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Using Internet Technologies to Compete Effectively
Roger Reich
PE
Sr. Product Manager
3330 Oakwell Court Suite 110
San Antonio, TX 78218
Roger Reich
PE
Sr. Product Manager
3330 Oakwell Court Suite 110
San Antonio, TX 78218
In the past, database architectures segregated standard business information such as human resources, IT, financials, maintenance management, facility management, fleet management, CAD and geospatial (GIS)1 data such as earth imagery, maps, and object information. This was necessary because standard database technology didn’t effectively manage large spatial data sets and relational information at the same time.
The technology level, at that time, required companies to create islands of information for every department and each independent office. In many instances duplicating information that didn’t stay data synced from the first day it was loaded causing decision making problems the instance it was first used across departmental or office lines.
The Internet once thought of as entertainment or the place to find static information is quickly becoming an essential way of doing business in every facet of the business world today. If you ever thought that businesses resides only as bricks and mortar, look at what Amazon and Barnes and Noble have done to the book e-commerce industry.
Providing Access to Infromation via the Intranet and Inernet
Today in the enterprise environment, the islands of information have to go away. The key is integrating key corporate infrastructure support functions to optimally support corporate strategy and get that information to the personnel and customers who need it. It is a reality that thinking and working geographically gives advantages to the decision makers in every company because it allows organizations to create maps, integrate information, visualize scenarios, present ideas and develop effective solutions over a large region. Serving GIS and mapping information on the Web lets you communicate geographically with your staff and clients via the Internet.
Right now the spatial information management market resides in three areas, all of which could be overlaid with an Internet solution:
Just think, we now have over 3.2 million web sites to surf and all are competing for your customer’s attention and dollars. If you don’t have the correct information, your competitor is just another site away. Today there are 159 million people online. International Data estimates that 510 million people will be online worldwide by 2003.
The Internet: a Revolution in the way we will do Busines
Some of the questions you must answer today are:
As an example let’s pick the Utilities industry and see what is occurring worldwide. Work efficiencies must be improved to compete in a market that is now turning towards deregulation and privatization. The need to provide and maintain a cost-effective and strategically designed infrastructure to support the myriad of evolving services is the mandate of the future. Utility companies are expected to improve customer service while at the same time they reduce costs.
One of the business changes requires spatial information (GIS) to be moved from the AM/FM mapping department and become integrated into the total information infrastructure. Today information infrastructure includes productivity management, work management, customer support and full dispatch services. Just think about the amount of information that we have to filter through each day to make decisions. If it is incorrect or incomplete, what effect does that have on the efficiencies of the work force? We have to find ways this will be done for us more automatically, with a comfort level that we are seeing all the “right” information. Information and the ability to effectively manage it will determine the winners in tomorrow’s competitive marketplace.
Today the reality is that spatial and conventional relational data can be maintained together in an object based–relational database. What information types are needed to make a decision is not the problem any more. GIS information is becoming part of the critical path customer support system by providing call center addressing support, vehicle routing, asset location, maintenance support information, customer management and billing, special assessments, permits and inspections.
The Vision of Integrated Infrastructure Management:
Imagine a computer application that emulates an infrastructure system in order to facilitate analysis, understand the infrastructure operation, and determine the impact of alternative management practices to improve decision-making. The system would integrate information from existing and planned information systems including GIS and CAD, permitting, call centers, operations, planning groups, warehousing, purchasing, project management, engineering design and accounting. Each of these groups would maintain their own data but all departments would share it seamlessly. Today this is all possible through the use of Web-based technology.
Figure 1: Enterprise Wide Integrated Computing
Internet-Enabled Operations
Question: Can you really run your business on the Internet?
Answer: You can’t afford NOT TO. The question should be… How can I best use the new technology? The obvious business benefits are:
Now that we understand the technology benefits let’s take the next step and look at the opportunities this advanced technology gives you to link various data types, and improve your business processes while improving customer service: Let’s continue using our example of a Utility Company.
Linking to GIS: Utilities have already invested heavily in GIS mapping but it has been used primarily in engineering departments. This data needs to be integrated with field operations and customer service and the web is the means to do this. All assets should be referenced by location to support spatial analysis while maintaining feature level information associated with plans, costs and activities. What this means is that every object is unique in the world by asset identification number and by a location within an electronic map. The map also maintains attribute information about each object and is linked to other databases with additional information about that asset such as maintenance history, condition evaluation and associated information such as O&M manuals, trouble shooting guides, etc. [See Figure. 2]
Linking to Integrated Databases: Data is linked from multiple systems (modeling, condition, financial, maintenance, etc.) using standard methods. This information needs to be shared.
