ADC News

City Council Candidate Site Goes Live

January 30, 2012

City Council Presidential hopeful candidate Mike Bollinger came to ADC looking for a professional site where he could share information about his campaign, philosophies, life and experience.

The site features a flashy homepage banner, which showcases beautiful pictures of the city of Eau Claire. The site also features a short three-question survey that Mike is hoping many visitors will fill out so he can gain some insight and feedback from the public.

The site also features a blog that will include articles written by Mike about a number of issues. A countdown to election day serves as a reminder that all citizens of the city of Eau Claire should get out and vote.

Learn about Mike and his philosophies by visiting his new site at electmikebollinger.com.

Forest County, Wis. Web Mapping Upgrade Completed

January 23, 2012

ADC recently completed Forest County's transition from WebGUIDE3 to WGXtreme. Check it out at: http://forestcowi.wgxtreme.com/.

Forest County works closely with the North Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission to create and maintain GIS data that is shared on the site.

Jackson County Plat Book Delivered

January 16, 2012

ADC recently delivered the 2012 Jackson County, Wis. plat book. The plat books are now for sale at the UW-Extension office and include a second page with aerial imagery for each township, in addition to the traditional ownership map page. These pages feature many point of interest elements such as both carry-in and trailer boat landing locations, along with a latitude and longitude point grid.

Eau Claire County, Wis. Parcel Updates Delivered

January 12, 2012

Eau Claire County again enlisted the services of ADC to assist them with the completion of some of their annual parcel changes and updates.

Eau Claire County is remapping tax parcels in areas where survey remonumentation is taking place. With the remonumentation process, the accuracy of the land parcel maps that are created from the new monument points increases dramatically because everything is surveyed using modern techniques.

Rusk County, Wis. Website Gets Redesigned

January 3, 2012

Rusk County, Wis. recently went live with a newly redesigned website by ADC4WEB.

Rusk County's new site features an updated and user friendly layout featuring a rotating banner showcasing photos of Rusk County. A search option is located on every page to ensure users can easily find the information they are looking for. Users are also able to easily print any page of the website, or save that page's content as a pdf.

County employees have access to a content management system to ensure information about their department and any events or meetings are always up to date. The site also features an employees-only section, which is safe-guarded by a username and password. In this area employees can access employee forms and information and can also make maintenance requests.

Take a minute to check out their new site at http://ruskcounty.org!

ADC is Now Partnered with Technology Pioneer Wired Wisconsin

December 20, 2011

Wired Wisconsin today announced that Applied Data Consultants, Inc., headquartered in Eau Claire, has joined the organization as a new partner.

“Technological growth depends on drawing ideas and knowledge from many leaders and making the connections to link them together,” says Thad Nation, executive director of Wired Wisconsin. “I am pleased to welcome Applied Data Consultants as the newest partner of Wired Wisconsin.”

Applied Data Consultants (ADC) is one of the largest geographic information systems (GIS) and web development firms in the Midwest. Applied Data Consultants is a full-service GIS consulting and web development firm, serving business and government clients throughout the United States. Incorporated in 1996, ADC has more than 40 employees providing products and solutions to clients such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, county governments and national corporations such as infoUSA, DDA, ADP, Factory Motor Parts and General Motors.

“We are excited to join Wired Wisconsin,” says ADC President Jim Ward. “Our business and consumers depend heavily on expanded broadband and access to technology. It is important for us to be part of a growing coalition like Wired Wisconsin, where we can ensure we advance technology in our state.”

“Applied Data Consultants joins a growing coalition that supports an environment for innovative technology, high-tech job creation and economic growth,” says Nation.

Wired Wisconsin and its partners work to educate consumers, policy makers, and businesses about technology related legislative and regulatory issues that impact our lives, and advocates for common-sense approaches to spur innovation, grow the economy and promote investments in our technological infrastructure.

A full list of Wired Wisconsin partners can be found online at: http://www.wiredwisconsin.org/partners/

Read the official release (PDF).

Congratulations to ADC team members who received the following awards and anniversary recognitions recently:

December 19, 2011

Employee of the Year

Congratulations to Jamie Hagen as she was presented the "Employee of the Year Award"! To quote; "Jamie is an extremely talented and versatile graphic artist who has created a professional image for ADC, EXTRA and ADC4WEB. She has also shown great leadership in organizing all of the trade shows; her behind-the-scenes attention to every detail has helped to ensure that the money is well spent and that they are as successful as possible." Thanks Jamie!

