Digital Strategies
Leading the pack, GIS becomes an information asset
By Peggy Ammerman

Gone are the days when a GIS could simply rest on its laurels, making data and applications available to just a privileged few and deriving its value from mere existence. Today, a GIS must get to work and prove its worth as an "information asset." For those in the business of managing the GIS information asset, "the good news," as told by Larry Downes and Chunka Mui in their 1998 tome Unleashing the Killer App: Digital Strategies for Market Dominance, "is that there's a new item in the asset columnÉyour information assets." Killer App, which is quickly becoming the handbook of the nanosecond for those attempting to manage organizations amidst what the authors term the "digital age of anxiety" calls for digital strategies or killer apps as the fulcrum for leveraging such assets as information.
    According to Killer App, digital strategies or killer apps embody several laws and design principles, including Metcalfe's Law, named for 3Com founder and innovator of the Ethernet protocol Robert Metcalfe. His law directly applies to GIS information assets in maintaining that "networks," such as networks of information, or people "dramatically increase in value with each additional node or user."
    That's where off-the-shelf strategies come into play with geospatial data. The off-the-shelf tactics used to peddle GIS data today are borrowing from mass merchandising principles that package and present data in a manner that gets the information into the hands of a wide array of consumers - "networks" of people. In retailing, leading the off-the-shelf classification are "category killers," and at the heart of every category killer is a killer application or killer app. According to the book Killer App such an application is "a new good or service that establishes an entirely new categoryÉreturning several hundred percent on the initial investment." The authors cite the personal computer, electronic funds transfer and the first word processing program as examples of killer apps.
    Phil Worrall, general manager of Information Delivery Service, known simply as IDS, a digital map publishing service and a division of Analytical Surveys, Inc. (ASI), contends that at the heart of the IDS off-the-shelf GIS data product is a killer app which ultimately brands IDS a category killer. As a digital map publishing service, Indianapolis, Indiana-based IDS custom produces CD-ROM products by the same name. Though IDS specializes in custom data publishing of an organization's GIS, related data and the IDS Microsoft¨ Windowsª viewing software on CD-ROM, the IDS product has all the trappings of an off-the-shelf product - being readily available, affordable, and easy to use by the masses.
    Worrall is quick to label IDS a killer app as it operates according to the killer app laws and design principles. In addition to Metcalfe's Law, IDS goes hand-in-hand with the other Killer App laws including what might be called the outsourcing rule in today's terms and originally postulated by economist Ronald Coase in the 1930s. It charges organizations with only performing those functions which cannot be performed smarter, better, and cheaper by another organization. Lastly, Killer App adheres to the axiom formulated by Intel founder Gordon Moore that says as microchip density and thus computing power doubles, prices remain constant.
    Pointing to the "new category" definition of killer app, Worrall says, IDS is unlike any other offering among the off-the-shelf GIS category as it redefines the way GIS data is distributed. IDS draws on soft strengths such as ease of use and a familiar Windows interface as well as a powerful technical solution for consolidating and compressing data on a CD-ROM for quick access. "IDS breaks down the barriers to GIS access" Worrall says by packaging the GIS data and the viewing tool together. This ease-of-use factor that makes GIS and mapping data available to practically anyone points to another Killer App Metcalfe observation that says "new technologies are valuable only if many people use them." In line with Metcalfe's Law, Larry Stout P.E., manager of the Hamilton County, Indiana GIS says quite simply "one measure of our success with GIS is the number of people who are using it." To that end, Stout is pursuing strategies to distribute GIS data both internally, to county government offices, cities and towns countywide, and to the public through IDS. Hamilton County covers roughly 400 square miles and a population hovering around 150,000.
    At the core of the IDS digital map publishing service is a highly effective process and technology for data compression and the proprietary Windows viewer software. In a nutshell, IDS takes an organization's digital imagery, GIS, mapping, and other data and compresses it. As a rule, 15 gigabyte imagery gets squeezed down to just 1 GB, and depending on the complexity and format of the data and model, vector data is compressed at ratios ranging from 3:1 to 20:1. As a result, Worrall says "a ton of GIS data," including digital orthoimagery easily fits on one 650-MB CD-ROM. "The point is," Worrall says "we can fit more data into a smaller space than anyone else can." He adds that "not only does that provide greater accessibility, the data is smaller so access speed is faster." After the data is compressed, it is packaged on CD-ROM with the Windows-based IDS Viewer software. Most IDS customers arrange for quarterly or semiannual updates of IDS. Because a GIS is usually a work in progress, the updating schedule allows IDS customers to reflect changes in their GIS and add new sets of data to IDS, which means value is continuously being added to the GIS.