Timeline Data View: Data is time-oriented, allowing historical, current and future conditions to be reflected as well as predicting future demands affecting future maintenance support.
User Specific Presentation: Managers, engineers, operations managers and field crews require different information or different presentation of the information. The web is a user-friendly environment.
Document Management: Associated information, such as CAD drawings, text documents, spreadsheets, photos, schedules, charts and graphs, that is related to each unique asset is managed and linked to the asset.
Enterprise-Wide Database: Data collection, management and integration are standardized.
Figure 2: Assets are spatially located in layers within a GIS Map
Challenges and Benefits of Business on the Internet
The challenge will be in how to transform your business into an e-business while continuing to provide, and improve, the existing customer services. Some people will tell you to throw out the old business model but the best approach appears to be a tiered stepped approach that lets you manage the combined on-line and off-line services and product sales until the customer has accepted the new methods. When in doubt find outside help—you have to start or be left in the dust.
In addition to improving the external information sharing process, Internet technology also helps you compete more effectively
With this new integrated technology, you can establish your organizational hierarchy, identify the work tasks for each position and then link the required data and information for those tasks to be performed. The user of the application is sent the data to do his tasks automatically, based on the identified workflow. There is no more fumbling around looking for information or data and not being sure that you have all the current data to make the right decision. What does this do for you? It allows you to establish standard operating procedures for the following:
Computers are becoming more connected through open networks, TCP/IP and HTTP networks. The networks include everything from large servers to small hand-helds and eventually to wearable computers. GIS is beginning to use databases that are scaled – from small inexpensive personal databases to very large ones. We need to stop thinking about GIS as a project or as engineering data and start thinking of GIS as a part of a coordinated information system that is accessible and updated by our employees, remote sensing devices and customers.
E-Commerce between businesses is five times bigger than consumer e-commerce and was about $43 billion last year. Forester Research Inc. figures that by 2003 it will balloon to $1.3 trillion. That’s 10-times bigger than consumer e-commerce and by 2006 it might reach 40% of all US business.
As Intranets and Internets continue to evolve, the communications networks are getting much bigger. In the last year the Internet has tripled in capacity and we are now seeing an order of magnitude increase in network performance in Intranet implementations on the existing network cabling systems. As the transmission systems are upgraded the bandwidth will continue to be expanded allowing more graphical information to be used. GIS use and information will continue to be expanded into all parts of our lives.
GIS and GIS technology are being embedded in all sorts of things.
The future will favor those organizations that successfully manage their information and knowledge and provide open access to everyone in our organizations – perhaps even open access – public access. Sharing information quickly across the Internet will allow quicker, more effective decisions based on rational accurate spatially based information.
Bottom Line: The Internet is nothing less than a revolution in commerce – don’t be left behind.
The technology level, at that time, required companies to create islands of information for every department and each independent office. In many instances duplicating information that didn’t stay data synced from the first day it was loaded causing decision making problems the instance it was first used across departmental or office lines.
The Internet once thought of as entertainment or the place to find static information is quickly becoming an essential way of doing business in every facet of the business world today. If you ever thought that businesses resides only as bricks and mortar, look at what Amazon and Barnes and Noble have done to the book e-commerce industry.
Providing Access to Infromation via the Intranet and Inernet
Today in the enterprise environment, the islands of information have to go away. The key is integrating key corporate infrastructure support functions to optimally support corporate strategy and get that information to the personnel and customers who need it. It is a reality that thinking and working geographically gives advantages to the decision makers in every company because it allows organizations to create maps, integrate information, visualize scenarios, present ideas and develop effective solutions over a large region. Serving GIS and mapping information on the Web lets you communicate geographically with your staff and clients via the Internet.
Right now the spatial information management market resides in three areas, all of which could be overlaid with an Internet solution:
- AM/FM and land information systems.
- Business Support applications
- Production level applications
Just think, we now have over 3.2 million web sites to surf and all are competing for your customer’s attention and dollars. If you don’t have the correct information, your competitor is just another site away. Today there are 159 million people online. International Data estimates that 510 million people will be online worldwide by 2003.
The Internet: a Revolution in the way we will do Busines
Some of the questions you must answer today are:
- How do you effectively distribute business-related data to your staff and clients?
- How can you effectively receive information from your staff and clients in a timely manner?
- How can you effectively provide remote customer services and have all necessary information in the hands of your remote employees?
- How can you help remote users conduct rapid analysis to make informed decisions?
- How do you allow data to reside anywhere, but make it accessible from anywhere (with privileges)
- How do you serve any type of data: documents, tables, databases, sound, video, maps, and real-time data?
- How do you manage remote employees’ time sheets, work orders, drawing updates and keep them on the site being productive?
