Infoterra and SERCO chosen by the Ordnance Survey for the provision of a hosted e-commerce application and service for OS MasterMap(TM) imagery

A consortium made up of Infoterra Ltd and SERCO has been chosen by Ordnance Survey to provide a hosted and managed application for the provision of the OS MasterMap(TM) imagery layer.

After a thorough tender evaluation process, the Infoterra--SERCO consortium was chosen because of the good value offered and their considerable experience of managing, hosting and delivering large amounts of data.

The contract involves the building of hardware infrastructure capable of hosting and serving over 13TerraBytes worth of aerial imagery. Two complete systems are being run in parallel to ensure that if one goes down, the survivor will continue to serve the imagery. Additionally, there is round the clock monitoring of the system, back up power generators and fire and flood protection.

In addition to the infrastructure expertise, Infoterra supply a broad range of leading technologies for serving raster imagery. These have been fully integrated into the OS MasterMap(TM) e-commerce site to allow users to view aerial photography, select the area they wish to purchase (using various capture mechanisms) and then automatically receive the data via FTP, CD or DVD, depending upon the requested format.

This contract confirms Infoterra's position as the UK's leading geographic internet service provider and continues to develop Infoterras relationship with Ordnance Survey. Previously, Infoterra and Ordnance Survey worked in partnership on the development of Ordnance Surveys Internet Map Server and its early adopters program, as well as the creation of the core OS MasterMap(TM) database.

Infoterras Ordnance Survey Account Manager, Dr Andy Wells, said, This is a very exciting project, involving the development and integration of technology that will make available to Ordnance Survey customers the largest online database of aerial photography across the Internet. The technology components ensure that the data is delivered rapidly, from a highly robust operational environment. This system will provide the core for future growth of Infoterra business".

Paul Tatham of Ordnance Survey said, The Imagery layer is an exciting new development for Ordnance Survey that complements existing and planned OS MasterMap(TM) layers. The product will be a seamless image of ortho-rectified, colour photography at 25-centimetre resolution covering Great Britain, with an intended update cycle of three years. The marriage of the OS MasterMap(TM) Web Service ordering and selection functions and the imagery management expertise of Infoterra is creating an effective, efficient and customer-friendly service. Over the next two years of the contract, I look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship between the two organisations"