Distributed GIS

Distributed GIS refers to GI Systems that do not have all of the system components in the same physical location. This could be the processing, the database, the rendering or the user interface. Examples of distributed systems are web-based GIS and Mobile GIS. Distributed GIS refers to GI Systems that do not have all of the system components in the same physical location. This could be the processing, the database, the rendering or the user interface. Examples of distributed systems are web-based GIS and Mobile GIS. The term Distributed GIS was coined by Bruce Gittings at the University of Edinburgh. He was responsible for one of the first Internet-based distributed GIS. In 1994, he designed and implemented the World Wide Earthquake Locator, which provided maps of recent earthquake occurrences to a location-independent user, which used the Xerox PARC mapping system (based in California, USA), managed by an interface based in Edinburgh (Scotland), which drew data in real-time from the National Earthquake Information Center (USGS) in Colorado, USA. Gittings first taught a course in this subject in 2005 as part of the Masters Programme in GIS at that institution. Since there was no Wikipedia article relating to Distributed GIS at the time, he set his students the task of creating one in 2007 as a class exercise. Enterprise GIS refers to a geographical information system that integrates geographic data across multiple departments and serves the whole organisation. The basic idea of an enterprise GIS is to deal with departmental needs collectively instead of individually. When organisations started using GIS in the 1960s and 1970s, the focus was on individual projects where individual users created and maintained data sets on their own desktop computers. Due to extensive interaction and work-flow between departments, many organisations have in recent years switched from independent, stand-alone GIS systems to more integrated approaches that share resources and applications. Some of the potential benefits that an enterprise GIS can provide include significantly reduced redundancy of data across the system, improved accuracy and integrity of geographic information, and more efficient use and sharing of data. Since data is one of the most significant investments in any GIS program, any approach that reduces acquisition costs while maintaining data quality is important. The implementation of an enterprise GIS may also reduce the overall GIS maintenance and support costs providing a more effective use of departmental GIS resources. Data can be integrated and used in decision making processes across the whole organisation. A corporate Geographical Information System, is similar to Enterprise GIS and satisfies the spatial information needs of an organisation as a whole in an integrated manner. Corporate GIS consists of four technological elements which are data, standards, information technology and personnel with expertise. It is a coordinated approach that moves away from fragmented desktop GIS. The design of a corporate GIS includes the construction of a centralised corporate database that is designed to be the principle resource for an entire organisation. The corporate database is specifically designed to efficiently and effectively suit the requirements of the organisation. Essential to a corporate GIS is the effective management of the corporate database and the establishment of standards such as OGC for mapping and database technologies.