Two points that are currently being discussed are the price of GIS data,
and Microsoft's entrance into GIS with MapPoint2000.
The prevailing opinion regarding GIS data is that it should be priced at
whatever the market will bear, which at this time seems relatively high.
With Microsoft's bundling of MapPoint, Claritas Demographic data, and
GDT DynaMap 2000 for a mere $109, it seems that the cost of that data
has been considerably lower than the price. How else could these two
data providers afford to supply it to Microsoft for a fraction of what
individual GIS professionals have been paying.
If MapPoint is successful and GIS does get a strong foothold into
everyday business software, will data providers still be able to charge
thousands of dollars for data, or will they be forced to sell at a much
lower price? It would be hard to image a business user who spends $109
for MapPoint spending $5000 for data.
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Ken Fioretti - [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
CBA Industries, Inc - (201) 587-1717
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