Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can considerably improve the performance of organizations’ business operations. However, institutions and enterprises face significant initial investments to leverage their proprietary data through this technology. Map Designer (MD) is a holistic approach to facilitate spatially enabled activities in organizations. It features an open three-tier architecture (databases, servers and clients) that allows users to connect their data almost instantaneously to Internet/Intranet GIS. Elements of MD’s architecture transfer to the organization as its commitment to this technology increases. MD helps to leverage legacy data quickly by removing the initial investment barrier and provided a professionally guided approach to GIS.
The incorporation of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) into businesses and organizations has allowed for wider use and access to a variety of spatial information. Inherently, organizations collect and process data. Over the last couple of decades the data flow in and between organizations has increased exponentially. As this data flow increased and continues to increase, ways of effectively managing and distributing that data needed to be devised. Various challenges need to be overcome by these data management tools and techniques. These include the automated and proper handling of large volumes of data, exchange of this information between and among various organizations and businesses, and user-friendly methods for visualization and interaction with the data. A few solutions do exist. Enterprise Resource Planning software can be used to connect related business processes and direct the data stream between them automatically. Change management techniques deal to some degree with the impact of these automated data flows on the organization.
Furthermore, tools and techniques have been developed to semi-automatically extract and present the inherent information within the data. This enables the trained technician as well as the lay person to comprehend the data’s meaning. These tools include statistical techniques, graphics, tables, summary descriptions, etc. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have developed as a user-friendly interface to the spatial information contained within data volumes. GIS and its associated tools support a variety of business processes through map creation, data analysis, and presentation. All of these GIS capabilities allow for effective communication, thus opening pathways business-to-business and business-to-public relationships.
While businesses and organizations would greatly benefit from becoming spatially enabled, spatially enabling comes at a price. Table 1 lists the factors that need to be considered when planning to integrate GIS into the business processes of an organization.
Table 1. Cost factors when planning to implement an organization-wide GIS
|
Factor |
Description/Issues |
|
Data |
Acquisition of spatial data, manipulation, storing, conversion, retrieval, updating, renewing, version control, quality assurance, basic layers, specialty layers |
|
Hardware |
Computer, networks, storage, backup, monitors, connectivity |
|
Software |
GIS desktop, map servers, data handler middleware, conversion tools, databases |
|
People |
Data specialists (databases, GIS), documentation support, network specialists, training (basic, specialty) |
|
Management |
Commitment in terms of funds, time, ongoing, strategic, external contacts, change management |
|
Business processes |
Restructuring of organization, business processes, data flows, role of departments and people, dependencies between departments |
|
Bench marking |
Survey etc. to assess success |
The staff of an organization and its management is the key to successfully spatially enable an organization.
Spatially enabling an organization’s business processes can be accomplished in different ways. One approach is to put all necessary pieces in place at one time. Aside from educating its own staff, an organization would attract, hire, and hold a number of key people that know GIS, hardware, software, and change management. The organization’s business processes and data flows are studied to identify areas of improvement through spatial technology. An organization-wide GIS architecture is drawn from this study and applications are created that support the updated workflow. This approach requires a strong initial financial commitment by the organization’s management.
Many organizations, such as the health care provider, can rarely take the above approach due to the lack of financial backup and a segregated internal structure (Richards et.al. 1999). In these organizations a few interested individuals take the initiative to introduce spatial concepts and applications. Small, very useful prototypes and specific solutions are implemented for particular departments or individual projects. These prototypes are typically adapted to the specific data, software, hardware, and skill set available within the department. The localized solutions could eventually grow into a large-scale GIS approach for the organization but only after considerable effort. Data standards, formats, projections and the like would have to be unified to allow for interconnectivity between these projects. Additionally, a large investment of time, money and other resources would have to take place. This rarely happens.
A more recent approach to the spatially enabling dilemma allows the organization to grow into complete spatial enablement without jeopardizing further growth and interconnectivity. Scientific Technologies Corporation (STC) started to investigate whether it was possible to support the small-project approach under limited resources while allowing for movement forward as additional funds become available and at the same time developing the resources already available within the organization (e.g. data experts). Funded through a Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) grant of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this research led to the development of a specialized GIS architecture, Map Designer (MD).
