Geographical information systems as part of the corporate information strategy

摘要

In the past, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) have been used and developed by small groups of professionals within organizations, for example, town planners within local authorities. Champions from such enthusiastic groups have made enormous contributions to the development of working GIS in practice. However, GIS implementations that are ad hoc developments primarily designed to improve the operations of the organization are potentially underutilizing the benefits of GIS. In business applications GIS must be seen as another potential tool. Managers need to see GIS among a range of management support tools, in a way that other information systems might be viewed. The integration of GIS into corporate information systems is vital for gaining the maximum benefit from the information resources of the organization. The paper explores issues such as: How can GIS be integrated into the information strategy? What are the benefits of such an integration? The paper puts forward a framework for considering GIS within the corporate information strategy.