A beginner's guide to building an intranet-based GIS
Autodesk World
Autodesk World is another participant in Open GIS by providing seamless access to existing GIS
data, in their native formats. World’s open architecture allows users to integrate and manage
ARC/INFO, MapInfo, Intergraph, and other popular vector files in one place—without
converting them. Users can keep their data in the original format, or bring it permanently into the
World format. Format not currently supported out of the box can be added as a DLL by any third
party.
What is the best solution?
So, what solution is best for your organization? Well, that depends on your specific needs. Do
you currently have an enterprise-wide Intranet? What kind of budget do you have for distribution
of spatial data? Do you currently have data stored and maintained on a particular GIS platform?
Does the current database support multiple user groups that would benefit from this kind of
distribution? These questions, along with several others, need to be answered prior to selecting
the solution right for you.
Since the Smallworld, ESRI, and Bentley products require their own database or graphic formats
to publish intelligent web content, you must have already made a commitment to these platforms
to fully utilize their tools. On the other hand, with the more open solutions provided by
Intergraph, GeoMedia, and AutoDesk World products, organizations with data across multiple
platforms may find that versatility much more useful for the end users. That really is the goal for
all of these products, and for the technology as a whole—to make information available to the
greatest number of people at a low per-seat cost, to enhance marketing reach that makes your
products and services available to a virtually unlimited audience. The Internet, and locally the
Intranets, promise to provide the means to achieve those goals.
The Future
Internet/Intranet technology with regard to spatial data distribution is still maturing. The
technology exists today to make access to spatial data easy and secure. Government regulation
such as Oasis, FERC Orders 888, 889, 888A and 889A issued in 1996 and 1997 may help speed
up the process. The regulation states that the Internet will be used to disseminate information,
effectively mandating that the Internet be the exclusive channel for the $50 billion electric
transmission industry. Future mandates may provide the push necessary to force organizations to
utilize this technology. But in the end, it may just be time. It may take several more years, as
organizations experiment with this new medium, to realize the economy and versatility of
creating and distributing data via private Intranets and globally through the Internet. It will take
the work of the pioneers to begin proving solutions. Only then will the concerns of
Intranet/Intemet technology be fully answered and the promise of the technology filly realized.
References
- Goetz, JohrI and Peters, Steve, Global Compliance, 1997, “Corporate Intranets serve as powerfid
tools for incorporating best practices,” Electric Light & Power, pp. 25ii28.
- Heiberger, Carol A., 1998, “Utilities: Unsung pioneers of Internet Commerce,” Electric World, ,
PP. 62ii64.
- http://www.esri.com
- http://www.smallworld.co.uk
- http://www.bentley.com
- http://www.intergraph.com
- http://www.autodesk.com
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