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Enterprise GIS: Challenges
Dr. Satyaprakash
Associate Editor
satya@GISdevelopment.net
Although many of the organizations
are still in the second
or third stage of implementation
of GIS
i.e., either at the departmental or at the
inter departmental stage, there are a
significant number who are entering
into the fourth stage and some who
have already implemented the EGIS
and are reaping the benefits of such a
system.There exists an opportunity for
almost every organization to adopt GIS
at every stage, as it leverages the benefits
of location (geo) component to all
the facets of an organization. Although
it looks simple to implement GIS at
enterprise level, the real challenge lies
in its practical implementation, from
the level of conceptualization to the
level of making it work and for the
people to not only appreciate and maximise
the benefits of the system but
also to see that it is integrated
in almost all the day to day process
of the organization. It should reach to a
level where the spatial component
goes into the background and people
use the system, without realizing the
fact that they are using GIS!
However, the challenges are many
and they start from the time, one starts
thinking about implementing EGIS.
Following is a list of some of the challenges
faced by the organization while
implementing the EGIS. Although the
list is not exhaustive, it could serve as a
guideline for the implementers.
• GIS itself may be the source of
many of the problems. Of late, GIS
has become so visible and useful,
people often
underestimate it.
Even at the departmental level,
people consider the implementation
of GIS as a simple task of purchasing
the software and installing it! Same
philosophy goes into the implementation
of EGIS. In reality, developing an
EGIS is a complex task and should
involve prior and extensive planning,
discussing organizational issues, available
and required resources not only
for implementation but for its sustained
growth, development of data model for
the current and future data requirements,
and technical and management
challenges (Achieving
Enterprise GIS by
Rebecca Somers). Underestimating
the volume of
task associated with the
implementation often leads
to cost over-run, unacceptability
in the organization,
delay in implementation and
finally abandonment of the
project.
• The spatial as well as nonspatial
data to be used in the
system, the core of any GIS, is
another challenge being faced by
almost all the organization. Data is
information and information is power.
Till now, the data has been in the custody
of some individual in some department.
One is very reluctant to share the
data with others, which would otherwise
lead to decentralization of data
and would require relinquishing, the
said person, of his powers! However,
this needs to be resolved at the early
stage so that the data could be made
available to all the users.
• Challenge about the data is its
interoperability.
Even if the data is made
available, the data may not be in the
one common format. This necessitates
the need of a system where the data
could be made interoperable and there
is no need for a data format conversion.
The system should be such that it
accepts data in all the available format
and should have the capability to handle
the future data requirements. This
would also result in the seamless
updation of the existing data and data
exchange among organizations.
• Time allowed to
mature the technology
is another challenge in the implementation
of GIS at the enterprise level.
Every system take its time to get
embedded in the existing system and
same is true with EGIS. When the system
is implemented, everybody starts
looking at the results and RoI from day
one. People need time to get used to
the system and as soon as the system
matures, it becomes redundant. Once it
has become redundant, the technology
is said to have matured and has
reached to the stage4 of the system,
when everybody starts using it and
accepts the system to be a part of their
daily work culture.
Although there are barriers to the
implementation of EGIS in an orgainsation,
careful planning before its
implementation can actually remove
many of the hurdles and there could be
better EGIS in place.