From the Publisher
By Roland Mangold

A Tale of Two Geo-Spatial Industries

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was a time of unprecedented financial growth, it was a time of potential economic doom looming over the horizon. It was a time when tech stocks generated riches for shareholders, it was a time when earnings deprived dot com's evaporated billions of dollars. It was a time of change in political leadership, it was a time of little progress for the disenfranchised. It was a traditional mapping industry, it was an industry moving toward the unlimited potential of the Internet. There were satellites that launched and shone brightly, there were satellites that crashed and burned. It was an industry dependent upon government contracts, it was an industry struggling to become commercial.
      Charles Dickens' timeless classic A Tale of Two Cities is a study in contrasts between rich and poor, good and evil, the beautiful and the hideous, focused on London and Paris at the time of the French Revolution. "In short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only," is quoted from the novel. Dickens' account of society and the nature of man speaks equally well to our time. Regardless of how much has changed in 150 years, human nature has changed very little. And in this industry, as much as things have changed, some things remain very much the same.
      It would be simplistic and inaccurate to describe the GeoTechnology industry as two separate, opposing entities. This industry is much too fragmented and diversely populated to be represented as a dichotomy. Nonetheless, dichotomies do exist. This industry has paid witness to great success and bitter failure reflecting the nature of society today as well as that of over a century and a half ago. That which Dickens chronicled 150 years ago has not changed, in spite of phenomenal technological advancement and social enlightenment.
      The GeoTechnologies have had the good fortune of the successful launch and operation of Space Imaging's high-resolution satellite, Ikonos. In the next month or so, with the benefit of good luck and God's Grace, Earthwatch will launch and become the second high-resolution satellite company in operation. However, demand and logistics being what they are in the high-res satellite business, the user community is still having difficulty gaining access to the data.
      The potential benefits of GIS to the myriad users and the economic prize it represents to its vendors has been extensively prosetylized in EOM and dozens of publications in this industry and others. Yet, the landscape is strewn with organizations that have invested millions of dollars and have yet to realize the benefits of this technology. Dozens of GIS companies have disappeared, and hundreds are barely surviving while one stands alone at the top of the heap. ESRI is the undisputed leader in the GIS software realm - there are others on the radar screen but they can hardly contend.
      The traditional mapping/photogrammetry companies are experiencing the most prolific growth that this sector has ever enjoyed. Cities, counties, utilities as well as government agencies are needing to populate their geographic information systems with current, and increasingly accurate, base maps. Many of these mapping companies, as well as new entrants to the field, and well known established organizations wanting to vertically integrate in this industry are building geographic databases on speculation. They are creating online, e-commerce businesses to take advantage of the, as of yet, unrealized promise of the Internet. Yet, this is still an industry heavily dependent upon government contracts, and many of these new ventures will have their hopes dashed on the treacherous dot com reefs.
     Whether out of necessity or desire, from those who have the most to those who have the least, Dickens recognized 150 years ago, that man is never satisfied. The times have changed, but humanity has not. Dickens is as true today as he was in the 19th century. But, what if he were able to see the advancements in technology, government and social sciences, and their apparent benefits to civilization and the quality of life? Would he respond with the line from his novel Oliver Twist where the poor orphan boy, holding his meager bowl emptied of gruel up to the stern-faced headmaster, implores "Please sir, may I have more?"

Until next time . .
Cheers!

Roland Mangold
Publisher, EOM
E-mail: [email protected]

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