I’m at it again. Writing controversial blog posts. But I want to explain why GIS SUCS.
GIS SUCS
Now I often do not follow conventional wisdom. I like to step back and look at the big picture. I try to base my opinions not on what I am told, but what I observe, and hear. This is why I have come to the conclusion GIS SUCS.
Now I do think the new platform is a significant advance. It’s easier to work with, and comes loaded with so many new services and applications. New is good. A plethora of new tools and services is fantastic. But all of the focus put here is why GIS SUCS.
It’s broken record week, since I seemed to have repeated this in a number of posts over the last 7 days. But starting with the technology is starting in the middle.
Success with GIS .. requires
Understanding
Curiosity … and the
Story
SUCS. Let me explain where I am going here. (more…)
Those English are a funny lot. Its been an odd few weeks on their little island. In the Euros football (soccer) championship, Iceland (population 300, 000) beat England (population 53 million) 2-1. Andy Murray won the Wimbledon tennis tournament (let’s not here get into the England v British discussion). And then there was Brexit. The English have voted to separate from the EU.
Oh dear!
Stuck in GIS Brexit?
With Brexit the Brits have opted for separation. So what do I mean by GIS Brexit? This post is about the many advantages of integration. Advantages, over time, the English will realise far outweigh the costs.
Think about your GIS. As I’ve mentioned many times before, GIS is coming out of the shadows. Once perceived narrowly as purely mapping software, today it is being used more widely to solve business problems. In isolation GIS is powerful software, but when integrated with other business systems it really shines. Let me share with you two examples: (more…)
Robinson Crusoe is actually one of my favourite books. The story of the sole survivor of a ship-wreck, washed up on a remote island. Alone he developed talents which helped him survive: farming, construction etc. Marooned but highly capable, Crusoe managed to survive for 15 years. When joined by Friday ‘his devoted slave’, together they built a boat and escaped the island, returning to civilization.
Let me expand on this question: are you a GIS Robinson Crusoe?
You might have guessed, isolation is this blog post’s theme: GIS isolation. Or, rather like Robinson Crusoe, living on a (GIS) island. We commonly encounter two categories:
GIS Newbies – Getting Help
As GIS becomes more popular, we are increasingly encountering organizations who wish to use the technology to solve problems. But often these organizations lack in house GIS expertise. Sometimes that means throwing a GIS newbie at the technology. That can be a very uncomfortable place to be. Sure GIS can be learned, but it takes time to understand how to solve complex business problems. Particularly when business questions need answers yesterday. (more…)
I am often asked “How do we get the most out of our GIS”. This comes both from those new to the technology and seasoned professionals. As GIS becomes more popular, this question will be ever more common. I thought in this blog post it worth discussing how to get the most out of your GIS.
GIS is moving away from being perceived as only mapping technology. It is now being properly recognised as a tool to solve business problems. That change in emphasis naturally moves the focus from the technology to the problem. The first step in getting the most out of your GIS is stepping back and asking:
What is the problem and how might a solution look?
Surprisingly these two fundamental questions are often overlooked. In our GIS Discover Workshop this is the place we often begin. Once you understand what you are trying to solve and story-boarded the solution, you can gently step into the technology. (more…)
I’ve always hated how adverts get stuck in your head. Songs, tag lines, slogans. One ad which I still have trouble shaking off is the Access credit card, described in the advert as:
Your flexible friend. Take it anywhere, and use it for anything.
But there is no doubt that term ‘flexible friend’ is very catchy.
Is your GIS your Flexible Friend? I should probably rephrase this question to “GIS should be your flexible friend”. In this post I will be talking about GIS applications. That they should be flexible, intuitive friends! And just like that advert which repeats itself (for regular readers of this blog) I’m about to sing the praises of Web GIS applications. Let’s cover 5 reason why web based GIS applications are so flexible:
1. Web GIS application run on any device
PC, smartphone, tablet, Android, Apple, Windows; web applications truly run on anywhere, anytime on any device. Build an application once and run it anywhere might be the motto here. Let me provide an example. We were approached by a large utility who needed a mobile application. They were debating which mobile device to target an iPad or Surface Pro. What we built … a mobile web app which ran on both devices (and more). (more…)
I’ve mentioned many times before in this blog that we are big fans of the new cloud based approach to GIS (WebGIS). As Bill Meehan at Esri describes, connecting desktop, Web and mobile apps via your central GIS cloud based hub provides access, awareness and analysis. Moving from server to platform has many advantages. Its transforming GIS.
But today, the reality is that we live in a world of mixed technologies. Esri users have one or a combination of ArcGIS Server, Online, Portal. Web applications tend to be tied to these respective solutions. At WebMapSolutions we have been giving this considerable thought.
GIS is at a crossroads. And its been there for the longest time. The technology has a long history with deep roots in the public sector. Technical advances with mobile and cloud are driving change. Finally GIS has come out of its shell. Is technology the driver or demand? That is a good question.
Is GIS Groaning to Move Away from its Traditional Roots?
As we discuss this question:Is GIS Groaning to Move Away from its Traditional Roots? let’s first consider the then and now. Traditional GIS is map focused, centred on 3 elements: desktop, server and web. See the diagram below:
I have always been a big fan of flexible GIS applications which are easy to extend. Remember the very popular Flex Viewer for ArcGIS? Though Flex has largely gone away, the widget based approach to configuring and building GIS applications is still here. In fact we feel for many, widget based GIS apps should be leveraged across the organization. GIS applications built for one purpose, and big bloated web applications loaded up with tools are things of the past. I used the analogy of a cruise ship versus a speedboat in a past blog post.
This is a blog post about not giving up. Forgive me for dipping back into sport (I try to avoid sports analogies), but I wanted to share a story which illustrates well the message in this post.
A friend of mine recently joined a new soccer team. A good team filled with Brazilian players. But a high pressure team, mistakes were met with loud criticism. Good play went unmentioned. My friend is a good player but had much to prove. He did not start the first 2 games, and when brought on was played in an unfamiliar position. By his description he felt the games went okay. His own performance was ‘safe’ as he described. He started the third game. A cup game. And lasted 10 minutes before being hauled off with the team down by 3 goals, none down to my friend. He felt rotten. He waited out the next 35 minutes on the sidelines, not called back into the game. A mixture of emotions and thoughts went through his head: anger, unfair, give up, doubt. (more…)
Would you like to easily and simply view on a map your insured homes with hail swath data? We’ve built a simple Insurance Exposure Management Application which allows you to view and export this data to CSV. Simply drag and drop your home insurance data on the map. The application will automatically associate a homes location with hail size impact. From here you can export this combined data as a CSV. Simple. This application was built to demonstrate the power of GIS in solving business problems.
Insurance GIS: Hail Exposure Management
Below is a demo of the application:
For more information on this application contact us on 801-733-0723.
