"Developing a Sustainable GIS"

LeslieGruen — Tue, 19 May 2015 13:26:56 GMT

Developing a Sustainable GIS

I read an article in ArcUser "Developing a Sustainable GIS" in which it explains what perceived as some sort of industry trend to use out of the box solutions in order to stay in business. Fundamentally, from my perspective, I don't think this is wise to follow such trends.

Caution - I'm a Techie...not a Bean Counter

Being that I come from the open source community (10+ years) it would seem to me, this off the shelf proprietary solutions "trend" is not necessarily the best solution for enterprise applications. I'm not a bean counter though so maybe it does keep the paychecks rolling in. I do own my own llc and have worked in diverse industries and pretty much have a good understanding of overall business concepts that bean counters use all the time (even created a cost benefit analysis app for a client).

The Organizations are Not Typically the Same

I feel, most enterprise applications are going to have to have some customization as not ALL organizations within a particular industry have the same needs. Sure, we can find all the similar needs but sometimes this is going to be necessary to give them customization.

My Mantra - Old Skool Full LAMP Stack Dev - Designer - UI/UX - Engineer - Architect - WhatchamacallUs

I try to make all my applications and solutions such my client is happy. If they want something (as long as it isn't off the wall) then I do it. I make it happen. If they want to keep a cms in which I can't even find to download the 1980s version 0.1 beta version that they have been running for several years, I hack it and make the thing work as best I can and then enhance it on top of that.

Thoughts?

Re: "Developing a Sustainable GIS"

TedKowal — Tue, 19 May 2015 15:14:17 GMT

I am a rebel of sorts and alway have an eye out and a foot in open source. I am not a believer in monopoly's being the "out of box" solution that fits all needs and so in spirit I can totally side with you.

However

Being a realist and have worked in many diverse contextual GIS arenas... The "less" riskier approach is staying within the mainstream, yes for now this includes the "out - of - the box" solutions. Look what the past 5 or so years have brought us, job lay offs, big turn over and such, the sustainability/most cost effective has been with the industry trends. Those who are now re-hiring and ramping up can employ from a much wider range of folk who have gone through the "current trends training".

Still in order not to be a dinosaur, there is a lot to be said for the rebels and new innovations to push the boundaries as you do. I keep in mind that 80 - 90 % of all IT innovations result in failure -- improperly managed can be disastrous -- no I am not a bean counter, but I still need a pay check

My philosophy is to push those boundaries every chance I reasonably can for that 20% success rate and to move the box further away from me still keeping the 'old tried true' as my bodyguard.

Ted

topic "Developing a Sustainable GIS" in Developers Questions

"Developing a Sustainable GIS"

Developing a Sustainable GIS

Caution - I'm a Techie...not a Bean Counter

The Organizations are Not Typically the Same

Re: "Developing a Sustainable GIS"