Hi chicopee,
I am currently temping at a small telephone company that uses Autocad Map for its' map records. The beauty of this program is its' ability to add attributes to objects which are connected to a database. For example, we can click on a telephone pole and get information about the cables it supports, number of guy wires, if there are aerial drops to houses, which other companies may also be using this pole (i.e. cable, utilities). And, by using reports from another application, we can generate reports that contain information about the Work Order numbers that placed certain items and the dates of each item placed.
It is very helpful to be able to verify ages of parts and also track total amounts of materials and equipment used throughout a large service area.
Hope this helps,
Paul