GEOdiffusion 2003 - Conference Review

GEOdiffusion 2003 convened in Quebec City on December 2-4. GEOdiffusion is a user forum for Korem, MapInfo partners and other IT professionals in the province of Quebec and held yearly. Korem, a Quebec-based company and developer of Web-mapping solutions and geographic information system primarily based on MapInfo technology. Over 100 people gathered at the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac to listen to keynote presentations by MapInfo COO Mike Hickey, and a somewhat surprise announcement that Korem as named the "master distributor" of MapInfo products in Quebec. This agreement between MapInfo and Korem eliminates some of the channel conflict that had arisen between other partners in Quebec. In a recent press release, Kevin Antram, General Manager of MapInfo Canada said, "Customer satisfaction remains our utmost priority. KOREM will vastly improve customer service and our local infrastructure support. Quebec requires specialized, local language and customer support, which KOREM has successfully provided in the past. MapInfo’s presence in the Quebec region is already strong due to valuable partners such as KOREM. MapInfo believes KOREM’s local infrastructure, industry expertise and aggressiveness will drive increased revenue and profit margins for both companies, as well as our joint partners.”

The event also feature an open forum among a panel that included Mr. George Moon, Chief Technical Officer, MapInfo, Mr. David Sonnen, market analyst, ISS Inc. and our own Editor, Joe Francica. This panel engaged in a lively discussion on web services, interoperability and the future of location-based business intelligence.