- How are you going to expand your business regionally, nationally globally?
- How do you track your fleet and equipment off site?
As an example let’s pick the Utilities industry and see what is occurring worldwide. Work efficiencies must be improved to compete in a market that is now turning towards deregulation and privatization. The need to provide and maintain a cost-effective and strategically designed infrastructure to support the myriad of evolving services is the mandate of the future. Utility companies are expected to improve customer service while at the same time they reduce costs.
One of the business changes requires spatial information (GIS) to be moved from the AM/FM mapping department and become integrated into the total information infrastructure. Today information infrastructure includes productivity management, work management, customer support and full dispatch services. Just think about the amount of information that we have to filter through each day to make decisions. If it is incorrect or incomplete, what effect does that have on the efficiencies of the work force? We have to find ways this will be done for us more automatically, with a comfort level that we are seeing all the “right” information. Information and the ability to effectively manage it will determine the winners in tomorrow’s competitive marketplace.
Today the reality is that spatial and conventional relational data can be maintained together in an object based–relational database. What information types are needed to make a decision is not the problem any more. GIS information is becoming part of the critical path customer support system by providing call center addressing support, vehicle routing, asset location, maintenance support information, customer management and billing, special assessments, permits and inspections.
The Vision of Integrated Infrastructure Management:
Imagine a computer application that emulates an infrastructure system in order to facilitate analysis, understand the infrastructure operation, and determine the impact of alternative management practices to improve decision-making. The system would integrate information from existing and planned information systems including GIS and CAD, permitting, call centers, operations, planning groups, warehousing, purchasing, project management, engineering design and accounting. Each of these groups would maintain their own data but all departments would share it seamlessly. Today this is all possible through the use of Web-based technology.
Figure 1: Enterprise Wide Integrated Computing
Internet-Enabled Operations
Question: Can you really run your business on the Internet?
Answer: You can’t afford NOT TO. The question should be… How can I best use the new technology? The obvious business benefits are:
- Platform neutrality: Applications that run in a Browser run on various operating systems.
- Global Availability: The Browser and server can be located anywhere in your service area and can provide two-way data and information.
- Automatic Software distribution: The Browser is the universal client. No other software is needed. The current, latest-and-greatest version of an application is automatically available.
- Workflow Computing: One application supports the workflow processes of many distributed groups within a company. (i.e., call center, maintenance, warehouse, purchasing, GIS and CAD, engineering, HR, etc.) [see Figure. 1]
- Supporting more users: Web application servers can build their business applications on the fly, selectively configuring components to match the user’s security and circumstances. The user only has access to the data required to do his job.
Now that we understand the technology benefits let’s take the next step and look at the opportunities this advanced technology gives you to link various data types, and improve your business processes while improving customer service: Let’s continue using our example of a Utility Company.
Linking to GIS: Utilities have already invested heavily in GIS mapping but it has been used primarily in engineering departments. This data needs to be integrated with field operations and customer service and the web is the means to do this. All assets should be referenced by location to support spatial analysis while maintaining feature level information associated with plans, costs and activities. What this means is that every object is unique in the world by asset identification number and by a location within an electronic map. The map also maintains attribute information about each object and is linked to other databases with additional information about that asset such as maintenance history, condition evaluation and associated information such as O&M manuals, trouble shooting guides, etc. [See Figure. 2]
Linking to Integrated Databases: Data is linked from multiple systems (modeling, condition, financial, maintenance, etc.) using standard methods. This information needs to be shared.
Timeline Data View: Data is time-oriented, allowing historical, current and future conditions to be reflected as well as predicting future demands affecting future maintenance support.
User Specific Presentation: Managers, engineers, operations managers and field crews require different information or different presentation of the information. The web is a user-friendly environment.
Document Management: Associated information, such as CAD drawings, text documents, spreadsheets, photos, schedules, charts and graphs, that is related to each unique asset is managed and linked to the asset.
Enterprise-Wide Database: Data collection, management and integration are standardized.
Figure 2: Assets are spatially located in layers within a GIS Map
Challenges and Benefits of Business on the Internet
The challenge will be in how to transform your business into an e-business while continuing to provide, and improve, the existing customer services. Some people will tell you to throw out the old business model but the best approach appears to be a tiered stepped approach that lets you manage the combined on-line and off-line services and product sales until the customer has accepted the new methods. When in doubt find outside help—you have to start or be left in the dust.
- Informational Web site: where you offer useful and up–to-date information about your company, your company’s products and services. This is where most companies are now.
- Community Services: Reinvent customer service. As traffic starts to generate on your site, you add Community services such as online newsgroups, bulletin boards and moderated discussion forums where users who are interested in your company products and servicescan help each other. Get involved in your customer’s business. People from all over the world are congregating into virtual communities on the web. You might want to consider bundling services such as chat rooms and free e-mail.
