Consumer GIS/Software as a Service/Cloud Computing

Cost Effective GIS Technologies in Infrastructure Management
Lead Presenter:  Babu Krishnasamy, GISbiz Inc.
Copresenter:  Ian Charles Sorhaindo, Dominica Electricity Services Ltd

Keywords: standards, GOS, web services, open source, search and rescue, 3D
Vertical Interest Tags: WW; T; E; ER; PS; G; TR; CC; W

The necessity and complexity in effectively managing our infrastructure increases day by day, so does the availability of various geospatial technologies in the market place. It is therefore important for the infrastructure managers to constantly evaluate the technology options in order to implement the right solutions at their organizations. This presentation would explore how an electric power company from a developing nation took advantage of open source geospatial technologies in implementing a cost effective solution to manage its infrastructure.

Tuesday, April 27^th
9:30 a.m.

Water Right Banking: Robust GIS Data Management in the Central Platte Natural Resource District, Nebraska
Jim Ward, Applied Data Consultants, Inc.
Copresenter: Ron Bruder, Applied Data Consultants, Inc.  

Keywords: Water Rights, SQL Server, ArcGIS, Geodatabase, Resource Management

Vertical Interest Tags: WW; PS; DD; CC; PH

Water rights management is a voluminous and complex task, particularly in those agriculture-rich areas of the United States that depend heavily on irrigation. Within the jurisdiction of the Central Platte Natural Resource District (CPNRD) in Nebraska, for example, over half of its 2 million acres are certified as irrigated agricultural land. This session will discuss the GIS-centric, transaction-based application employed by CPNRD for documenting and tracking active and historical water usage within the district.

Tuesday, April 27^th
10:30 a.m.

Breaking News Panel  • 10:30 - 12:15
Not Your Father's Approach to Geodata Creation and Sharing
Moderator:  Peter Batty, Ubisense
Speakers: Andrew Turner, FortiusOne; Ron Lake, Galdos Systems; James Fee, WeoGeo

Keywords: geodata, creation, sharing, crowdsourcing, OpenStreetMap, Haiti, OGC, GML, KML, GeoRSS

Vertical Interest Tags: E; ER; EN; G; M; P; PS; T; TR; WW; DD, II, CC, W

This panel will look at new approaches to geodata creation and sharing that have emerged in the past few years, and consider how they apply to infrastructure related problems. Crowdsourcing has grown dramatically as a mechanism for creating geospatial data, and has the potential to dramatically reduce the costs associated with geodata creation and maintenance, which of course have traditionally been very high. One of the best known initiatives in this area is OpenStreetMap, and the crowdsourcing approach is also being used by a number of commercial companies including Google, TomTom and others, as well as some government agencies. Crowdsourcing has huge potential in emergency response, and the panel will include a look at how OpenStreetMap contributed enormously to the response to the Haiti earthquake. The panel will also consider approaches to sharing geodata. New lightweight standards like GeoRSS and KML have arguably done more to facilitate sharing of geodata in practice than longer standing more heavyweight standards. Techniques for making geodata accessible to search engines like Google, rather than being hidden behind portals, have also contributed to our ability to easily share data. These and other developments will be discussed by the panel.

Protecting Geospatial Information Processing in the Cloud
Andreas Matheus, University of the Bundeswehr

Keywords: Security, Geo Web Services, GIS, Cloud Computing

Vertical Interest Tags: WW; ER; T; PS; E; G; M; TR; P; S; EN; CS; CC; W

The strength of cloud computing is that it dramatically reduces the investment costs for users, required for processing high-volume geospatial data. But in order to have confidential or even classified geospatial data processed in the cloud, service level agreements must ensure the seamless protection of the data. This paper introduces a concept to declare and enforce service level agreements preventing unauthorized use.

Software as a Service for Infrastructure GIS Applications
Geovane Cayres Magalhaes, Fundacao CPqD
Copresenter: Steve Carter, Mid-State Consultants

Keywords: SaaS, Infrastructure, Telecom, GIS, CAD

Vertical Interest Tags: WW; T; E; G; P; E; CC; W

Software as a Service has been successfully applied to Web-based light applications. Although highly desirable, infrastructure GIS applications pose a few challenges for the SaaS model. In this presentation, we will show how to overcome these challenges and present a solution that has been applied to telecom infrastructure. We will also present the benefits of this mode of operation for the operators in the infrastructure arena in general.

On Demand GIS as Software as a Service
Eamon Walsh, eSpatial Inc.
Copresenter: Paul Baynham, eSpatial Inc.

