ADHER System Enhancement, Modernization & Government Integration
🔷 Solution Overview
Following the successful establishment of the Abu Dhabi Historic Environment Record (ADHER) system, the Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) engaged GPC to enhance and modernize the platform to support evolving operational, technical, and integration requirements.
This phase focused on transforming ADHER into a more scalable, user-centric, and fully integrated enterprise solution supporting heritage management across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The enhancement included a comprehensive technology upgrade and migration, improvements to application performance and scalability, and stronger alignment with DCT’s IT environment and enterprise architecture.
A major component of the project was the full redesign of the application’s user interface and user experience, significantly improving usability and accessibility for system users. In parallel, GPC introduced workflow enhancements and process optimization, including integration with Abu Dhabi’s whole-of-government e-NOC platform to improve coordination with planning and regulatory entities.
Additional enhancements strengthened system functionality, data management capabilities, and interoperability with enterprise and government systems, ensuring that ADHER continues to serve as the authoritative platform for heritage records, planning support, and heritage-informed decision-making in Abu Dhabi. This phase builds on the original ADHER foundation, which was designed in line with international best practice as a centralized Historic Environment Record supporting monuments, events, sources, and archives.
🔷 Main Objectives
- Enhance and modernize the ADHER platform
- Upgrade technology stack and improve scalability
- Strengthen system usability through UI/UX redesign
- Optimize workflows and operational processes
- Enable integration with Abu Dhabi e-NOC and enterprise systems
- Improve system performance, data management, and interoperability
- Support long-term sustainability of heritage management operations
🔷 How GPC Empowers the Client
GPC leveraged its prior experience in designing and implementing the ADHER foundation platform to deliver a highly targeted enhancement program aligned with DCT’s operational and technical priorities.
The engagement included:
- Technology migration and platform upgrade
- UI/UX redesign and usability enhancement
- Workflow optimization and business process improvement
- Integration with whole-of-government e-NOC services
- Alignment with enterprise IT architecture and internal systems
- Enhancement of data management and application capabilities
This enabled DCT to evolve ADHER from a successful heritage record platform into a more mature, integrated, and future-ready enterprise solution supporting heritage preservation, planning, and operational coordination.
🔷 The Bottom Line
A modernization and enhancement phase that transformed ADHER into a more scalable, integrated, and user-friendly enterprise heritage platform aligned with DCT’s evolving business and technical environment.
🔷 About Our Customer
The Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) is the government authority in Abu Dhabi responsible for the study, conservation, development, and promotion of the Emirate’s tangible and intangible heritage. It is mandated under Abu Dhabi laws to protect and manage cultural heritage and has adopted international best practices in the development of heritage information systems.
DCT established the Abu Dhabi Historic Environment Record (ADHER) system as a centralized repository for heritage information, supporting archaeology, built heritage, historical landscapes, planning, development control, and land management processes across the Emirate.
🔷 Challenge
As ADHER usage expanded, DCT required a new phase of modernization to ensure the system remained aligned with operational growth, technical evolution, and enterprise integration requirements.
Key challenges included:
- Need for technology upgrade and platform modernization
- Requirement for better scalability and performance
- Need to improve user experience and usability
- Demand for workflow optimization and more efficient business processes
- Requirement to integrate with the Abu Dhabi e-NOC ecosystem and internal enterprise systems
- Need to strengthen long-term maintainability and enterprise readiness
🔷 Solution Description
GPC delivered a comprehensive enhancement program for ADHER including:
- Technology upgrade and migration
- Full UI/UX redesign
- Workflow enhancement and process optimization
- Integration with Abu Dhabi e-NOC system
- Enterprise integration with DCT IT environment
- Application and data management enhancements
This phase preserved the strategic role of ADHER as the authoritative heritage platform while upgrading its capabilities to meet new enterprise, usability, and interoperability requirements.
🔷 Key Features
- Technology migration and modernization
- UI/UX overhaul
- Workflow and process optimization
- Integration with Abu Dhabi e-NOC platform
- Enterprise interoperability enhancements
- Improved data management capabilities
- Scalable and future-ready system architecture
🔷 Platform / Integration Components
- ADHER heritage management platform
- ESRI GIS platform and mapping environment
- Enterprise integration frameworks
- Government e-NOC integration
- Web application environment
- Internal DCT enterprise systems integration
🔷 Hosting / Deployment
Aligned with DCT’s enterprise IT environment and integrated with broader government and organizational systems to support performance, scalability, and interoperability.
🔷 Delivery Model / Scope
Post-foundation enhancement and modernization engagement including:
- Technology upgrade and migration
- UI/UX redesign
- Workflow optimization
- Government and enterprise integrations
- Application and data management enhancements
🔷 Standards / Methods Applied
- Historic Environment Record best practices
- Enterprise platform modernization principles
- UI/UX redesign methodologies
- Workflow optimization and process improvement
- Government system integration practices
- Scalable GIS-enabled application architecture
🔷 Deliverables / Milestones
- Enhanced ADHER application platform
- Technology migration and upgraded environment
- Redesigned UI/UX experience
- Optimized workflows and processes
- Integrated e-NOC connectivity
- Enterprise integration enhancements
- Improved data management capabilities
🔷 Benefits / Results
- Improved system usability and adoption
- Enhanced workflow efficiency
- Stronger integration with Abu Dhabi government ecosystem
- Better alignment with enterprise IT environment
- More scalable and future-ready heritage platform
- Sustained support for heritage planning and decision-making
🔷 Platform / System KPIs
- Enhanced enterprise platform capabilities
- Integration with e-NOC and internal systems
- Improved user experience and workflow performance
- Scalable and modernized application environment
🔷 Outcome KPIs
- Stakeholder entities engaged
- DCT heritage teams, IT teams, and planning / regulatory stakeholders
- Datasets assessed / modeled
- Heritage records, monuments, events, sources, archives, and operational workflow data
- Standards reviewed / developed
- HER operational practices, workflow models, UI/UX standards, and integration specifications
- Roadmap horizon / phases
- Post-foundation enhancement phase
- Target milestones / outcomes
- Modernized, integrated, and user-centric ADHER platform for sustained operational use

