Thanks for your response Cameron. Your questions will help me examine each potential customer.
I'm surprised more research hasn't been done on this subject. The Sunburned Surveyor -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Cameron Shorter Sent: Monday, April 16, 2007 9:08 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Geowanking] Economy of Scale - Applications To GIS Good question, and I don't have an answer but can refine the question a bit. Installing a GIS system should save the customer time, which equates to money. So what is the customer doing prior to having a GIS System? How long does it take? What will the customer be doing after installing the system. How long will it take? How long will it take to change business processes and retrain? What will it cost to migrate from the old system to the new? Landon Blake wrote: > > I'm in the process of developing a plan for a consulting business that > helps small organizations set-up and use GIS with open source software. > > I've got what I hope will be an interesting question for my fellow > Geowankers. > > Most of us know that businesses like Wal-Mart can sell their products > cheaply because they are such a massive company. They get to buy in > bulk, they can strong-arm vendors, they have the option to centrally > locate distribution centers, and so on. > > In a (somewhat) similar way I know that the cost-benefit ratio for GIS > becomes more attractive with size. I am curious if there has been any > research into determining at which size GIS becomes "practical", or at > what size the benefits begin to outweigh the cost. This is difficult > for me to put into words, so let me give an example that helps to > demonstrate my concept: > > A small utility company manages delivery of electricity and natural > gas to rural customers. At what point is the cost of setting-up and > maintaining a GIS worth the benefits and savings the GIS will bring? > When the utility company has 10 customers? 100 customers? 1,000 > customers? 10,000 customers? > > I realize that the answer to this question depends on many variables, > such as the type of organization, the software used, and the quality > of the GIS design and implementation. However, I'm looking for some > general rules or principles. > > "How big is big enough?" Big enough for a GIS that is... > > How does open source GIS programs change this equation? If an > organization utilizes open source software the start-up cost of GIS > can decrease dramatically. (Can you say ESRI licensing fees...) It could > even be argued that the maintenance costs of a GIS would be lower with > open source GIS software as well. Does open source software make GIS > practical for organizations that aren't quite "big enough" for the > traditional GIS implementation? > > I'm hoping to use this information to identify target customers that > don't realize the benefits of GIS because of the prohibitive cost. In > essence, I'm trying to identify the organizations that aren't so big > that a $14,000 license fee goes unnoticed, but big enough that a GIS > built on open source software can bring real benefits. > > Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions. > > The Sunburned Surveyor > > > > *Warning: > *Information provided via electronic media is not guaranteed against > defects including translation and transmission errors. If the reader > is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any > dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is > strictly prohibited. If you have received this information in error, > please notify the sender immediately. > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Geowanking mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.burri.to/mailman/listinfo/geowanking > -- Cameron Shorter Systems Architect, http://lisasoft.com.au Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050 Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254 _______________________________________________ Geowanking mailing list [email protected] http://lists.burri.to/mailman/listinfo/geowanking Warning: Information provided via electronic media is not guaranteed against defects including translation and transmission errors. If the reader is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this information in error, please notify the sender immediately. _______________________________________________ Geowanking mailing list [email protected] http://lists.burri.to/mailman/listinfo/geowanking