Keywords: Cloud SaaS Web GIS Service

Vertical Interest Tags: WW; ER; T; PS; E; M; TR; CC; W   

Software as a Service (SaaS) has gained widespread acceptance and adoption in the wider industry and increasingly in GIS with applications hosted in the cloud delivered on-demand over the Internet. SaaS removes the need for users to install and manage their own software, reducing deployment costs and timelines. There is a wide range of capabilities of GIS SaaS offerings. SaaS will allow more people in more organizations to use GIS for real business advantage.

The Next Steps for Advanced Risk-based Asset Renewal Forecasting
Dilip Kumar, MWH Global, Inc.

Keywords: Water, Wastewater, Electric, Gas, Telecommunication, Asset Management

Vertical Interest Tags: WW; T; PS; E; G; TR; P; EN; II; CC; AI    

As utilities across the U.S. have started to make advances toward a more risk-based approach to asset renewal forecasting, two challenges have arisen: 1) the lack of reliable, local data on the expected lives of assets, and 2) the need to effectively coordinate with the plans of other city departments (e.g., streets) to maximize the cost-effectiveness of pipeline renewal efforts. This presentation will cover pilot studies at two major cities in the U.S. where these challenges are being addressed with sophisticated data analysis and decision support tools. These pilot efforts represent the next steps for cities interested in accurate and realistic long-term forecasting of asset renewal investments in order to cost-effectively manage risk.

 

Wednesday, April 28^th
12:30 p.m.

Cloud Computing for Utility Field Inspection and Survey Work
Mike Rigney, Osmose Utilities Services, Inc.

Keywords: Cloud computing benefits and pitfalls Utility inspection, maintenance, and survey work

Vertical Interest Tags: T; E; S; DD; CC  

Cloud computing is the concept in which a company’s hardware, software, and data are outsourced to a third-party vendor. There are immediate benefits to such a paradigm, such as zero initial capital expenses and reduced IT operating costs. However, does this method of IT infrastructure make sense financially and technologically for today’s electric utility? This presentation reviews the benefits and pitfalls of using the cloud computing paradigm for a utility’s inspection, maintenance, and survey data.

Geoaudits for Operational Optimization and Financial Viability
Jerry Mohnhaupt, Red Oak Consulting, Div., Malcolm Pirnie

Keywords: Geoaudit of wastewater service billings; GIS gap analysis of billings

Vertical Interest Tags: PS; DD; CC

A Texas wastewater service agency began a billing audit of the six purveyors who bill for wastewater services within their service areas. Their goal was to optimize operations and enhance financial viability by identifying and correcting billing gaps, and improving collection and storage of the geographic components of billing data. As a result, more than 1,100 unbilled service connections were identified, resulting in a large increase in revenues that will be restored to the agency.

Geospatial Data Sharing Via the Cloud
Brad Sileo, iFactor Consulting

Keywords: SaaS Online Mapping Organizational Trusts Cloud Computing Security Scalability

Vertical Interest Tags: WW; ER; T; PS; E; G; TR; P; S; EN; DD; CC; W   

The increased prominence of cloud computing architectures has changed the way that business-to-business transactions occur. With the addition of mapping technologies, the cloud is becoming an increasingly valuable tool for companies that rely heavily on geospatial information to communicate with each other. This presentation will cover the main issues that companies face when deploying such solutions, including security concerns, Web services and standards, and scalability.

Creating GIS Studies to Support Broadband Stimulus Funding Applications
Randall Frantz, ESRI

Keywords: Broadband, mapping, stimulus, planning, engineering, telecommunications,NTIA, government, RUS, FCC

Vertical Interest Tags: T; PS; EN; DD; CC; AR

The stimulus bill awards significant funds for broadband expansion projects and programs. To submit a successful application for these funds, organizations need to plan and justify broadband projects that deliver services to an area population that is unserved or underserved. To determine which areas are lacking sufficient broadband service, maps that depict current broadband coverage are required. GIS solutions enable organizations to create maps that identify qualified areas and justify projects to increase broadband availability.

Geospatial Cloud Computing—The Next Frontier in Business Intelligence
Krishna Kumar, Space-Time Insight
Copresenter: Mark Feldman, Space-Time Insight

Keywords: All human activity has a location and time component. It takes place somewhere and some time. That is precisely why companies must monitor, understand and adjust to geo-economic signals when and where they occur.

Vertical Interest Tags: ER; E; G; DD; CC; W

This session will show how geospatial cockpits with cloud computing capabilities can now integrate the wealth of macroeconomic data on the Web with internal operations and information, to help define and execute optimal business decisions in realtime. Examples will include how Web 2.0 concepts like Wikis and Tweet streams combined with supply chain metrics from ERP systems can improve the accuracy of demand forecasts and support lean manufacturing cycles.