MapInfo Corporation (Nasdaq: MAPS), a leading global provider of location intelligence solutions, today announced that Northeastern State University at Tahlequah and the Oklahoma Center for Rural Development (OCRD) are launching an online portal built on MapInfo® solutions that will provide public access to economic development information about the state. The application is designed to help businesses determine their potential success in Oklahoma, by providing a variety of information, including retail, demographic, industrial, small business, traffic, tourism, healthcare and educational data received from various state and local agencies.

Business owners, economic development staff and the public can visit the new online portal to identify ways to help existing businesses grow through location-based intelligence, as well as aid in recruiting outside businesses to come to Oklahoma. For instance, rather than visit multiple Web sites or make numerous phone calls, an outside developer can use the new site to quickly determine if there are enough schools, medical facilities and hotels to support the in-flux of workers who would be moving into a given area where a new company is opening. If more medical facilities are needed, a state grant writer can then use the site to gather the necessary information, such as age of population, income level, health conditions already reported in the county, and number of healthcare providers, hospital beds and nurses, to apply for a federal grant. A new healthcare facility or provider would add even more jobs to the region, improving the business environment.

"The mission of the Oklahoma Center for Rural Development is to improve the quality of life of citizens, businesses and communities in rural Oklahoma. We want businesses of all kinds to see Oklahoma as a place where they can set up shop and be successful," said Ray Murphy, coordinator at Oklahoma Center for Rural Development. "This new publicly-accessible Web site will enable businesses to easily review important data from various sources. Using MapInfo technology, businesses will see why Oklahoma should be considered a viable location for a successful business."

"States, counties, rural and urban communities all have the common desire to draw the right types of businesses to their area," said Sabby Nayar, strategic industry manager, government and education, at MapInfo Corporation. "MapInfo solutions can help communities, like those in Oklahoma, demonstrate what types of stores, restaurants and companies are sustainable given the makeup of the residents and other area competition."

MapInfo is collaborating with partner IntelleVue on this statewide application, which was developed in a .NET environment.

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For more information contact:

Sabby Nayar
MapInfo Corporation
One Global View
Troy
NY 12180
USA

Phone: 518
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.mapinfo.com/economic_development