Last summer I made a blog post in which I stated that there were three (3) pillars to EDR's business strategy. These pillars are content, workflow solutions and community. Nearly everything we do at EDR should create value in one of these three areas or else it's probably not worth doing.

Since then, much of the news coming out of EDR has been about workflow solutions (EDR OnDemand, PARCEL, Vapor Intrusion Screen) and community (CommonGround) while content has not been talked about as much. However, behind the scenes, a ton of work has been going on related to expanding our underlying database to include more categories of important environmental content. After all, our company name is Environmental DATA Resources so we can't forget that everything we do is predicated upon having an unmatched core database. To give you a sense of how this core database has grown, consider the following statistics:

• There are over 46 million records in EDR's database yet only 13 million of these (28%) are aggregated from publicly available government databases.
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  The majority of EDR's records (over 33 million) come from other sources and most were created via scanning and digitization efforts that have been going on for the past decade. For example, over 1.5 million "image records" exist as a result of scanning hardcopy historical maps and aerial photographs while another 1 million records where created by EDR's Data and Content Development Group.

But perhaps most impressively, over 20 million database records have been created by scanning and digitizing historical city and business directory publications dating back to the 1800's.

As a "content company" these efforts are extremely important. I believe that some day in the near future, Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft will make it possible (and very easy) to search the publicly available EPA or state environmental databases and have the search results displayed on a map (which of course is what has been EDR's business for the past 15 years). On the surface this might seem like a very scary thing for a company like EDR. In reality, however, I think the opportunities here are much greater than any perceived risk.

The fact that most of EDR's content comes from sources other than government databases provides some level of insulation in a Google dominated world. Additionally, user generated content continues to aggregate with EDR's platforms allowing clients to save and re-consume their contributions in the future.

The real opportunity for information company's (like EDR) and domain experts (like environmental professionals) will come when there is complete ubiquity of environmental information on the web and the opportunity will lie in the ability or willingness to deliver context and provide answers to those with questions. Who's going to be there when someone Google's their home address and finds out that there is a leaking underground storage tank next door? Who is going to answer this person's questions and help guide them towards resolution? Who is going to take Google's search results and add valuable context to the local loan officer, attorney or business owner?

Realtors have been asking themselves these same questions as property listings continue to become available online at sites other than the local MLS. Perhaps closely following this industry will provide EDR and our environmental consulting partners with a window into our collective future?

Later today I will be leaving for Boston to attend the third annual Parcel User's Conference (and the first conference since EDR acquired Parcel earlier this year). Over 75 people will be at the event representing both the environmental consulting and mortgage lending industries. There are several goals associated with this conference. First, EDR will provide attendees with an overview on how Parcel adoption has been progressing since the acquisition. Second, the EDR Solutions Group will be laying out the planned enhancements to the application for all to see and comment on. And third, Parcel users and lenders will have the opportunity to share within the community their real world experiences in using the platform.

In the 12 month period prior to the acquisition, approximately 3,900 due diligence projects were authored using Parcel. This figure equates to 2% of the total market opportunity. Since the acquisition, the annual run rate for Parcel usage has increased by almost 300% to over 15,000 projects and during the next 12 month period we anticipate usage exceeding 30,000 projects.

In addition to increased usage, over 300 unique and completely customized templates have been created that allow the final report to have the same look and feel as a report authored in MS Word or in an internally developed application.

The timing for this event could not be more perfect given the recent slow down in transactional due diligence activity resulting from the late summer's events in the capital and credit markets. It is entirely possible that we may be leaving one portion of the business cycle and entering another. For the past several years, all of us have been riding a great wave where transactional activity was increasing between 2% and 5% per year. This trend continued for most of 2007 but came to a screeching halt in September. Although the month isn't quite over yet, I expect to see year-on-year due diligence transactions decline in September for the first time since 2000.

It is anyone's guess as to how long this portion of the cycle may last but one thing is for certain: in a flat to down market, history tells us that this is exactly the time when companies look closer at internal processes and search for ways to become more efficient. This usually leads to outsourcing more non-core activities in order to spend more time developing new sources of business.

Now for the really important stuff. In addition to the above topics being covered at the conference, we will all be attending a Red Sox vs. Twins game on Thursday night at Fenway Park. Given last night's Sox win and Yankee choke (I mean tough loss), things are shaping up where we may be able to witness the AL East clinching game in person. While I hope this comment doesn't lead to too much lost business for EDR in New York, I just couldn't resist :)