SCIENCE

SAN DIEGO, CA -- SGI (NYSE: SGI), a leading provider of high-performance computing and visualization solutions for technical and creative users, and ESRI, a leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, announced that ESRI ArcIMS® and ArcSDE(TM) software for use with Oracle® software are being ported to the SGI(TM) IRIX® operating system. More than one million people around the world use ESRI GIS and mapping software to improve the way their organizations conduct business. From image processing, mapping, charting and geodesy to dissemination on the Web, SGI offers a broad range of power, price and performance points to the growing community of ESRI users. "This latest business venture with SGI once again demonstrates our commitment to working with premier technology providers who are offering leading-technology solutions to the GIS community," said Jack Dangermond, president, ESRI. "Toward that end, ArcIMS and ArcSDE have been extended to support IRIX, one of the industry's most robust and mature versions of UNIX OS available." "The SGI IRIX operating system is the world's premier 64-bit UNIX operating system for high-performance computing, advanced visualization and production supercomputing," said Desh Urs, vice president, industry solutions, alliances and application engineering, SGI. "With ESRI ArcIMS and ArcSDE software running on IRIX, organizations building new classes of GIS applications will now be able to take advantage of the IRIX OS's leadership in scalable computation; high-performance data movement, sharing and management; real-time applications support; and media streaming capabilities." ArcIMS and ArcSDE run on the SGITM IRIX 6.5 operating system, a fifth-generation UNIX® operating system and one of the most important UNIX operating system releases in the industry. IRIX 6.5 is characterized by a rich set of scalability, big data management, real-time 3D visualization enhancements and middleware features, along with an improved release process for increased robustness and stability for broader server and workstation deployment. ESRI ArcIMS is the only GIS software that enables users to integrate local data with Internet data in a simple browser interface. ArcIMS® 3.1 software is the newest version of ESRI GIS and mapping software for the Internet. One of the highlights of ArcIMS 3.1 is its integration with the ArcGISTM software family. The ArcGIS desktop products (ArcViewTM , ArcEditorTM and ARC/INFO® ) can now connect directly to the map and feature services provided by ArcIMS 3.1 and use ArcIMS as a data source in conjunction with other data types. ArcSDE is the GIS gateway that facilitates managing spatial data in a database management system (DBMS). ArcSDE serves spatial data to the ArcGIS and through ArcIMS to the Internet as well as other applications. Aimed at the business-to-business market, ESRI ArcSDE allows for the storage of spatial and tabular data in commercial DBMS products. SGI, an ESRI business collaborator and a technical member of the OpenGIS Consortium, shares with ESRI more than 1,800 domestic and international clients across a range of markets, including government, oil and gas, telecom and education.