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Almost two hundred GIS specialists were present to hear how the UK based developer and supplier of GIS and web mapping software, has been working with customers to help them make cost savings by sharing their GIS resources. Cadcorp Marketing Manager, Richard Spooner, made a plea for the industry to stop hugging spatial data and spatial software, and start sharing. “The GIS industry can no longer use technical barriers to justify the duplication of resources” he argued. “We don’t have to wait for top-down reorganisation to bring about change. Collaboration – within and between organisations – is often all it takes, and this is something which GIS professionals can promote themselves.”
He quoted examples where Cadcorp customers had made significant cost savings by centralising spatial data and geoprocessing functionality. He pointed out that one of the most powerful means to reduce duplication is through ‘standardisation’, but was careful to add “standardisation doesn’t have to mean standardising on a single GIS technology.
That’s one of the reasons standards exist – to support interoperability.” While the conference was discussing ways to make efficiency savings in GIS, the Cabinet Office was announcing the Government ICT Strategy for the public sector. A central tenet of that strategy is to encourage the reuse and sharing of solutions and contracts.
Mike O’Neil, CEO of Cadcorp said “The theme of this year’s GeoDATA road show ‘Driving efficiency through geographic information’, is very timely, as publication of the Government’s ICT Strategy shows. We are pleased to continue to support the organisers – Training4GIS – in this highly regarded educational event.”The GeoDATA road show now moves on to Birmingham on the 5th April, and Leeds on the 7th April. To register, go to: http://www.geoinformationgroup.co.uk/training/geodata
