New FME 2009, from Safe Software

Safe Software, provider of spatial ETL (extract, transform and load) solutions, announced the release of FME 2009 – claimed to be the only complete spatial data conversion and distribution solution available in the market today. This new version, which includes new releases of FME Desktop and FME Server, has been enhanced to make it even easier for the geospatial industry to access the spatial data they need to use.

The new release is claimed to match the recent trends emerging in the geospatial industry that have increased the demand for improved data interoperability. The three trends stated by the company are - a rise in the numbers of popularised and widely used formats, a growing interest in spatial data by non-traditional GIS professionals, and vastly larger data volumes resulting from the growing popularity of geographically-referenced data. More than ever before, data users require a better, more efficient way to access the spatial data they need in the applications they prefer.

The new enhancements to FME 2009 give organisations following benefits as they overcome their data interoperability barriers:

Faster access to spatial data

The FME 2009 platform has been optimised for processing complex conversions on large volumes of spatial data. Based on test results, most conversions now run approximately 20% faster than using previous versions of FME, with some conversions running as much as twenty times faster. Also, FME Server now natively supports 64-bit Windows, Linux and Solaris for greater processing power when converting, loading and distributing large datasets. Each of these changes means that FME can now convert data into the required format and data model faster than ever before, ensuring quick access to spatial data.

Access data in popular and emerging formats

FME 2009 introduces support for more than a dozen emerging formats and has enhanced reading and writing capabilities for several popular formats. With support for over 200 CAD, GIS, raster, database, 3D and BIM formats, Safe Software offers the broadest range of format support to ensure that users of geospatial data can leverage whichever data formats, systems, and applications they want to use. Newly supported formats include Adobe Geospatial PDF, AutoDesk 3ds, CityGML, IBM Informix Spatial, OpenStreetMap (OSM) XML, and more.

Easy conversion of complex data

The latest FME user interface enhancements make it easier to convert spatial data into the required format and data model. Today, more non-geospatial professionals are beginning to transform and integrate their data with spatial data supplied by other teams which use different applications. FME 2009 reduces the learning curve for these new audiences, ensuring that they can quickly gain access to the data they require within whichever applications they prefer to use.