The use of geospatial data is exploding on the Internet, going far beyond simply linking a home page to MapQuest.com for an "X" on a map. The panelists in this discussion from the Where 2005 conference represent four companies that are enabling the rise of geographically based data on the Internet: Steve Lombardi evangelizes the Microsoft viewpoint as a member of their MapPoint team; Chris Couper hails from IBM and talks about their attempts to open up access to georeferenced data; David McIlhagga and his DM Solutions have taken a completely open source approach and provide value on top of the MapTools suite; and moderator David Sonnen, as founder of Integrated Spatial Solutions, Inc., brings a consultant's viewpoint, having worked with many big names in GIS.
The discussion flows from a historical perspective - when GIS was mostly in the research lab and any commercial products were strictly proprietary - via an examination of how to fuse data from sources as diverse as US Census Bureau TIGER data, to live GPS and WiFi feeds, and on to proprietary databases and the use of modern languages such as VB.Net and Java. Other topics covered include not only the use of georeferenced data but applications such as "geofencing" - the corralling of an object within a geographic boundary.
As the panelists admit, no one knows just where geo-data will take us, or what great uses will be found for it, but it is certain that more and more people are looking and they've got more tools available to help them than ever before.
David Sonnen founded Integrated Spatial Solutions, Inc. in 1991. The company provides market development and software design to the spatial information management industry. Among its clients are Oracle, Microsoft, Autodesk, MapInfo, ESRI, IBM, and British Ordnance Survey.
Sonnen has been involved in the spatial Industry for more than 30 years. Before founding ISSI, Sonnen held senior positions in both commercial and government organizations. His Spatial Information Management reports are widely regarded as the industry's most accurate and influential in terms of thought leadership and economic information.
Chris Couper is an IBM distinguished engineer and leads the overall technical strategy for IBM’s Pervasive/Wireless e-business unit. Throughout 22 years with IBM in systems engineering, product development, consulting and services, he has designed and deployed solutions for a wide range of customers in transportation, communications, healthcare, public safety and health, and state government. As an IBM senior certified IT architect, Couper gained extensive experience in wireless and mobile communications systems and solutions.
Steve Lombardi is a technical evangelist in the MapPoint group at Microsoft. Among the products he covers are Pocket Streets, MapPoint Web Service, and the MapPoint Location Server.
David McIlhagga is the president of DM Solutions Group Inc., which he founded in 1998. McIlhagga has positioned DM Solutions Group as the leading provider of smart online mapping solutions based on open source spatial technologies. Prior to founding DM Solutions Group, McIlhagga worked as a senior applications specialist at TYDAC Research, where he focused on web-based GIS technologies. McIlhagga graduated from Carleton University with an Honors Bachelor's degree in Geography, concentrating on Geographic Information Processing.
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This free podcast is from our Where Conference series.
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