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Electric Energy T&D - Index

Electric Energy T&D - EE Magazine March / April 2009 - Index

GIS technology platform, which is now in
over 300,000 organizations. We have not
been distracted by other business activities
and are very aggressive in our software
engineering development efforts. We invest
nearly 0% of our revenue in advancing our
products. Our approach is to listen closely
to what our users want in the product and
embrace the newest technology and evolve
our platform as a result. This continuous
development has sometimes resulted in truly
breakthrough GIS technologies. Looking
back over the years, however, I believe it’s
the continued focus on our users – including
their problems and their criticisms – that
has been among our key success factors.
EET&D: As someone who has had the
opportunity to develop a truly global
perspective on geospatial market drivers,
issues and trends, I’m sure our readers
would like to know how you see the industry
evolving over the next 3-5 years, especially
given the rather dour economic outlook at
this point. Can you perhaps give us a few
data points from your personal crystal ball?
Dangermond: We know that the world’s
resources are limited. We also know we
are placing more and more strain on our
environment. Our infrastructures are
aging. On top of our economic crisis,
these problems are literally challenging
our sustainability. One of the reasons GIS
is growing so rapidly is that it responds to
the need to see our world holistically and
provides valuable information to help make
geographic decisions about how best to
respond to rising demands and diminishing
resources. GIS can help guide us.
One of my very first projects was finding the
right path to route a new transmission line.
We needed to understand the optimal way to
meet the added demands for electricity and,
in this case, to minimize the impact on the
environment. GIS was used to overlay all the
factors – social, environmental, economic,
landowners, etc. – and pick the optimum
route. The computer graphics we used were
not as good as what we have today, but the
quantitative and visual framework allowed
everyone to appreciate the solution – the
company, citizens, and regulatory authorities.
Today, we need more guidance than ever.
We believe that our technology and the
smart people who use it are changing the
world by solving problems using analytical
approaches that result in better decisions
and management.
EET&D: The current economic situation
being what it is, and with nearly everyone
in a state of concern about the future at
practically every level, I’d like to jump right
into your proposal for creating a National
GIS database – or GIS for the Nation, as you
call it. It certainly seems like a novel and
creative concept, but maybe you could start
with the salient points of what you have in
mind.
Dangermond: GIS for the Nation has to do
with server-based, Web-enabled GIS portals
for sharing information. This will create an
up-to-date comprehensive view of our nation
using GIS. Our new president wants and
March-April 2009 Issue I
The 2009 Automation/IT Leadership Series
needs this kind of system. His desire for
everyone to see where the stimulus money
is going, knowing that it’s going to the most
important things and will be managed with
full transparency and accountability, would
be directly addressed with such a system.
Geographic data including parcels, wildlife
habitats, land features, a base map,
topographic information, imagery, and
elevation models would all be part of this
system. Public and private users could
add and share their own data as a means
of collaborating and designing our future.
The idea is that it be multi-participant
and available to both public and private
applications. This program would deliver
benefits at all levels of government and
business that would result in better
decision-making, more collaboration and
better use of our resources. Also, the
level of communication would increase
dramatically.
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