Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/103965
spatial format provides clients with more flexibility in their software choices. In a sense, this is a matchmaking partnership to reflect the ability to distribute functionality among software offerings, because data can move among them (this also could be called a "hidden partnership," because the two vendors may not know they're working together through a third party). The existence of Open Geospatial Consortium standards facilitates such partnerships. Joint Workflow Partnerships In this type of partnership, vendors work together beyond simply passing data back and forth. They focus on recognizing that software products may be complementary, rather than competitive, and that a customer's workflow can be improved if products work together more effectively. The city of Vancouver has had the opportunity to participate in this type of partnership. In January 2012, two GIS vendors whose products are used at the city announced a partnership (see news. autodesk.com/news/autodesk/20120110005790/ en/Autodesk-Pitney-Bowes-Software-Enter-StrategicAlliance). The city is a long-time customer of both companies, and it was given the opportunity to meet with them to help understand how the partnership could benefit Vancouver. This is a great opportunity for the city in terms of (hopefully) influencing product development. vendors might have seen themselves as competitors in the same market, we had determined that, as a report card might say, "they work well with others and play well together in the sandbox." The city exploited the strengths of each product in a workflow tailored to its specific needs. These workflows evolved incrementally, sometimes taking advantage of their respective strengths, other times working around incompatibilities. The partnership established efficient data flows among applications that took advantage of the respective product's complementary strengths. Eventually, the vendors realized what the customers already knew, and a strategic alliance came into being (with the city being involved, does the partnership become a love triangle?). Such a partnership can be considered an affirmation of the informal and organic workflows that had evolved. As a third party, the city expected that the partnership will allow the respective companies to focus on their areas of strength and improve interoperability. Our conclusion as it relates to partnerships is very clear: bring them on. As a mature customer, the city of Vancouver is looking for solutions that work, and it's interested in exploring options, looking for opportunities and making progress. Partnerships are a significant way of getting there. Research Partnerships This type of partnership can range from small scales, with a customer participating in beta-testing programs, to much larger studies in scope and depth. Usually, the customer will contribute knowledge about business needs, domain knowledge and workflows, and emerging needs and issues. The vendor brings technical expertise and resources. The benefits of this process tend to be less clearly defined, but the typical customer expectation is improved tools that often are more-closely tailored to needs. A collateral benefit is that it forces one to think more about process and product use as well as having a second set of fresh eyes (the vendor) reviewing things. This can lead to an improved understanding by customers of how things work. Customer-Implemented Partnerships There can be partnerships among vendors that they're not always aware of. The city of Vancouver, for example, had been working with a desktop GIS provider in combination with a range of products from another vendor for many years. Although these two Imagery/LIDAR Special Issue ADVERTISERINDEX ADVERTISER PAGE GeoPlace Mobile www.geoplace.com/mobile 29 GeoSpatial Matters www.geoplace.com/GPM 11 GeoWorld Emergency Management eBook www.geoplace.com/ebooks 9 GeoWorld Web Mapping eBook www.geoplace.com/ebooks 5 GeoWorld on Facebook www.facebook.com/geoworldmag 32 GeoWorld Subscriptions www.geoplace.com/subscribe 31 J A N U A R Y 2 O 1 3 / W W W . G E O P L A C E . C O M 13