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| Subject: | RE: GISList: more on GIS market metrics |
| Date: |
02/13/2002 05:36:15 PM |
| From: |
Neil Havermale |
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Carlos -
I'll add my thoughts and confirm rule-of-thumbs are more likely spot on that
wrong. They are typically formed by those who have had to do rather than by
those who think about it. These rules-of-thumb are dissertation summaries
by PhDs from the University of Hard-knocks.
I can see that the market in the last year or two has evolved into a
"free"-for-all debate. Data that we used to have pay for is now "almost" in
the "public domain" with the exception that hybrid business organizations
are attempting, and I stress, attempting to distribute this free-data at
cost or some approximation of that which seems acceptable to those who don't
understand there are costs to hosting freebies.... Most of data demand is
driven by a project requirement and not some lofty notion of the collection
of a library of reference.
My decade of experience in the GIS data collection industry versus simply
buying or downloading is once the other guy's data is gained then invariably
its format is not quite what we wanted nor as accurate as it should be. So
in cases like this there is a significant cost beyond the physiological cost
of diminished expectations. The typical free-data expectation and
experience - 1) Gosh, its free aren't we lucky!. 2) Man, how long is this
going to take (the first download attempt). 3) Its just not loading, must be
a glitch in the download. 4) Man, how long is going to take this time
(second download). 5) Dam, its still wrong. I've promised the boss...
(wouldn't load the second time). 6) Help! Can anyone on this list help me?
7) HelloList.. Ok, I've downloaded the importation tools but I am getting a
"not compatible with this version" message. 8) Help! Does anyone on this
list know how to contact the author of the shareware import tool xxxx? 9)
Whew, its loading. Thank the Gods... 10) Oh no, this is junk. Its all
wrong. 11)Hello, how much is ...... And 12) Are you certain you can't just
send it to me in email today?
On satellite data. Wow, too cool. Invariably the "project" needs imagery.
Its available but you have to buy 40,000 square kilometers at "only $0.50
per 1,000 hectares - a fraction of what was paid only a year ago". The
quick cost per image for the project's 400 hectares soars into the thousands
of bucks per project image. Worst, you find that the archive images (the
lowest "advertised" cost you expect to pay) requires two if not three images
that must be edge matched and normalized. More money, more complexity, more
frustration. The cost of having the image experts deliver "just what you
need" is usually 10 fold the budget of the entire data provision for the
project including your salary as well as being ten weeks out before
delivery!
Humorless? Not. It far too true. We are caught between the philosophy of
its public and my tax dollars paid for this and its not what I wanted:
"They" should fix it. And the pragmatic reality that good things are never
really free. Very topical and I hope your quest is not a burden to
share.... I too am interested.
MidNight Mapper
aka Neil
-----Original Message-----
From: Carlos Lopez [mailto:carlos@manet.clearinghouse.com.uy\
Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2002 5:15 AM
To: gislist@geocomm.com
Cc: carlos@manet.clearinghouse.com.uy
Subject: GISList: more on GIS market metrics
Hello everybody:
I am interested in a particular area within GIS markets: the size of the raw
data market.....
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