Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/50311
E very year it's said that "GIS is dead, long live GIS!" It's true that GIS is approaching—if it hasn't already achieved—maturity. The pioneer days of massive data collection to build base maps and cobbling together tools with whatever UNIX shell scripts were handy largely are in the past. GIS also has been moving toward becoming a main- stream information technology (IT) that's implemented and managed as part of the IT stack. Specialized skills no longer are required to implement and manage this technology. Professional geotechnology organizations have seen declining memberships and conference can- cellations. Does this mean that the field has seen its best days? Hardly! Geospatial practitioners continue to be relevant—and essential. The Evolution Geospatial data-collection efforts historically focused on static data for a variety of reasons. First, the cost to collect a single iteration of data has historically been cost prohibitive. Second, records management— a foundation of all database technology, including GIS—was traditionally only interested in the current state, replacing previous states with transactional updates. Of course, this isn't universally true; remotely sensed datasets are periodically updated, and change- detection applications are one of the key drivers for these updates. But even these image-based datasets typically are updated quarterly (or annually) as a full "refresh and replace." Interpolation of intermediate states is hard to construct. In the last few years, geospatial technology evolved from software into a technology foundation akin to an operating or database-management system. But more importantly, geotechnology is becoming a platform for monitoring events and environments—integrating dynamic, time-series data captured from sensors with the base-map investments of yesteryear as a mecha- nism for situational intelligence. Geotechnology has become the system that inte- grates real-time measurements into decision support, managing current as well as historical states for change analysis in a temporal framework. Access to dynamic data updated in real time opens new opportu- nities for business. Triple Plays There has been an incredible shift in ethos in the business community to embrace socially and envi- ronmentally responsible business practices—not just in a supporting role, but as a core philosophy. From sustainable-business literature comes the concept of a "triple bottom line" comprised of people, planet and profit. This represents a sea change away from the purely financial motivations of yesteryear. Business decisions based on environmental and societal considerations require environmental data. lTobler's First Law of Geography states that "Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things." Water temperature is a good example. DECEMBER 2O11 / WWW . GEOPLA CE . C O M 27