Geospatial technology provider Esri has acquired ClearTerra. ClearTerra provides tools that allow users to integrate unstructured data and geospatial imaging. The acquisition will provide ArcGIS platform users the ability to easily discover and extract geographic coordinates from unstructured textual data like emails, briefings, and reports to generate map-based information.
“We have been close partners with Esri for a number of years,” said Jeff Wilson, former vice president of sales for ClearTerra, now an executive for defense and intelligence with Esri in an interview with CivSource. “There are a lot of issues using unstructured data and geospatial technology and we think this is a way to make the user experience more native.”
ClearTerra’s technology is designed to help users locate information quickly without having to scan or re-key information presented in unstructured formats. Additionally, ClearTerra FindFZ technology provides enhanced search capabilities for the ArcGIS platform that makes search behave more like a traditional search engine – allowing for keyword, wildcard, and other types of search.
Esri says the addition of ClearTerra will benefit users in defense, intelligence, public safety, utilities and maritime organizations who have massive volumes of unstructured data where locating information on the earth is not as easy as searching for a street address. Oftentimes, these users are not typical GIS users so adding more intuitive features that replicate functions found elsewhere can help people learn faster.
“There is a long runway for growth and development,” Wilson adds. “As we start to incorporate data from social media and other contact points, unstructured data is only going to grow. It’s important for our users that they can map that data and understand patterns.”
ClearTerra has been an active member of the Esri partner program, providing their software to ArcGIS users via desktop, server, and the Cloud. Support and maintenance for the software will continue via Esri with no interruption of service, and is readily available for licensing.
