<div dir="ltr">Hi,<div>it is strange and in some way comforting that on the "other side" of earth there are local government employees "asked to do more with less resources" :)</div><div>In Italy, where I was a consultant for a local government, things are slowly but constantly (in my view) changing toward an increase of FOSS softwares (QGIS above all), mainly due to this long-lasting economical crisis, but confirmed by the ability to hold the comparison with all the proprietary softwares.</div><div>My two cents here, when you say "<span style="font-family:sans-serif">We are open minded enough to examine the alternatives as they present themselves and take advantage of opportunities as they arise", is to increase your involvement in QGIS project, because it has the maturity to be a perfect substitute of arc-map-copyrighted-proprietary-things. Please don't dissipate </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif">(too much!)</span><span style="font-family:sans-serif"> </span><span style="font-family:sans-serif">your energies and resources in small and local alternative projects, but keep building the greatest alternative that people can freely choose.</span></div><div><font face="sans-serif">Jacopo</font></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">2015-06-12 3:49 GMT+02:00 Johanna Botman <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:Johanna.Botman@griffith.nsw.gov.au" target="_blank">Johanna.Botman@griffith.nsw.gov.au</a>></span>:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex"><div>
<p><font size="2" face="sans-serif">I, too, work for local government - in New South Wales (Australia).</font><br>
<br>
<font size="2" face="sans-serif">We were an exclusively MapInfo shop until I came along. Not that I can claim the move to QGIS ... but adding me to the staff meant that the opportunity was there to explore open source software and how it would fit into Council's IT and GIS.</font><br>
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<font size="2" face="sans-serif">There are hiccups, of course, but I find QGIS to be as robust as MapInfo, sometimes better and sometimes not as good. I think, though, that this can be said of any software comparisons.</font><br>
<br>
<font size="2" face="sans-serif">Our reasons for changing were as the OP described - an unwillingness to be locked into proprietary formats and expensive licensing agreements. We may not be on QGIS forever, either. We are open minded enough to examine the alternatives as they present themselves and take advantage of opportunities as they arise.</font><br>
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<font size="2" face="sans-serif">While we are being asked to do more with less resources, we see this as the most appropriate course at this time.</font><br>
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<font size="2" face="sans-serif">We have the support of consultants who know and understand QGIS and who are partners with enterprises who fund and develop changes and improvements with QGIS. And personally, I have found the help and support available through this mail list to be invaluable. Through this mail list I have been able to deal directly with the developer of a particular component of QGIS and had it fixed in the nightly build.</font><br>
<br>
<font size="2" face="sans-serif">_______________<br>
Johanna Botman<br>
GIS / Assets Officer<br>
<br>
</font><br>
<font size="2" face="sans-serif">Griffith City Council<br>
Ph: 02 6962 8168</font>
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