GITA GIS for Oil & Gas Pipeline Conference The Cloud Revolution: Leveraging Cloud Computing for GIS Success October 26, 2011
Today s Speakers Jim Skurzynski, President & CEO, Digital Map Products Jim has over 2 decades of leadership experience in the geodata and spatial technology fields. He specializes in taking complex business technologies and simplifying their delivery and application to bring them to mainstream business and consumer users. As founder of Digital Map Products Jim believes in the power of spatial technology to drive better decisions. Skip Cody, Product Manager, Digital Map Products Skip has worked in the GIS/Mapping industry for the past 15 years and has been a pioneer in cloud computing and mapping. Previously he was a developer of spatial applications. Currently, as Product Manager he works directly with Cloud GIS users and innovators to create new products and communicate industry best practices. Twitter: @DMPInc 2
Presentation Overview Digital Map Products Overview The State of Cloud Computing Cloud GIS Trends 6 Tips to get Started with Cloud GIS Understand your users & new applications for GIS Make GIS Work for your Users Choosing a Provider: No Imposters! Build a solid foundation with data Be obsessed with performance Be flexible & get started today Questions Twitter: @DMPInc 3
Over a decade of experience developing spatial technology for the web Mission: make spatial technology easy to implement and use About Digital Map Products Cloud-Based Mapping Technology Company Mapping Solutions CityGIS & LandVision SaaS mapping applications SpatialStream Spatial Development Platform Bulk Parcel Data and Parcel Geocoding Proven Cloud Infrastructure Fully redundant Tier IV Data Centers Web services used by leading real estate sites Twitter: @DMPInc 4
What is Cloud Computing? cloud com put ing noun A model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g. networks, servers, storage, applications & services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction - NIST The Cloud is like the Electricity Grid What can you get in the cloud? Storage Computing Resources Data Applications Benefits of Cloud Computing Reduced costs Faster time to market Highly available Increased Scalability Minimal maintenance Fosters collaboration Twitter: @DMPInc 5
The State of Cloud Computing Cloud Computing Becoming the Standard Came on the scene in a big way in 2010 Mass movement of enterprises to cloud Innovation happening in the cloud Federal Government on board Not just a technology a completely new operational model Transforming the way organizations implement & use technology Focus of cloud computing is on the user experience, not technology Democratizing technology Never before seen flexibility and scalability GIS a big beneficiary of cloud computing significantly improving GIS The Cloud Changes the Rules, Create Opportunities Twitter: @DMPInc 6
The Cloud and GIS: Perfect Match The Promise GIS holds great potential to improve efficiency, collaboration, and decision making in business and government Maps are a natural platform for data integration, access and analysis The Reality Always been difficult to reach the promised land of GIS benefits Even more difficult with the tough economy Consumers & Employees becoming more map savvy and demanding! GIS success has become a virtual Mission Impossible for many The Solution Cloud computing removes many of the challenges of traditional GIS More affordable Faster to deploy Widely available Easier to use More flexible Secure/Reliable Twitter: @DMPInc 7
How the Cloud Changes GIS Majority of GIS technology users will be non technical High expectations, lowlearning curve, impatient Need new applications designed for them Getting the data s the easy part There s an API for that! Much of what you need already exists Now about what will you do with the data? Development time compressed: years to weeks Time for innovation Focus on core competencies Maintenance, what Maintenance? Perfect Complement to Traditional GIS Maintenance The Cloud Unleashes the Full Potential of GIS Twitter: @DMPInc 8
Cloud GIS Trends Cloud GIS Going Mainstream in 2011 Reasons for cloud GIS adoption & retention moving beyond just cost savings Increased innovation in GIS: new applications, uses, and markets GIS technology morphing workflow focused, GIS hidden, mash-ups Pervasive GIS: any time, where, device Cloud GIS offering new and more advanced capabilities Rise of cloud-native solutions providers. GIS designed only for the cloud The Cloud is Revolutionizing GIS Twitter: @DMPInc 9
Tip #1: Understand your Users The cloud is taking GIS mainstream Content Library Bing and Google has put the map everywhere Consumers are now map savvy New industries embracing mapping Real estate Finance Business Intelligence Customer Support Even GIS savvy organizations are finding new users Moving out of the GIS department and into the hands of the enterprise 10
Tip #1: Understand Your Users Majority of new users are non-gis professionals Content Library Expectations are different Will not wait for your app to finish loading They could not care less about GIS Easy to use software with little interaction Clean, Current and Correct data Accessible anywhere, anytime, on any device The new user expects a constant product evolution There is a new app every day (over 350,000 apps in the App Store) The pace of change is fast Next Generation GIS Users are More Demanding! Twitter: @DMPInc 11
Tip #1: Understand Your Users Understand what your end-users are Content trying to Library do Talk, Watch and Understand your end-users actions Usability is paramount to your overall success Be a minimalist and only implement what is needed Combine multiple steps & applications into a single interface Ask Why not How! Twitter: @DMPInc 12
