,” said president and CEO Brian Haslam.

Informative breakout sessions, which began Tuesday afternoon and concluded Thursday morning, included presentations by business partners, users, and Cityworks staff. Topics ranged from FEMA disasters to financial planning and analytics.

Attendees were also treated to a Cityworks Expo Reception Tuesday night, which provided guests with the opportunity to network with one another and Cityworks staff while enjoying music, food, and a performance by the Utah Jazz Stunt and Dunk Team.

“The Cityworks Conference is more than just about the successes of the past year or the future of the product,” said Daniel Bourdeau, chief innovation officer at the City of Westland, Michigan. “I attend this conference annually to breathe in and absorb the pure creativity of the entire Cityworks ecosystem — from the Cityworks staff, to the business partners, and even the fellow users. The conference is about connecting and innovating with amazingly talented and positive people.”

The Cityworks Expo Hall was the hub of the entire event. There, Cityworks users, exhibitors, business partners, and staff could gather daily to share knowledge, ideas, and discussion. Business partners showcased their services and solutions in the exhibit hall within the Cityworks Expo Hall and were ready to answer questions and discuss solutions.

Planning is already underway for the next Cityworks conference, May 9-11, 2018 at the Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City.

To find out more about this year’s Cityworks Conference, visit https://www2.cityworks.com/e/140061/2016-12-22/2d5z9h/34095414.