    ASI, parent of IDS, has broad-based expertise in land base development, photogrammetry, field inventory, GIS data conversion, and digital mapping. ASI's Chief Technical Officer David Hicks notes that "customers demand high-quality data as a foundation of any GIS." He adds that, IDS can draw on ASI's considerable software development and data translation experience, which means "customers can focus on making better business decisions and less on data translation." Hicks says that "where IDS makes a real difference is in reducing the barrier between data and software, the roadblocks to a smooth workflow." IDS bundles the viewing software with the data, which means, Worrall says, "You don't have to deal with synchronization, licensing, or buying software to view the data." Worrall explains that, as with other successful electronic publishing ventures like Microsoft's Encarta that package information on CD-ROM with a mechanism for accessing the data, the killer app takes back seat and simply enables easy, fast access to the data. The focus of the product is the data, rather than the killer app. "Our ability to tear away cumbersome access tools and learning curves is part of the innovation that qualifies IDS as a killer app."
    Perhaps one of the most significant capabilities that separates IDS from the competition and qualifies it as a true killer app is its unique ability to create a finished product from virtually nothing via a digital strategy. Regardless of whether the data exists as a full-blown GIS or simply as independent sets of data, IDS can bring together disparate sources and formats of information and give the information meaning. IDS has even been adding new data from federal agencies such as FEMA, NOAA, USGS, NWIS and the Census Bureau. This new data is registered or combined with an organization's existing GIS data during the IDS publishing process, which is another way to add value to the GIS. Once the data is brought together and presented in some sort of a contextual framework through IDS data publishing, the IDS Viewer is the tool that makes the information meaningful through robust yet simple to use commands and tools. Case in point, when the City of Reno, Nevada, came to IDS, it "didn't have a GIS" says Bob Gottsacker P.E., principal engineer for the Community Development Department. Reno had "fragments of a GIS with data scattered in various places," Gottsacker explains. Reno, a city of 160,000, spreads across roughly 60 square miles. "It's almost been a guerrilla movement to get bits and pieces put together." Reno had a parcel base, aerial imagery and contour data for a portion of the city, and had mapped the entire sewer system. In addition, Reno had AutoCAD maps from the Planning Department. IDS put the parcel and sewer maps on one side of the screen display and listed the AutoCAD maps available for viewing on the other side. To retrieve and display the downtown redevelopment and other AutoCAD maps, the user simply points and clicks on the map title from the list.
    Gottsacker says he first saw IDS in operation as part of an impromptu demonstration of the Indianapolis IDS product during a visit to the city. In July 1997, the Indianapolis IDS product was among the first IDS products that was distributed internally as well as to the public through an outside sales and marketing program handled by IDS. After 1-year of what would be seen by the retailing world as passive marketing, the off-the-shelf product rang up an impressive $100,000 in sales, attesting to strong public demand for such a GIS data product. The simple promotion plan relied heavily on the city's well-oiled publicity mechanism. Another tactic was placing stacks of product fliers at various public service counters throughout the city. The idea was to get the fliers into the hands of engineers, contractors, attorneys and others who frequently request maps and other GIS data from the city. The Indianapolis IDS product is now releasing its third update or version.
    Indianapolis has a full-blown GIS, the Indianapolis Mapping and Geographic Infrastructure System (IMAGIS), which takes in 417 square miles and now contains over 90 layers of data and was one of the largest multi-participant programs when it was launched in 1987. Gottsacker says, "I was really curious because they weren't using one of the GIS tools, which are exceedingly slow for looking at GIS information." Gottsacker recalls that as he watched a user moving around in IDS, "I went wild" and asked, "What in the heck are you using?" Gottsacker says, the user's response was "Oh, let me show you the digital orthos too," and he started panning across the screen. Gottsacker says, "I mean seamless panning across this stuff!" Then, Gottsacker says, "He tells me this is all on one CD-ROM!" That's when "I got really excited," Gottsacker adds. With IDS, Gottsacker hoped to equip the city's "counter personnel" with "a quick way to dispense information." The city has also made IDS available to other public agencies. The regional transportation authority is using IDS to map out bus routes and the police are using it for neighborhood studies. With IDS viewer tools such as Notes and Marker, the police are attaching text notes and markers which are flag symbols to views, then saving the views and in essence, Gottsacker says "creating their own layers" of information which can be retrieved for future reference. Reno also plans to pursue a public distribution program.
