I'm in the process of developing a plan for a consulting business that
helps small organizations set-up and use GIS with open source software.
I've got what I hope will be an interesting question for my fellow
Geowankers.
Most of us know that businesses like Wal-Mart can sell their products
cheaply because they are such a massive company. They get to buy in
bulk, they can strong-arm vendors, they have the option to centrally
locate distribution centers, and so on.
In a (somewhat) similar way I know that the cost-benefit ratio for GIS
becomes more attractive with size. I am curious if there has been any
research into determining at which size GIS becomes "practical", or at
what size the benefits begin to outweigh the cost. This is difficult for
me to put into words, so let me give an example that helps to
demonstrate my concept:
A small utility company manages delivery of electricity and natural gas
to rural customers. At what point is the cost of setting-up and
maintaining a GIS worth the benefits and savings the GIS will bring?
When the utility company has 10 customers? 100 customers? 1,000
customers? 10,000 customers?
I realize that the answer to this question depends on many variables,
such as the type of organization, the software used, and the quality of
the GIS design and implementation. However, I'm looking for some general
rules or principles.
"How big is big enough?" Big enough for a GIS that is...
How does open source GIS programs change this equation? If an
organization utilizes open source software the start-up cost of GIS can
decrease dramatically. (Can you say ESRI licensing fees...) It could
even be argued that the maintenance costs of a GIS would be lower with
open source GIS software as well. Does open source software make GIS
practical for organizations that aren't quite "big enough" for the
traditional GIS implementation?
I'm hoping to use this information to identify target customers that
don't realize the benefits of GIS because of the prohibitive cost. In
essence, I'm trying to identify the organizations that aren't so big
that a $14,000 license fee goes unnoticed, but big enough that a GIS
built on open source software can bring real benefits.
Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions.
The Sunburned Surveyor
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