By Shahabuddin Amerudin
GIS (Geographic Information System) software has come a long way since the first systems were developed in the 1960s. From humble beginnings as experimental research tools, GIS software applications have become essential components of numerous industries, including urban planning, environmental management, and disaster response. In this article, we will take a look at the progress of GIS software vendors from the earliest days of GIS to the present day.
The earliest GIS software systems were developed in the 1960s and 1970s by researchers at universities and government agencies. These systems were experimental and primarily used for research purposes, but they laid the foundation for the development of more sophisticated GIS software applications in the following decades. One notable early system was the Canada Geographic Information System (CGIS), which was developed by the Canadian government in the early 1960s (Foresman, 1998).
The 1970s and 1980s saw the birth of a number of companies that specialised in the production of commercial GIS software. These companies included Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), Intergraph, and AutoDesk.These systems were still rather complicated and expensive, but they were getting easier to operate and more accessible to those who were not specialists in the field. They embarked on the process of creating and distributing GIS software solutions for a variety of business sectors. These companies built software applications that were both more user-friendly and more affordably priced than the systems that came before them, which made GIS available to a larger variety of customers (Longley et al., 2015).
The 1990s saw a significant expansion in the availability and use of GIS software. The introduction of Windows-based operating systems and the development of user-friendly interfaces made GIS software more accessible to a wider range of users. This, in turn, led to an increase in demand for GIS software, particularly in industries such as urban planning, transportation, and environmental management. GIS software vendors began to focus on integrating GIS with other software systems, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) software. This integration helped to further expand the use of GIS beyond traditional mapping and spatial analysis applications (Batty, 2013). One of the major advancements in GIS software occurred in the 1990s with the introduction of web-based GIS. This allowed users to access GIS data and applications through a web browser, making GIS more accessible to a wider range of users.
The 2000s saw the emergence of cloud-based GIS software, which allowed users to access GIS applications from anywhere with an Internet connection. This technology has helped to democratize GIS, making it more accessible to smaller organizations and individuals (Goodchild, 2010). This has made GIS more flexible and scalable, and has allowed organizations to more easily share and collaborate on GIS data. This led to an explosion in the availability and diversity of GIS software applications, as well as the emergence of new business models based on software-as-a-service (SaaS) and cloud computing.
In the 2010s, the GIS industry saw significant developments, including the emergence of cloud-based GIS software, which provided users with access to GIS software and data from any location. The use of mobile GIS also increased during this period, enabling GIS professionals to collect and analyze data in the field. GIS software vendors, such as TerraGo and Trimble, developed mobile software solutions for real-time data collection and analysis. Additionally, companies such as Tableau and QGIS improved the visualization of spatial data, allowing users to create sophisticated data visualizations, including maps, charts, and graphs. These advancements made GIS more accessible, affordable, and easy to use for smaller organizations and individuals. (ESRI, 2010; Trimble, 2013; Tableau, 2013).
The 2020s have seen several significant advancements in the GIS industry, including the integration of AI and machine learning into GIS software solutions. GIS software vendors such as ESRI and Google have developed AI and ML tools that allow users to automate tasks and gain new insights into spatial data (Google, 2021).. Additionally, the use of open source GIS software has become increasingly popular, with vendors like QGIS and GeoServer offering solutions that are comparable or even better than proprietary GIS software (GeoServer, 2021). With the increasing amount of spatial data being collected, GIS software vendors are also placing greater emphasis on data privacy and security. Trimble and ESRI are among the companies that have developed software solutions that provide users with greater control over their data and help them comply with data privacy regulations (Trimble, 2021).. These advancements are paving the way for new possibilities in the GIS industry and are helping to make spatial data analysis more accessible and secure than ever before.
As the use of GIS continues to expand across industries and sectors, GIS software vendors are also facing new challenges. One of the biggest challenges is ensuring the security of GIS data, particularly as more organizations move to cloud-based GIS solutions. GIS software vendors must implement robust security measures, such as encryption and access controls, to protect GIS data from unauthorized access and cyberattacks.
Overall, the progress of GIS software vendors over the past several decades has been impressive, and the future looks bright for the continued development and application of GIS technology. As GIS software becomes increasingly accessible and user-friendly, it is likely that we will see even more widespread adoption of GIS technology across industries and fields, leading to new insights and innovations that can help us better understand and manage our world.
References:
Batty, M. (2013). The New Science of Cities. MIT Press.
ESRI. (2010). Esri releases ArcGIS Online. https://www.esri.com/about/newsroom/announcements/arcgis-online/
Foresman, T. W. (1998). History of Geographic Information Systems. In J. Pickles (Ed.), Ground Truth: The Social Implications of Geographic Information Systems (pp. 3-24). Guilford Press.
GeoServer. (2021). GeoServer. https://geoserver.org/
Google. (2021). Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. https://cloud.google.com/solutions/ai-ml/
Goodchild, M. F. (2010). Twenty Years of Progress: GIScience in 2010. Journal of Spatial Information Science, 1(1), 3-20.
Kitchin, R. (2013). Big Data and Human Geography: Opportunities, Challenges and Risks. Dialogues in Human Geography, 3(3), 262-267.
Longley, P., Goodchild, M., Maguire, D., & Rhind, D. (2015). Geographic Information Systems and Science (4th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Tableau. (2013). Data Visualization Software. https://www.tableau.com/products
Trimble. (2013). Trimble Announces New Mobile GIS Solutions for Field Workforce Management. https://www.trimble.com/news/release.aspx?id=090513a
Trimble. (2021). Trimble GeoPrivacy. https://geospatial.trimble.com/geo-privacy
Suggestion for Citation: Amerudin, S. (2023). The Evolution of GIS Software Vendors: From Early Beginnings to Modern Advancements. [Online] Available at: https://people.utm.my/shahabuddin/?p=6325 (Accessed: 11 April 2023).
