Chapter 20
GIS in Organizations
In This Chapter
Understanding how organizational structures affect GIS integration
Knowing the types of organizations that benefit most from GIS
Incorporating GIS in your organization
GIS is much more than just software and hardware. You need data, training, space, personnel, funding, technical support, and many other elements that work together to make your GIS function properly. Your organization must undergo fundamental changes in the way it functions, both in its internal and external interactions. You can make these changes extremely positive, if you incorporate GIS effectively. The guidelines in this chapter help you ensure that when your organization adopts GIS, the benefit outweighs the cost.
Understanding How Your Organization’s Interactions Change
GIS fundamentally changes the way an organization works. Not only does your organization change, but so do interactions within the organization. You interact with internal players, meaning your organization’s GIS operators, managers, and other GIS personnel. But you and they also must obtain data, supply output, purchase equipment, get training, and participate in many other tasks that involve the larger GIS community, called external players.
Internal players include the following general groups:
System users: Use GIS to solve problems, provide solutions, and supply decision support for the organization. Their skills generally include spatial problem solving (for example, performing the actual ...
