AWWA IMTECH59610

System integration is typically touted as an easy operation, but these varying methods of having systems communicate really entails the understanding of underlying data structures and business processes. This paper is designed to provide a historical documentation of events that led to the need for integration between systems within the City of Phoenix's Water Services Department and its many divisions. This paper will cover the migration of paper maps to digital graphics with data links and the deployment of geospatial technologies to the office personnel with desktop solutions and field personnel with the use of mobile computers. It will cover the intricacies of integration between disparate systems and the obstacles that had to be overcome to obtain success. More importantly this document should serve as a guide or roadmap for others to look at before moving along the expensive and frustrating path of system integration. Includes figures.