Future Directions of Spatial Technology

Anthony OFlaherty Spatial Manager/Consultant - NT

March 2012

Agenda

Past present and future special spacial things that are really cool.

Solving a business problem

Background: Surveyors and GIS staff work closely together to achieve various products / services to clients. Problem: Surveyors always had first dibs on all the good jiggers and RTK equipment, and GIS people required equipment use also, but had no $$$. Solution.

The GIS jigger solution

GIS data
Total Cost = <$7,500

The message?
Solution matched to business requirements (accuracy, ease of use, export functions, etc). Need to be creative to achieve the required outcome.

Lets make a web site

Back in the 90s. Macromedia Dreamweaver v2 on your desktop

Consultants made $$$

But then
Everyone got in on the act! So how do web developers survive today?

Now

The message?
Web developers have evolved and diversified their skills to make solid $$$ Content Pluggins (weather, social media, ecommerce) Customisation Marketing strategies Integration Skinning / template design / user interface
Graphic design / graphics / photography

Content Management aligned with Knowledge Management System (KMS) framework

Early days of desktop GIS

A demo of MapInfo 2.0 used at trade shows in 1988. This version went on to be known as MapInfo for DOS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzvv3q4S_a4

ye good ol GIS definition

Uncertainty of the Future

Technology Timeline

What about the desktop realm?

Tool plateau Enhanced user experience (GUI) Note the Ribbon GUI

And the rest?

Cloud Definition

According to the ever reliable Wikipedia:

...Cloud computing refers to the logical computational resources like software and data accessible via a computer network rather than from a local computer...

The Cloud

What is the Spatial Industry doing with the cloud and what does this mean for the GIS end user?
What the? As a Service?

The Cloud

The Cloud

The Cloud

The Cloud

The Cloud

Integration
Integration Definition

According to the ever reliable Wikipedia:

...integration is the process of linking together different computing systems and software applications physically or functionally, to act as a coordinated whole...

Integration

Link Integration
Database Integration

System Integration
Full True Integration

Integration

Data Proliferation
Data Proliferation

According to the ever reliable Wikipedia:

...Data proliferation refers to the prodigious amount of data, structured and unstructured, that businesses and governments continue to generate at an unprecedented rate and the usability problems that result from attempting to store and manage that data...

Data Quality
Data Quality

According to the ever reliable Wikipedia:

...The state of completeness, validity, consistency, timeliness and accuracy that makes data appropriate for a specific use...

Data Quality
Bad Data behaves like a virus
Starts with one record.

Data Quality
Bad Data behaves like a virus
Starts with one record. . It spreads to the other databases

Data Quality
Bad Data behaves like a virus
Starts with one record. . It spreads to the other databases

Data Quality

Open and Crowd Sourced Data

Crowd Sourced definition

According to the ever reliable Wikipedia:

...Crowdsourcing is the act of outsourcing tasks, traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, to an undefined, large group of people or community (a "crowd"), through an open call...

Open and Crowd Sourced Data

Conclusion
The all consuming Cloud

Open source everything key driver

Application soup You wont find data, the data will find you Super-data Joe Citizen GIS Data Officer Let go?

Conclusion

More than ever before, business requirements need to be clearly identified and defined. To achieve the solution we must continue to be adaptive, creative and open minded. This is how we will survive the trough of disillusionment.
Anthony OFlaherty
Spatial Manager/Consultant - NT TONKIN CONSULTING 34/16 Charlton Court, Woolner NT 0820 T: 08 8981 7155 E: Anthony.Oflaherty@tonkin.com.au