The End of the GIS Department?The End of the GIS Department?

David MockertDavid MockertCIO CIO

City of Indianapolis/Marion CountyCity of Indianapolis/Marion County

March 10, 2005

Introduction

Prophecy – The End is Near! Relax – GIS technology is solid Wait! Why do we have a GIS department

anyway? GIS? What’s GIS? That money we put into automating

those GIS processes was the best money we ever spent

Why the GIS Department has to Adapt?

00.10.20.30.40.50.60.70.80.9

1

1997 2000 2003 2006 2009

Resources -No change

$ to Maintain- Adaptive

Hypothesis

The move to real-time and process-focused enterprises and other market trends will increasingly diminish the need for a stand-alone GIS department.

Prediction

In ten years, 90% of employee-held GIS positions will either be replaced by automation, some will be outsourced, and others will simply no longer be relevant.

What then?

The evolution of the GIS Department

Beginning of GIS

Centralized GIS

Distributed GIS

Automated GIS

Future GIS Department

Where did GIS go?

The most likely scenarios for the people and roles that once staffed the GIS Department: Data Entry – Automated Analysis – Fused with business function Mapping – Included in business systems Management – Irrelevant Coordination – Implicit

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”

-Andy Warhol