- Customer Support: By capturing and analyzing the “business intelligence” you gather about these customers, you can then add customer support for existing products and services. At this level you also add references to your Alliance Partners sites. You may want to have announcements for joint seminars or have them online and pull experts in your field together to discuss solutions for your client’s needs. You need to maintain your customer’s loyalty.
- Product Sales: Expand your existing product line to new and existing products that now can be purchased through on-line sales. Make sure that you have the database and financial links supported before going to this level.
In addition to improving the external information sharing process, Internet technology also helps you compete more effectively
- Lowering Overhead costs: e-business helps lower costs. (A 5 % cost reduction has the same impact on the bottom-line as a 30% increase in sales.)
- Billing: The cost of producing and processing an invoice electronically is 10 times cheaper than traditional methods
- Customer Support: The cost of responding to a customer-service request using Internet based self-service is five-times cheaper than a call center transaction.
- Personnel Productivity: The ability to keep field people in the field working by having them send in their time sheets and completed work orders while sending them new tasks and maps in the field greatly increases their productivity.
- E-Business: e-business helps keep customers, improve operational efficiencies, supports expanding geographical markets, delivers product and services more efficiently
With this new integrated technology, you can establish your organizational hierarchy, identify the work tasks for each position and then link the required data and information for those tasks to be performed. The user of the application is sent the data to do his tasks automatically, based on the identified workflow. There is no more fumbling around looking for information or data and not being sure that you have all the current data to make the right decision. What does this do for you? It allows you to establish standard operating procedures for the following:
- Forecasts costs by department,
- Prioritize infrastructure components, for new construction, maintenance, replacement or rehabilitation,
- Predict maintenance practices for specific infrastructure features,
- Track and report actual and planned costs,
- Improve workflow efficiency, by reducing the time looking for information to do the job (reported as being up to 30% of the project)
- Maximize field time by supporting workflow management for submitting time sheets, closing out work orders, and updating maps and drawings from the field.
- Geographically-enable the workforce
- Limit data integrity problems
- Enhance decision making,
- Improve customer service by reducing customer wait time
- Provide a “sense of a customer community” that can support each other through your web site.
- Improve rate structure validation,
- Two-way customer access to certain information.
- Get the product(s) to a larger service area without adding sales personal
- Customer support can be provided on a 24-hour/7-day process.
Computers are becoming more connected through open networks, TCP/IP and HTTP networks. The networks include everything from large servers to small hand-helds and eventually to wearable computers. GIS is beginning to use databases that are scaled – from small inexpensive personal databases to very large ones. We need to stop thinking about GIS as a project or as engineering data and start thinking of GIS as a part of a coordinated information system that is accessible and updated by our employees, remote sensing devices and customers.
E-Commerce between businesses is five times bigger than consumer e-commerce and was about $43 billion last year. Forester Research Inc. figures that by 2003 it will balloon to $1.3 trillion. That’s 10-times bigger than consumer e-commerce and by 2006 it might reach 40% of all US business.
As Intranets and Internets continue to evolve, the communications networks are getting much bigger. In the last year the Internet has tripled in capacity and we are now seeing an order of magnitude increase in network performance in Intranet implementations on the existing network cabling systems. As the transmission systems are upgraded the bandwidth will continue to be expanded allowing more graphical information to be used. GIS use and information will continue to be expanded into all parts of our lives.
GIS and GIS technology are being embedded in all sorts of things.
- SAP is going to embed GIS in about 20,000 back office systems, so GIS will be in most of the Fortune 500 companies.
- Microsoft is working to put maps inside consumer products.
- City and Counties are using maps to have their citizens report utility problems in their neighborhoods, submit requests for building permits, notify neighborhoods of construction projects in their areas.
- Postal services are using GIS/GPS to track their vehicles
- Police departments are using GIS to notify their citizens where and what types of crimes are occurring and identifying the police actions through the investigation process. Citizens can also report incidents to the police at the same time.
- Realtor companies are using maps to identify the location of their new housing projects, the environmental conditions, the land use, and the access to retail and emergency facilities among other things.
- GPS and GIS are already in the car rental, train and shipping industries.
- USGS already has over $20 billion dollars invested in spatial data assets and growing at the rate of $4 billion per year, and that is just one governmental agency.
The future will favor those organizations that successfully manage their information and knowledge and provide open access to everyone in our organizations – perhaps even open access – public access. Sharing information quickly across the Internet will allow quicker, more effective decisions based on rational accurate spatially based information.
Bottom Line: The Internet is nothing less than a revolution in commerce – don’t be left behind.