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The Changing Face of GIS (continued)

What does Daratech see?

Past changes are interesting from an historical perspective and perhaps to tell us that IT stuff will get smaller and cheaper over time. You need a better look at your future than that. So let us turn to Daratech to learn more.

Daratech believes the following issues are the most important confronting the GIS and Geospatial markets in 2005:

• Too much data, not enough standardization. Like many of us, Daratech knows this problem has been with us since the beginning, yet there are no signs of change. The research firm notes “Of course, no one standard has emerged predominant in the Geospatial and GIS technology arena-primarily because practitioners cannot agree on which standard is ’best.’ Technology evolution is also so rapid right now, that any published standard could be obsolete before widespread implementation. But it is also not necessarily in a software developer’s best interest to be ’too open’ because that will remove switching barriers that tie an enterprise to a particular solution provider. Ultimately, however, consumers will demand and force the supplier community to adhere to standards-if only to ensure that the technology survives in the greater IT environment of the enterprise.”
• The Web changes everything. GIS used to be a technology for the cartographic geeks, not the end-user. Today, GIS and Geospatial technologies are enabling governments and utilities to make information available to their citizens and customers on simple, effective websites. Daratech says “The issues in serving information on such a wide basis are enormous. For example, each implementation is unique and must decide what information to make available, how to protect data that should not be shared, who should have access-and how the information will best be displayed for each type of user, among many other issues.”
• Homeland Security initiatives are changing buying patterns and priorities. Everyone is reaching for the Homeland Security budget, and GIS practioners are no different. Politicians are finally realizing that while they are responsible for managing their land, they know very little about it. GIS to the rescue! Daratech: “While difficult to prove, it is possible that much of the innovation happening right now in GIS and Geospatial technologies is driven by security initiatives. Daratech’s preliminary research indicates a 10% increase in governmental spending at all levels of GIS technologies-not including expenditure on hardware such as handheld devices-much of it for security initiatives.”
• Return on investment matters. Daratech covers other technology areas in which a calculated return on investment (ROI) has been a critical factor in technology selection. This has been slow in coming to the GIS and Geospatial realm, partly because many of the implementations were in governmental or regulated environments where affectivity was measured differently. But ROI is very much a concern of for-profit enterprises and is starting to take hold in Geospatial and GIS, too. Daratech says: “Our research has long shown that most companies require a rapid return on any IT investment. In the difficult economy prevalent over the last few years, this has evolved into what we call ’3-6-9 strategies.’ Companies in many different industries have told us how projects that can be implemented in three months, reach breakeven in six months, and be making significant contributions in nine months are winning budget approval at companies urgently seeking ways to do more with less. Many of the effects of a GIS and Geospatial implementation, including reduced staffing due to website access of information, better data integration, increased productivity and greater customer satisfaction, can lead to a positive ROI statement.”
• My own GIS research in the North American Electric Utility Market conducted a few years back for InfoNetrix (www.infonetrix.com), the New Orleans-based market research and consulting firm, indicates that while ROI was often specified as an important GIS investment justification criterion, no one could remember anyone ever actually measuring it.
• Information management is the key to success. Daratech believes that next big battle in the Geospatial and GIS technology realm will be fought over how well spatial information and related metadata are managed. For many organizations, the key to a managed environment is data synchronization. “In essence,” says Daratech, “data that is not synchronized is not useful-why share data that cannot be relied upon to be the latest, most accurate version? Other elements of data management include retiring data that is no longer needed; connecting GIS and Geospatial data to other information systems such as ERP systems; presenting information in 2D graphics, 3D displays or alphanumeric reports as appropriate to the content and reader; and the ability to search, query, or otherwise navigate the content-documents, components, and metadata.”

2004 GIS Markets & Opportunities

I have no affiliation to Daratech, but I do know them by reputation and it is a good one. If you want to know more about the GIS market, I suggest you contact Daratech.