Author: Jim Skurzynski
Focusing on the New GIS End-User
We’ve talked in this blog about how mapping in the cloud has gone mainstream. How cloud computing has turned the world of GIS on its head, bringing a flood of new users who don’t even know what GIS stands for, to our websites and desktop applications. It’s more critical than ever to pay attention to these end users and their needs, because they’re dramatically different from the traditional GIS user, and if we don’t understand how our customers are changing, we run the risk of losing them, just as they’re getting to know the virtues of mapping.
A decade ago, the typical GIS user worked in a fairly large organization that had specially trained GIS staff to service the organization’s spatial requests. All this began to change as more and more industries saw the power of spatial technology and innovated by making intuitive mapping technology widely available to their organization. Then, when GIS moved to the cloud a few years ago, another huge shift took place – GIS moved beyond corporations and into our everyday lives with Google Earth™, Bing© Maps and Google Maps mashups. People were suddenly interacting with maps everywhere: on their mobile phones, iPads and other devices.
This is incredibly exciting for the GIS world, but these new users bring a whole new set of expectations that geo-developers and GIS companies need to heed.
We’ve put a lot of emphasis on map performance and regular updates in the observations above, but don’t be intimidated. Spatial technology is actually getting easier to use every day, and more and more niche companies have come on the scene to help you with continuously updated data streams, speedy mapping functions, and robust and reliable spatial infrastructures. That frees you up to concentrate on those end users in a bigger way than ever before.
Learn More:
Webinar: The New Rules for GIS Success
http://www.digmap.com/Resources/CloudGISChangingTheRules.html
Think Spatial With Us: Digital Map Products Blog
http://digmap.com/blog/
About Digital Map Products
http://www.digmap.com/company/default.htm
Cloud Computing Speeds Up And Simplifies the Adoption of Spatial Technology
Jim Skurzynski is an expert of spatial technology, computing in the cloud and on-line real estate and government technology. Skurzynski is a founder of Digital Map Products, a leading provider of web-enabled spatial solutions that bring the power of spatial technology to mainstream business, government and consumer applications. He helped start up Digital Map Products with the vision of helping take spatial technology “to the masses,” making the powerful tools available to small and medium-sized businesses as well as major corporations. He has spent the majority of his career designing and managing the deployment of technology solutions in a variety of public and private sector environments. Over the past twenty years, he has held executive management positions in spatial technology companies in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
As you know, this blog is all about how spatial technology is going mainstream and becoming a key tool for businesses of all types. One of the most exciting trends in GIS and other spatial applications right now is the impact of cloud computing. With the cloud providing a simple and on-demand network of GIS services and software-as-a-service applications, companies that want to implement spatial technology can often get started without costly outlays of time or money.
I predict we’ll see fast-paced changes in the near term including a lower cost infrastructure for creating spatial applications, more sophisticated real estate, business and government uses, and a rapidly-expanding pool of people who “think” spatially. Some of the reasons I think the cloud is supercharging spatial technology adoption include:
Read More