Excellence and Achievement Award

Greg Hagman, Software Engineer, of the Eau Claire branch was presented with the Excellence and Achievement Award. The award is presented to staff for stellar performance and customer service in the past year. Congratulations Greg!

Excellence and Achievement Award

Mary LaMagna-Reiter, GIS Analyst, of the Omaha branch was presented with the Excellence and Achievement Award. The award is presented to staff for stellar performance and customer service in the past year. Congratulations Mary!

The Vince Lombardi Teamwork Award

A new award "The Vince Lombardi Teamwork Award " was designed this year for a team of individuals that have shown outstanding performance working together on a specific project, ensuring client satisfaction, new software development etc. The ADZMAR team (left to right): Darin Mertig, Ross Kleiner, John Elkins, Dave Ward, Greg Hagman and JoAnn Parks was one of two recipients for this award. ADC thanks them for their commendable work ethic and dedication as a team to ensure client satisfaction and product stability for the growth of the company.

The Vince Lombardi Teamwork Award

‎"The Vince Lombardi Teamwork Award " was was also awarded to the Software Development team (left to right): Peter Evensen, George Carlson, Myles Steinhauser, Marc Harter, Jon Kelly and Levi Felling. ADC thanks them for their commendable work ethic and dedication as a team to ensure client satisfaction and product stability for the growth of the company.

5 Year Anniversaries

Five year employment certificates were awarded to (left to right): Susan Marcott, Lori Liddell, Dave Ward, Mari Pietz and Jen DeVries. Thank you all for the past five years of your dedicated commitment to ADC, and we look forward to the next five!

Eau Claire County WGX Site is Complete

November 21, 2011

Eau Claire County, Wis., the 13th county to transition from WebGUIDE 3 to WGXtreme (WGX), is now live.

Eau Claire County has integrated the city's tax and assessment data with the county's so users can look up tax and assessment amounts for parcels within the City of Eau Claire. Previously only data for county parcels was included. Future plans include having spatial parcel data for the city online.

Check out their site at eauclairecowi.wgxtreme.com.

Barron County Plat Books Feature Managed Forest Land

November 18, 2011

Barron County plat books, created by ADC, were delivered just in time for the opening of Wisconsin's gun deer hunting season on Thursday.

This year's book will be the first Barron County plat book to feature Managed Forest Land that is open for hunting (MFLO). In addition to the usual owner information, the book has a facing road page with aerial imagery and point of interest locations for each township.

Additionally, fire districts, school districts, recreational trails and zip codes are featured in the books.

ADC President Jim Ward Interviewed at Eau Claire Chamber Expo

October 18, 2011

Text courtesy of WQOW News 18. (View Video)

Eau Claire (WQOW) - As lawmakers focus on jobs in Madison, an event in Eau Claire puts the spotlight on local businesses.

The Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce held its annual Business Expo on Tuesday. More than 150 businesses set up shop, a record for the event. Of those, about 40 were there for the first time.

As a relatively new business to the Eau Claire area, The By Design Group wants to get its name out into the community.

"Interior design, corporate and residential window treatments, we have a graphic artist and we do business branding, logo design and creation," says Valerie Coushman, The By Design Group.

To help, this group of local professionals decided to participate in the Chamber's annual Business Expo.

"We're really big on working with local businesses and working with the Chamber and we thought it was important to come here and meet more people, more potential clients, potential vendors," says Coushman.

Applied Data Consultants has been in the area for the past 15 years, but this is the company's first year at the Business Expo.

"Our biggest goal is that networking piece, talk to other business owners," says Jim Ward, Applied Data Consultants President. "There's so much you can learn I think by finding out who's doing what and how they're doing it, how they're getting through the recession, what marketing techniques they might have and a lot of collaboration."

Besides connecting with clients and other businesses, the event is a way to promote local business as a way to grow the economy.

"We'd love to see everybody do as much business locally as they can, who knows who's going to bump into somebody that says 'you and I can partner on some things.," says Bob McCoy, Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce President.

"There's companies here that do a great job, you're probably going to save money," says Ward. "Anyone that can do something local, you're probably going to get the services or products a little bit cheaper, so it's sort of a win-win."

The business expo also featured a number of seminars such as ways to help companies cut costs and improve sales.

