A few weeks ago I outlined the essence of EDR's strategy to attendees and the annual Parcel Users Conference and thought it would also be appropriate to do so again here for those who could not attend the event. In short, EDR is working hard to deliver value to clients and end users in three primary ways:

1. Content


2. Workflow Solutions


3. Community

It all starts with content which means making sure that EDR's database of properties remains the most comprehensive, dynamic and current in the nation. This database obviously includes the governmental records considered "standard" by the ASTM Standard. However, huge resources are devoted to developing valuable proprietary records that provide unique insight into a property's potential for contamination. These proprietary records include categories like historical gas station locations, historical dry cleaners and former manufactured gas plant sites and are made possible because of scanning and digitizing operations at multiple EDR research locations around the country. The next step in aggregating content involves providing the industry a platform upon which customers can create, save and share (if so desired) user generated content. In just the past few months, thousands of data points have been contributed to the community database by environmental professionals from across the country. If we are to learn from examples in adjacent industries, it is possible that within a few years, the number of user generated records may actually exceed those records provided by government agencies.

As critical as world-class content is, EDR is also focused on helping customers become more efficient and productive through various workflow solutions. These solutions include the Parcel report authoring platform, the EDR OnDemand service and new services to be introduced in the future. What they all share in common are characteristics that enhance the value of the underlying content and improve the user's experience so that measurable time, productivity and cost savings can be realized. Seamlessly integrating environmental content with multiple workflow services is the largest internal development effort underway at EDR and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future.

Finally, embracing the Web 2.0 world, both technically and culturally, is the third pillar of EDR's strategy. This means gradually evolving away from being a company that only "pushes" content to an audience down a one way street and towards becoming a participant in the world's premier community of property due diligence professionals. As a media and content company, our role is simply to help get the community off the ground and provide the technology platform upon which dialogue can occur. The community itself will be comprised of consulting firms, mortgage lenders, insurers, attorneys and others who care deeply about the property due diligence field. This blog itself is actually the first step towards building this community where information and ideas can be exchanged and conveyed in an open and transparent manner.

These are very exciting times and all of us at EDR are looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.