TerraGo Software and GeoPDF® Solutions Are Central to HitachiSoft Global Geospatial Expansion Strategy

ATLANTA — July 28, 2010 — Hitachi Software Engineering Co. Ltd® (HitachiSoft), a leading global software and IT solutions provider, and TerraGo Technologies®, a leading provider of geospatial collaboration software solutions, have formed a strategic alliance and signed a Master Distributor Agreement under which HitachiSoft resells TerraGo software throughout Asia. Under the terms of the agreement, HitachiSoft now markets via its direct and indirect sales organizations TerraGo Publisher™, TerraGo Composer™, TerraGo Toolbar™, and TerraGo Mobile™ applications that create and interact with GeoPDF® maps and imagery. Under an additional agreement, HitachiSoft has made a strategic investment in TerraGo, and the two companies are jointly developing localized versions of TerraGo software for Asian customers, beginning with a Japanese language version.

HitachiSoft’s position as a leading Asian IT and geospatial solutions provider gives TerraGo a large and diverse partner that can assist product development, open new markets, and include TerraGo in major geospatial projects. HitachiSoft provides a broad range of geospatial software and services, including building and implementing solutions that leverage their own GIS software, GeoMation, as well as GIS software from other leading providers such as ESRI®.

HitachiSoft’s business complements TerraGo’s in numerous other ways. HitachiSoft is a leading distributor of DigitalGlobe® satellite imagery and is an Adobe® Master Solution Reseller with deep expertise in PDF technology. In addition, HitachiSoft delivers a PDF-based digital rights management solution, Katsubun, which is based on the Adobe LiveCycle® software suite. HitachiSoft also provides approximately 200,000 organizations throughout the world with innovative StarBoard® interactive visualization systems.

The companies share market expertise in areas such as defense, intelligence, emergency management, utilities, oil and gas, agriculture, and others. HitachiSoft’s market presence in Asia , therefore, provides an excellent distribution channel for TerraGo technology, which uniquely generates highly portable and interactive GeoPDF files that enable easy use of complex GIS and imagery assets by mobile personnel, including those without GIS expertise, throughout government and commercial enterprises.

“We believe there is a great opportunity in the Asian market to expand access to complex maps and imagery for a wider range of operational users who are not GIS experts,” said Masakazu Kuji, executive officer and general manager at HitachiSoft. “The advantages of using TerraGo software and GeoPDF maps and imagery include greater portability of large, complex files and greater use of geospatial assets by mobile personnel. TerraGo’s technical expertise, proven performance with major U.S. customers and integrators, and vision for geospatial applications make it a key partner in the global sales efforts of our location intelligence business.”

According to Rick Cobb , president and CEO of TerraGo Technologies, “With HitachiSoft, we have teamed with a global software and IT solutions organization and the region’s leading geospatial solutions provider to extend our business to the expansive, dynamic Asian market. We will work closely with the HitachiSoft sales and development organizations to maximize TerraGo’s value to customers as part of HitachiSoft’s portfolio of world-class IT solutions.”

TerraGo Software Solutions

By publishing complex maps, images, and data as GeoPDF files, which are easy-to-use, easy-to-access geo-referenced PDF files uniquely created from TerraGo software, mobile users who are often not GIS experts can interact with robust geospatial information in the field via a Web interface, mobile device, or laptop. Users can also add text, images, audio, and video to spatial points or draw polygons and lines, measure distances, highlight places and objects, integrate with a GPS, and more in a single map or in extensive MapBooks. Data entered by a user in the field can then be integrated back into a central database for analysis and sharing.


TerraGo software applications include:

  - TerraGo Publisher, which extends the access and application of geospatial assets by publishing to GeoPDF files that are intuitive to use and small enough to distribute widely.

  - TerraGo Publisher for Raster, which enables organizations to share large, high-resolution imagery files with anyone, anywhere.

  - TerraGo Composer, which creates unique geospatial applications such as digital atlases and MapBooks that incorporate an organization’s business context and workflow.

  - TerraGo 3D Composer, which creates accessible three-dimensional (3D) GeoPDF files that present elevation data from sources such as LiDAR to enhance infrastructure and terrain visualization.

  - The free TerraGo Toolbar, an extension of Adobe Reader® and Adobe Acrobat® that performs geospatial functions and enables annotations on GeoPDF files for effective data collection, sharing among users, and collaboration between GIS experts and mobile personnel.

  - TerraGo Mobile, which enables users to access and collaborate with published maps, images, and data on powerful handheld devices.


For more information on delivering geospatial information from the desks of a few technical experts to the hands of many mobile field operators in a simple, easy-to-use way, visit www.terragotech.com.

About Hitachi Software Engineering Co. Ltd.

Founded in 1970 as the first software development company in the Hitachi Group, Hitachi Software Engineering Co. Ltd., is now among the leading IT service companies in the industry and employs over 5,000 people worldwide. With sales of over 165 billion yen in FY 2008, HitachiSoft provides mainly basic software for large-scale systems and networks for government agencies as well as the financial, insurance, and securities industries, expanding into the fields including PaaS, GIS, Embedded Software, and Interactive Whiteboard "StarBoard®". From February 2009, HitachiSoft is a wholly subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd, headquartered in Tokyo , Japan , is a leading global electronics company with approximately 400,000 employees worldwide. And October 2010, HitachiSoft will combine with Hitachi Systems & Services to form a 10,000-employee, multibillion-dollar Hitachi Solutions organization focused on one-stop services throughout the entire lifecycle of IT systems. For more information on HitachiSoft, please visit http://hitachisoft.jp/english/.

About TerraGo Technologies

TerraGo Technologies delivers software applications that extend the access and application of maps and imagery for mobile field professionals who rely on geospatial information to do their jobs. Thousands of global organizations, including many defense and intelligence agencies, petroleum and utility companies, public safety departments, and environmental engineering teams, depend on TerraGo software. The TerraGo Publisher™ Suite allows organizations to consume and optimize data from any source and create GeoPDF® maps and images. The TerraGo Collaboration™ Suite offers desktop, Web-based and mobile software applications that automate geospatial collaboration and information gathering and sharing. When used in conjunction with TerraGo Composer™, customers are able to configure easy-to-use 2D and 3D maps, images, and digital MapBooks while embedding relevant business context, forms, and workflows. With a strong ecosystem of partners, including Adobe, ESRI, ERDAS, Intergraph, BAE Systems, and Trimble, millions of professionals use geospatial data that has been enabled by TerraGo in order to be more productive, improve quality, and make better decisions. For more information, visit www.terragotech.com.