Tip #2: Make GIS work for your Users Spend time making GIS work for your users, not making GIS work Start off right use common consumer mapping platforms Embrace the norms of consumer mapping behavior don t reinvent the wheel Don t make them drink from a firehose expose features & data layers gradually and at the right time Use common terminology: search nearby vs. buffer Cloud services free time to invest in UI & innovation use them User interface, user interface, user interface! easy mapping Twitter: @DMPInc 13
Tip #2: Make GIS work for your Users Don t make users learn a new language or hieroglyphics! vectors georeferenced buffer layers rasterized thematic shapefile attribute Twitter: @DMPInc 14
Tip #2: Make GIS work for your Users Embed GIS in what your Users are Doing! Twitter: @DMPInc 15
Tip #2: Make GIS work for your Users Good Data Display Increases Usability & Helps Users Connect the Dots Proper styling of data significantly enhances users ability to quickly analyze it and detect trends Use a limited number of classes and use intuitive color schemes Summarize data to geographies that make sense to users Give users creative options to explore data animation, drill down Twitter: @DMPInc 16
Tip #3 No Imposters Focusing on the Cloud Delivery Content Library Choose a company that focuses on cloud delivery o o The cloud is all the rage and new companies are popping up all the time You want a company that focuses on the cloud not just a me-too Choose a company who has Native cloud applications o o We are seeing companies are porting their applications to the cloud. Delivery of GIS functionality is challenging and the desktop technology does not translate well. If not done right you can suffer o o First item to suffer is performance and the New users will expect it! Next items to suffer are uptime and scalability Twitter: @DMPInc 17
Tip #3 No Imposters Why a Cloud Focused Company? Content Library What does a Cloud Focused company give you? o o Uptime, Performance, Security (It s do or die) Expertise and Best Practices (Leverage what other clients are doing) What you should look for when choosing a cloud provider Financial Stability Performance Experience Scalability Uptime (SLA) Flexibility Security Data Availability After all of this is satisfied then talk functionality Twitter: @DMPInc 18
Tip #4: Build a Solid Foundation with Data Thousands of data API s available Content Library Even the hard to get data Niche companies are delivering first class datasets previously unavailable Narrowly focused Aggregates data across the nation Spread the cost across many instead of one Moves the cost burden to the cloud Storage, Processing, Updates, Licensing, Handling, Security Crowd Sourced Data Higher quality, easier to implement, lower cost 19
Tip #4: Build a Solid Foundation with Data Traditionally maintenance is a major ongoing Content cost Library Hardware, Software, Data, functionality Yes you can build it But can you maintain it? Does it scale? Leverage the cloud and its benefits Maintenance, What maintenance? Functionally updates continually added Data is kept fresh and updates are consumed seamlessly Scalability, reliability, and security is not an afterthought The cloud carries a large portion of the traditional burden 20
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Tip #5 Be Obsessed with Performance Loading and Loading and Loa your map Changing Expectations Users will not wait for your app Easy to use software with little interaction The Refresh Button was so 1999 Current and Correct Data Be Obsessed With Performance Your end users expect it Use every trick in the book Revisit Compromise More important then ever with mobile 22
Tip #5 Be Obsessed with Performance Performance and Interactivity are expected in mapping sites today Consumers are impatient and to them, your application can never be fast enough Use every trick in the book to optimize your data and features for rapid display on the map Server-side rendering Attribute Queries / Pre Processed Data Tiling Weeding / Generalization / Redundant data sets No SQL / Non Transactional Data More important then ever when working over a mobile device 23
Tip #5 Be Obsessed with Performance 24
Tip #5 Be Obsessed with Performance Neighborhood: Orange County Great Park Homes for Sale:146 Schools: 9 Parks: 30 Population: 30,000 25
Tip #6: Don t wait for Perfection Don t wait the cloud is scalable & immediately usable Don t ignore the cloud s strengths: scalability & rapid implementation Be flexible - modular application design can better react to change Start small and continuously build with new data, functionality and users Encourage feedback from your early users let them drive future requirements Make sure what you do deploy is relevant, accurate and current Rome wasn t built in a day and neither will your Cloud GIS Twitter: @DMPInc 26
The Cloud Revolution is Here Your Cloud GIS Cheat-Sheet Spend your time making the technology work for your users, not making the technology work Cloud Computing changes how we build, maintain, and deploy apps and who uses them Understand what your users are doing Choose the right provider beware of imposters Build a solid foundation with data Be Obsessed with Performance Don t wait for perfection start today The Cloud is Key to GIS Success in the Future Twitter: @DMPInc 27
More information and Resources Digital Map Products Information www.digitalmapproducts.com www.citygis.com Mapping Best Practices Whitepapers, Articles, Videos www.digmap.com/resources/bestpractices.html Developer Resources Code Examples, Documentation, Trial www.spatialstream.com/microsite/examples.html Contact us On Twitter: @DMPInc sales@digmap.com, 888.322.MAPS (6277) Twitter: @DMPInc 28
Questions? Twitter: @DMPInc 29