Waupaca County Plat Book Ready for Hunting Season

September 26, 2011

The 2011 Edition of the Waupaca County, Wis. plat book has been delivered to the UW Extension office and will be available to purchase on Sept. 27 at the County Government Building.

The latest edition features 2011 parcel ownership data, including Managed Forest Land that is open to public hunting.

In addition to the ownership information, the book includes city/village maps, a countywide road map and a map of 4-H club locations.

Along with the plat book the county will receive a printed wall map of ownership that will be hung in each of the town halls across the county.

Monroe County Selects ADC for SQL Server and ArcSDE Services

Applied Data Consultants, Inc. (ADC) will be performing SQL Server and ArcSDE installation and configuration services for Monroe County.

ADC will also be setting up a method to automate data transfers and website updates for the Monroe County WGX online-mapping site.

ADC is pleased to provide this assistance when counties have limited budget and staff to perform such tasks on their own.

Sawyer County Emergency Service Atlas Completed

Applied Data Consultants (ADC) has completed a county Emergency Service Atlas for Sawyer County, Wis., which provides detailed address point locations, along with emergency response zones for planning and location purposes.

This 124-page book was a group effort between ADC, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Sawyer County Land Records Department.

Funding for the project was provided through a WI DNR grant to improve emergency response during natural disasters and emergency situations.

Announcing Washburn and Eau Claire County WGX Sites Now Live

Washburn and Eau Claire Counties, both in Wisconsin, chose ADC's online mapping tool, WebGUIDE Xtreme (WGX) to serve their data to the web.

Washburn has been a WebGUIDE client since 2006 and is the third site that uses the Novus tax and assessment program that has been upgraded to WGX. WGX is fully integrated with the online Novus application to allow the users to access the Novus database directly through a link from WGX.

Eau Claire County has been working at integrating the City of Eau Claire tax and assessment data with the County data and serving it up online to provide the users one-stop shopping. In the past, the tax data has not been available for the City parcels.

Eau Claire County hopes to integrate further with the City as well as provide the option for users to pay their property taxes online with a direct link from WGX.

View Washburn's new WGX site at http://washburncowi.wgxtreme.com/ and Eau Claire's WGX site at http://eauclairecowi.wgxtreme.com/

ADC Participates on Forum That Tackles the Future of Broadband in Wisconsin

August 11, 2011

Text courtesy of WQOW News 18. (View Video)

Eau Claire (WQOW) - Business and government leaders hope to connect when it comes to high-speed internet.

Wired Wisconsin estimates 26 percent of rural residents in the state don't have access to broadband internet. Some areas that already have it don't have adequate broadband. On Thursday, a forum was held in Eau Claire to discuss the future of broadband.

As a software and data service company, Applied Data Consultants relies heavily on the internet.

"We host a lot of those applications, a lot of them for local government we host in an attempt to keep the cost down, so we try to do a lot of our own hosting, but that of course relies on some pretty high-speed broadband internet," says Jim Ward, Applied Data Consultants President.

However, broadband internet isn't available in all parts of the state. Ward says that can slow down business.

"You lose a little bit of the efficiency this type of technology affords you in that they don't have to run all the way back to the warehouse, find out what they need," says Ward.

Thad Nation, with Wired Wisconsin, says expanding broadband to the entire state could help attract jobs.

"Whether it's for orders, whether it's for linking their employees, whether it's for getting their suppliers this has become as important to a business as electricity or a telephone, sometimes even more important," says Thad Nation, Wired Wisconsin Executive Director.

Expanding broadband to all parts of the state will require work by both the private and public sectors. Forums, like Thursday's, are a way to get that dialogue going.

"I heard one statistic that says you have to have 200 customers per mile to make it profitable," says Sen. Terry Moulton (R) 23rd Senate District. "Well that's just not feasible in some of the rural areas so maybe something like a tax incentive to provide a business the opportunity to invest in that area."

And growing broadband in an area is something Ward is familiar with.

"There was only one option when we started transitioning to internet-based software and it was costly, it certainly stymied growth a little bit," says Ward. "The state helped with some tax credits, they helped us connect up to another ISP in the area so we had two options and certainly within the last two years a third option and even a fourth has been available."

Nation says not only is broadband important in attracting businesses to the state, but employees are also looking for jobs in areas were broadband is widely available to use at home.

According to the FCC, it would cost $350 billion do expand broadband coverage to the entire United States.