VerticalGeo

The Google Earth Blog contained this post back in April. I totally missed it. I believe the difficulty in sharing Google Earth data is one of the major problems the system has. Looks like Google is trying to address that problem with Google Earth Builder, a cloud-based storage system for Google Earth data that stores data in a similar way to Google Docs. Here is the Post by Mickey Mellen:

April 21, 2011

More about Google Earth Builder

We mentioned Google’s new “Google Earth Builder” in our wrap-up post yesterday, but decided that it deserved a bit more attention.

In a nutshell, Google Earth Builder is a new way for companies to share their vast repositories of geo data. Rather than needing to configure servers and support a local infrastructure, they can simply upload their data to Google Earth Builder and share it that way. It uses a sharing model quite similar to Google Docs (private, individual access, or public), and the data streams extremely quickly.

The implications of this could be huge. Not only will it be a great solution for large corporations and government entities, but provides a way for any company to generate data for a specific client (such as custom 3D buildings) without necessarily having to post them for the world to see.

An interesting point that Google made is that this data will be easily accessible to anyone (with permission) from their desktop, laptop, smartphone, tablet, etc. That makes sense, but currently the tablet and smartphone clients for Google Earth likely can’t handle this kind of data. Either their comments have been misinterpreted by everyone (including cnet and others), or we’re hopefully looking at some nice updates to their mobile products in the coming months.

They keys that Google seems to be pushing with this is that it’s easy and fast. Both of this seemed clearly evident in the live demo that they provided on stage yesterday. You can watch that video demonstration below:

There were a few fun facts in that video: There have been more than 700 million downloads of Google Earth and that people use Maps and Earth for more than one million hours every day. Wow!

The fact that Google Earth Builder isn’t due out for a few months (some sites say July, Google says Q3), means that it will only be getting faster and smoother. This could be a brilliant tool to help large entities deal with their vast amounts of data, and we’ll find out once it launches later this year.

Back on October 5 I posted a post titled, “GIS On The Web Is OK, Sometimes….”

I was contacted by a reader and asked to clarify my comments.  I will attempt to do that:

I am a retired Air Force C-130 Navigator and after I retired I founded VerticalGeo, a Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business providing GIS consulting services to the US Air Force.  We do quite a bit of consulting within Air Mobility Command’s GeoBase program.  We are used to working with some of the great enterprise mapping tools the GeoBase Program uses, but our company is too small (and we keep busy because our profit margin is low) to purchase tools such as ArcGIS Server for use in our own mapping projects.

I worked for ESRI for a year and have been a huge advocate for their software, but it is just too expensive for small companies like VerticalGeo to purchase much of their software, particularly the data sharing tier tools.  VerticalGeo has purchased ArcGIS Desktop software and we do a pretty good job of data authoring.  With the introduction of ArcGIS Online ESRI has delivered a free online Data Presentation tool that smaller companies like VerticalGeo can use to present their work without having to invest in the entire Arc Line of products.  But, ArcGIS Online is limited in what you can do with it and how much data you can display.  ESRI still doesn’t have an enterprise system that can be used to author, distribute, and present data that is affordable for companies like ours to own.  I am inspired that it looks like ArcGIS 10.1 will be offered as a SAAS product, because that makes the solution easier for companies like VerticalGeo to use on demand, but the cost is still too expensive.

We have recently been dabbling into the Open Source Geo Stack (http://opengeo.org/technology/) of software tools and it looks promising, but I believe for the most part Open Source GIS is a little bit light on the G (Geographic tools) and heavy into the IS (Information Systems).  You have to be more of an IT professional than a Geographer to use most of the tools offered through Open Source vendors.

What I would like to see happen is for the GIS community to come together and build our own Open Source Geo Stack that is simple to install and use (light on the IS) and provides ESRI-like analysis and authoring tools (heavy on the G).  Everyone likes to use Google Earth because it is a simple tool that works great and provides unparalleled visualization.  It just isn’t a data authoring tool.  I would like to create a suite of geo tools that is simple to use, powerful, covers data authoring, distribution, and presentation tiers, and can be used by map makers and analysts alike.

Esri has started a Community Maps Program where individuals or organizations can contribute  geographic content to become part of a community map that Esri publishes and hosts online. Your data is integrated with data from other providers and then published through ArcGIS Online as a map service.

This program is available to any Esri user organization and other geographic data providers interested in making their data content broadly available.

Benefits

• Users inside and outside of your organization, including the local business community and the general public will be able to use the online maps with ArcGIS for Desktop, ArcGIS Explorer, ArcGIS for Server Web mapping applications, or a standard Internet Web browser.
• Eliminates the costs associated with making the data widely available, such as setting up and maintaining the infrastructure.
• Map data is hosted and maintained by Esri at one or more data centers in the U.S. to ensure high availability and performance.
• Your organization retains all ownership of its data.
• Access to your map data through an online map.
• Esri can provide the data in ArcGIS for Server map cache format that your organization can publish for internal use with ArcGIS for Server.

Watch a video to learn more about the benefits of participating in the Community Maps Program.

SlashGeo has an interesting poll going on just what people’s thoughts are on Cloud GIS.  The Poll Questions is:

“Cloud GIS Is?”

With 105 votes here are the results:

-  Just a buzz word that will pass away: 12%

-  Useful to only a few: 12%

-  Will eventually rule enterprise GIS: 11%

-  The natural evolution of enterprise GIS: 50%

-  The cloud will engulf everything: 11%

That is a pretty wide array of answers that goes all the way from people burying their head in the sand and hoping Cloud GIS will go away, to the cloud will engulf everything.   I will follow the results and report them as the poll matures.

SlashGeo conducted a poll to find out which platform people preferred with regard to the ESRI ArcGIS Online vs Google Earth Builder debate.  The results are totally split.  Here are the results of the poll:

ESRI ArcGIS Online will prevail:  24%

Google Earth Builder will prevail: 24%

Both will be successes in their own way: 42%

Microsoft Bing Maps will rule them both: 2%

VerticalGeo is an avid user of both ESRI and Google Products.  This poll should have been a little more explicit in the question it asks.  ArcGIS Online and Google Earth both both do a great job with the presentation tier when producing geospatial data.  Neither do a very good job with the data authoring tier when producing geospatial data.  As far as VerticalGeo is concerned the ESRI suite of software products can’t be beat with it comes to authoring geospatial data.  The ESRI suite of software tools though is very expensive.  I believe there will soon be a proliferation of open-source geospatial creation and presentation tools that will compete against both ESRI and Google Earth.  What we really need if we want to develop a geospatial powerhouse are the robust tools that ESRI provides with the open source pricetag.  VerticalGeo will be venturing into the open source market to help provide just that.  We intend to combine cloud computing, open source tools for geospatial data authoring and maintenance, with a top notch presentation layer, all with a web-based interface, for free, in an attempt to help guild a community of geospatial users that will have a new alternateive to the ESRI vs Google Earth debate.