During the initial development of Map Designer, STC performed a needs analysis of its clientele. While staff within the specific departments had a strong knowledge of their specialty data, they lacked the understanding of topographic data and the skills and resources necessary for map creation. These maps would enhance their analysis capabilities, interdepartmental communication, and public outreach. These staff also lacked an understanding of GIS principals.
Along with the needs analysis, STC analyzed a variety of projects it completed for clients that involved the development of a prototype. The majority of the created prototypes were customized to the data about the business objects specific to that department. The prototypes were also tailored to the departmental staff’s capabilities and to the software and hardware at hand. These customizations provide only a limited sampling of GIS functionality.
From these analyses a general GIS architecture, MapDesigner, was developed. MD is a three tiered architecture that compartmentalizes of the components of the GIS puzzle needed to spatially enable the organization, while ensuring that each could act as a stand-alone piece. This open architecture allows for movement along a variety of paths to the same goal, namely spatially enabling the enterprise (Gertz, 1996). This client/server approach, which is modular and message based, is a fundamental enabling approach that provides the most flexible framework for using new technologies (Schussel, 1995), such as GIS.
The components within Map Designer are: topographic data, specialty data, metadata, desktop GIS application, intranet/internet GIS application, and the communication between the components.
With the advent of high speed, long distance networks, these components can be broken into modules and distributed across networks. The idea of Map Designer allows for consultant control of back-end GIS functionality with clients implementing only the GIS front-end. These clients rent the knowledge and services of the consultant (GIS provider) thus removing the need for experienced GIS technicians, more substantial initial investments, and specialized hardware/software. The overall client burden is thus reduced. At the same time, the client continuously learns more about GIS through repeated use of the system.
The GIS front-end of such architecture needs to be very user-friendly to account for the limited GIS expertise at the user’s side. Integrated GIS applications often solve that problem by providing limited functionality in the GIS front-end. However, STC found that the overall complexity can be hidden from a user through the creative use of metadata.
As the client commitment and understanding of and to GIS increases, the pieces of the architecture can migrate from the GIS provider to the client. The whole process of that transition needs to be accomplished through training and continuous commitment on the part of the client. Three scenarios for client-GIS provider interaction are provided below. These scenarios represent a minimum of the possibilities as clients move within this open system, step-by-step, from little GIS knowledge to expert GIS knowledge.
Scenario 1: No GIS responsibility on the client side. Specialty data is transferred to the GIS provider who then links that data to existing Internet GIS applications and provides it to the client via the web. This scenario is most useful when relatively static data is involved or only a short period of using and testing of the GIS provider’s system is desired.
Scenario 2: The client retains control and access to the data and implements a desktop GIS. The Internet GIS remains on the provider side and is linked across the network to the client’s data.
Scenario 3: The complete architecture is taken by the client, with no further need for the GIS provider. This solution may be cheaper, proven and more scalable than customized in-house developments.
STC has created an implementation of the outlined approach. Various off-the-shelf software packages were enhanced with Java front-ends for simplified user interaction. The communication between the components of the architecture is achieved through XML encoded metadata.
The proposed architecture promotes a seamless integration of desktop mapping with Internet/Intranet mapping through the use of consistent, wizard-like, and user-friendly interfaces. The architecture is not just another database front-end instead, it is a program that spatially enables an organization’s data sets and it allows clients to grow into this new area at their own pace. By linking the topographic data to the proprietary specialty data of the client, the architecture enhances the analysis capabilities of the client without increasing the burden on the client.
The keys to this novel approach to spatially enabling an enterprise are the development of powerful, high, speed, long distance networks and the effective use of metadata.
The following is a brief list of the benefits of the Map Designer architecture with regard to spatially enabling an organization:
Gertz, P. and Koehler, D. 1996: Distributed Computing Architecture and Web Development. WebDev96 Proceedings. Available WWW <URL: http://webdev.indiana.edu/Webdev96/proceedings/wd21/slides/ > .
Richards, T.B., Croner, C.M., Rushton, G., Brown, C.K., Fowler, L.1999: Geographic Information Systems and Public Health: Mapping the Future. Public Health Reports, Vol 114.
Schussel, George. 1995: Client/Server Past, Present, and Future [online]. Available WWW <URL: http://news.dci.com/geos/dbsejava.htm>.
Tatham, B., Fiedler, R., Pruss, L.S. 2000: GIS in Public Health Care: Changing the Model. Proceedings Esri User Conference 2000.