Oak Ridge National Laboratory selects Esri to improve access for federal users

Esri, with headquarters in Redlands, CA, announced on March 9 that it will sign an enterprise agreement with the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

This agreement gives ORNL access to the full set of spatial analysis tools in the ArcGIS platform. Under the agreement, ORNL can add licenses as needed to support the many federal research and development projects it undertakes.

Large organizations like ORNL may benefit from an enterprise agreement. For agencies and industries that use location-based data in numerous capacities, spatial analysis technology like Esri’s is particularly advantageous on the enterprise level, as it unifies all the platform’s capabilities under one agreement for a fixed annual fee.

“This is the first major enterprise agreement between Esri and a Department of Energy [DOE] laboratory,” said ORNL’s Budhendra Bhaduri, who leads the Geographic Information Science and Technology group. “Because ORNL provides support to many federal agencies, including the Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense, extra capacity to generate spatial analysis applications is critical.”

ORNL has been a user of Esri technology for more than 20 years. With the recent increase in the amount of data and imagery that is accessible to federal agencies and, in particular, derived from the proliferation of sensors and devices, there is a greater need to manage this data and analyze it in real time. The enterprise agreement will allow ORNL to use this data and imagery in many projects, ranging from public utility management to disaster response.

“Esri is very happy to support ORNL’s mission of providing advanced analytical services for federal agencies,” said Jack Dangermond, Esri founder and president. “ORNL handles projects in areas such as infrastructure modernization, population modeling, emergency preparedness and response, and smart grid technology, where our platform is specifically useful. We are pleased to be part of the Laboratory’s commitment to the national interest.”

Source: Esri