GIS software getting business data on map; cheaper hardware, PC software packages, U.S. Census Tigr format widen user base - geographic information systems - Client/Server Computing

Software Magazine, May, 1993 by Paul Korzeniowski

Cheaper hardware, PC software packages, U.S. Census Tigr format widen user base

Geography may not have been a popular subject for many high school students but it is becoming an appealing topic to a growing number of software suppliers. Geographic information systems (GIS) software represents a rapidly growing market. Daratech, Inc., a Cambridge, Mass., market research firm, estimated that worldwide GIS software revenue rose to $380 million in 1992, up 20% from $317 million in 1991.

Declining hardware prices, an increasing number of data sources and a broadening of the user base are the major reasons for the surge. And, observers do not see signs of an immediate sales slowdown. However, they caution that building GIS applications can be difficult.

GIS software combines database management system capabilities (DBMS) with mapmaking. Rather than using tables or charts, a GIS application displays information on a map. For instance, a company can display its regional sales data on a map of the United States. By entering information, users can examine the impact of changes, such as modifying regional boundaries, in a manner similar to entering Strcutured Query Language (SQL) commands with a relational DBMS.

Other similarities to DBMS packages exist. GIS suppliers typically offer add-on programming tools so corporations can design custom applications and generate specific reports. Consequently, user companies tailor their applications rathe than simply pass them out as generic tools, such as word processing packages.

GIS products also include optional gateways so users can input data from multiple sources, which can be relational DBMSs as well as various sources of mapping information. GIS technology is not new: Products have been available for more than a decade. However, the key suppliers have been relatively small, unknown firms with narrow marketing focuses. Traditionally, GIS systems were sold as turnkey systems, with the hardware and software bundled together. This technique, typical among new technologies, offered suppliers a way to differentiate their wares.

Performance is a key issue for GIS applications because the software relies heavily on memory- and processor-intensive graphics information. GIS software suppliers tailored their packages to run quickly on proprietary minicomputers or high-end Unix workstations.

Hardware suppliers such as Comutervision Corp., located in Bedford, Mass., with its System 9 GIS package, and Intergraph Corp., based in Huntsville, Ala., with its Modular GIS Environment (MGE), saw this market as a way to boost sales in the competitive workstation arena. In the process, they became leading GIS system suppliers. In 1992, Intergraph accounted for 20% GIS software revenues, and Computerversion accounted for 4%, according to Daratech.

EVOLUTION OF MARKET

In the past five years, GIS system packaging has changed dreamatically, with PCs having a major impact, according to observers. Both hardware advances --which have pushed PCs into line as performance competitors of low- end Unix workstations -- and the acceptance of the Windows operating environment from Microsoft Corp., Redmond, Wash., have broadened the base of graphic PC users.

This market opportunity prompted three changes. First, suppliers unbundled their products and began selling GIS software as well as turnkey systems. Second, GIS software suppliers expanded their platform support from high-end workstations and propietary minicomputers and built products that ran on PCs. Third, the availability of PC packages created another ripple: falling prices and a broadening of the customer base. Five years ago, a GIS system sold for $100,000 or more; currently, a corporation can purchase a system for as little as $15,000.

Falling prices have also broadened the number of graphics data sources. Historically, generating map information was difficult and time-consuming because programmers had to enter coordinates for each item. Improvements in scanning and imaging technology have made it simpler to enter map information, though, and small GIS suppliers have targeted the PC GIS market.

In 1990, the U.S. Census Bureau made all census data electronic in a format dubbed Tigr. The format ties together item such as median income and maps. Third-party firms now sell this informationto GIS suppliers and end users. Other government agencies, such as the U.S. Department of the Interior, have also begun to generate and sell various types of map information.

Initially, GIS software was geared to niche markets, suh as government agencies, and environmental companies. GIS software lets these users, who still represent the bulk of the market, work with maps to determine items such as how moch a taxpayer suouldhbe taxed, in the case of a city tax department; or the slope of a piece of land, in the case of an oil refinery.

The Cape Cod Cmmission, Barnstable Village, Mass., for instance, has used GIS software for five years. The agency exchanges GIS information with regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Massachusetts State Environmental Engineers, and U.S. Geographic Survey. Together, the various agencies examine the impact of new construction on local property and natural resources.