Every day at Geo Week News, we publish the most important press releases from the industry to keep those within the industry up-to-date with all of the news they need to know. Of course, we know it can be difficult to keep up with everything coming in, so we’re going to look back at the week that was in the news every Friday to recap the biggest happenings of the last five days. Today, we have news about an integration between two of the leaders in GIS and map data, a number of updates to Trimble’s Tekla suite, and more.
Esri and Google Maps Announce Collaboration
Our lead story from this past week comes from the very beginning of the week with a partnership announced between two leaders in the GIS and map data space – Esri and Google Maps Platform. In news announced on Monday, the companies indicated that this collaboration will enable “users to create highly detailed and visually immersive 3D maps and scenes, this collaboration integrates Google’s Photorealistic 3D Tiles into the ArcGIS suite.”
Just based on the sheer size and market share of the two companies involved here, this is clearly big news for the industry, but even zooming out it builds upon a growing trend. That is, we are moving more and more toward 3D visualization and capabilities within the geospatial space. While it’s always made more sense for humans to visualize and interpret this data in three dimensions, only recently has it become realistic. 3D Tiles, which were first created by Cesium, have gone a long way toward opening up this 3D world to geospatial professionals, and this integration with Esri will only take that to the next level. ArcGIS has always allowed for important capabilities by end users, and with 3D meshes users will now be able to do perform more interactive analyses and simulations.
Trimble Announces Multiple Enhancements to Tekla Software
Tekla, a suite of software solutions from Trimble that assist with design, collaboration, and more for AEC projects, announced a number of enhancements to various projects this week with the introduction of the 2025 version of these softwares. Starting off, Tekla Structures – the flagship product in the suite for BIM workflows, introduced new AI-enabled tools which they say will enhance productivity and more efficient creation of fabrication drawings. Particularly for an industry like AEC, which is looking for more skilled users to meet growing demand, expect to see more of these AI-centered tools to help streamline much of the work around the sector.
This week also saw the introduction of new features to Tekla Structural Design and Tekla Tedds, products for structural analysis and 3D design for multimaterial buildings and for automated civil and structural analysis calculation, respectively. Most notable among the new features for these two products is the connection between ecosystems to add a more seamless workflow, including an enhanced integration with Autodesk Revit. One of the biggest painpoints for those in the AEC design space right now is the many different products needed for a workflow without easy connection, and this is a continuation of the trend to strengthen those connections.
Finally, Tekla PowerFab, their steel fabrication management system, announced their own improvements, largely around improving workflows for things like scheduling and advance bill of materials. While these often aren’t the most eye-popping additions, these improvements are the ones most likely to improve quality of life for these professionals and can free up crucial time for other aspects of a project.
Other News
Sticking with news from Trimble, the company also announced this week a collaboration with Xona Space Systems. The two, according to the announcement, are “pursuing the integration” of Trimble correction services with Xona’s PULSAR navigation service. Service is expected to start in 2027.
This week also saw the addition of new capabilities to Virtual Surveyor. According to an announcement early this week, the software now includes “Basic Topographic Design” tools of its smart drone surveying package, which they say will allow users to design simple terrain changes.
Also in the surveying software space, Golden Software this week announced a new capability for their users. Now, they say, users will be able to download georeferenced Google aerial and satellite images to map projects, to go with other new features focused on faster and simpler creation of 3D visualizations.
This week, France-based SBG Systems announced the expansion of their inertial navigation systems, Ekinox, Apogee, and Navsight, with new GNSS receiver options. According to the company, the enhancement will provide users with “greater flexibility while maintaining the precision and reliability that SBG Systems is known for.”
In the location data space, Precisely announced the availability of new “innovations” via Snowflake Marketplace. With this new feature, joint customers can now leverage geo addressing and data enrichment solutions natively within their Snowflake environments.
- All around the world there is a need for a new generation of geospatial professional, and often that starts with teachers who are passionate about the space. To that end, this week Esri UK announced a collaboration with STEM Learning to provide GIS training courses for teachers in the north of England.
