24 October 2011
We were amused by a post on Geoinformatic this morning – “A day in the life of a GIS Analyst”.
While the author took a light tone, it was clear that (s)he experienced huge frustrations with the way that traditional GIS software is set up.
Sharing a limited number of licenses, slow vendor response to support tickets, relying on data stored on external hard drives… All resulting in the employee being unable to achieve their daily goals. Why keep going like this?
And yet, so many organisations do persist with this setup. Because until recently, they didn’t have a choice.
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) GIS provides that choice
SaaS-based GIS is a viable alternative to a traditional GIS setup. And not only is it viable – but it would have circumvented all the problems above:
- No more waiting for a license: Every user gets a license
SaaS reduces the cost of GIS software to an inexpensive monthly license fee per user. Such enormous savings mean that organisations can afford to purchase a license for each user, and still enjoy substantial savings. No more asking if someone can log out so you can log in! - No more slow support ticketing: Get timely responses with SaaS SLAs
SaaS-based GIS software vendors provide Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that provide quick resolution to support issues. The SaaS environment is always-on, 24×7 – and the SLAs reflect this. Say goodbye to sending a ticket into the abyss, and hello to someone from the vendor’s support team, who quickly responds to your issue. - No need to store data on hard drives: Data can be stored in the application
SaaS-based GIS software encourages sharing and collaboration – of layers, queries, and even data. Datasets can be uploaded, and access to them controlled on a user or user-group basis, eliminating the need for storage on external devices that can break or be stolen. - No more time-wasting on software issues: Accomplish tasks quickly & easily
Every organisation is looking for efficiencies – and wasting staff members’ time on software issues doesn’t contribute to getting their jobs done. SaaS-based GIS makes all these problems go away – so your staff can focus on accomplishing their tasks quickly and efficiently.
While many organisations are comfortable with the traditional GIS software setup, they’re also contributing to their own inefficiencies.
SaaS-based GIS software provides both the expert functionality that GIS experts need, and an efficient setup that maximises users’ ability to do their jobs.
We wonder what the author’s post would have been if (s)he has been using SaaS-based GIS software – or even if there would have been a need to vent their frustrations in a post at all?