    Like the City of Reno, Hamilton County is also pursuing an internal distribution program that will distribute IDS county-wide to various public agencies and later, will pursue a public distribution program. Stout says a major benefit of IDS is that "the more the data is used, the more valid it becomes." Plus, Stout says, IDS "will let us speak a common language" and support field personnel with GIS data throughout the county. Hamilton County is adjacent to Marion County where Indianapolis is located and for the public distribution initiative Stout says the county "hopes to feed off the Indianapolis IDS product sales and momentum." After all, Stout notes, "most of the firms doing work in Marion County also do work in Hamilton County" adding, "it's just a no-brainer."
    Another factor that makes a product such as IDS fit the off-the-shelf category is its ease of use. Worrall says because IDS is based on Windows, it is familiar to any PC user. Usually, no more than an hour of training is required to equip users with all the knowledge they need to fully operate IDS. "In fact," Worrall quips "you don't even have to know what GIS means" to access data through IDS. Gottsacker says the built-in IDS Help program is particularly useful, noting it is "almost as good as a tutorial, the information is so clear, very simple to use, and explained in a way that makes sense."
    The trend sweeping across the GIS landscape these days is Internet-enabled access to GIS maps and data. While the Internet is expected to play a role in Hamilton County's GIS data distribution plan, Stout says that he "anticipates some overlap between the Internet and IDS." The Internet will probably fit the needs of the casual user, however Stout notes that "the county inspector in the field won't have a cell phone link to the Internet anytime soon," making IDS the optimum choice for distributing the data. Reno's Gottscaker also sees a promising role for the Internet in delivering GIS data but as to speed of access, Gottsacker says "if you plan to download GIS maps, you had better go get a cup of coffee and make a sandwich because it's going to be a while." Because IDS compresses the data and puts it on CD-ROM, "it's quick and you can take the data with you and use it on a laptop PC," Worrall says. "Limitations with the Internet are related to the technologies that deliver the data," Worrall notes, "not the applications."
    In publishing the City of Indianapolis IDS CD-ROM product, Gregg Gallant who headed up the effort and at the time was the city's Division of Permits Administrator and the Mayor's technology guru says IDS served as one of the catalysts that has re-energized the 10-year old Indianapolis GIS program IMAGIS. "IDS was ideally suited for the value awareness strategy," Gallant says, adding, "IDS is a unique and innovative product and service that sets the standard for user-friendly access to GIS data." His thinking was to increase the taxpayers' and city fathers' exposure to IMAGIS so they could see the value in continuing to support the city's GIS information asset. Over the next few years, roughly $20 million is being invested in data maintenance, new data layers, and custom end-user applications based on the original GIS data asset. Gallant adds "IDS was both the first piece of this investment and is an on-going distribution strategy that allows city and county government agencies, the business community and the public to realize the benefits from the investment."
    As an affordable method to distribute GIS data, Worrall says an IDS "starter kit" which consists of around 100 CD-ROMs and 50 network licenses breaks down to about $100 per CD and license. Typically, utility customers arrange for quarterly updates and local governments can get by with cutting new IDS CDs every six months, Worrall says. As an option, public distribution sales and marketing of the IDS product can be handled as an available service from IDS. Market pricing ranges from $150 to $1500 depending on the area covered and data contents and usually includes a royalty percentage paid back to the owner of the data. For example, royalties paid to the City of Indianapolis go the GIS maintenance fund.
    "The customer is the best product developer," is another Killer App design principle and a strategy that IDS uses in adding enhancements and new capabilities to each release of the IDS Viewer software. "There are thousands of individual IDS users, and what we learn on one project is applied to every other project," Worrall notes. A good example of a customer-driven capability is the recent addition of a Microsoft Access database function to the IDS Viewer, a suggestion that came from Illinois Power Company, a major utility user of IDS. Illinois Power also suggested the addition of a field plotting application to print maps on demand in the field. In many ways, Illinois Power and its work with IDS for field engineering and operations has been the source and proving ground for several new enhancements. To support a large international client the IDS software was recently translated into Portuguese, Spanish, and French.
    Future updates to the IDS Viewer are also on the drawing board. Expanded database capabilities, new raster imagery options, and COM-enabling the software are among the planned enhancements. Microsoft's component object module (COM) technology allows the development of custom ActiveX and object linking and embedding (OLE) applications. For example, Worrall explains, using OLE, an interactive IDS map object could be embedded in a Microsoft Word or HTML document, as compared to inserting static map graphics.
    Finally, a criteria that might not fit the laws and design principles of a killer app going strictly by the book Killer App, but nevertheless what Worrall feels is a distinguishing killer app feature of IDS is "the fun factor." Worrall says, "Let's face it, people aren't going to sit around and use a technology-driven tool if they don't enjoy it. There is a huge value in a killer app that is fun to use."

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