[GRASSLIST:104] Re: Considering replacing ESRI

[Bernhard Reiter]

Hello,

Free Software has much to offer for geographic data processing.
We've done a couple projects where Free Software replaced
ESRI product at Intevation. 
So it is possible to use Free Software in principle and worth exploring.

Whether it is easy and what Free Software components you should try
depends on a deeper analysis of your situation and field of use.

Note that freegis.org lists almost 200 entries regarding Free Software
and geographic information processing. 
Asking on the FreeGIS mailinglist might hold more interesting
answers to your question. So I'm crossposting my answer.

Let me give you a few pointers:

GRASS is a heavy weight for GIS and analysis.
Therefore it is in the usage realms of ArcInfo and ArcSDE.

Webmapping which is offered by ArcIMS can be done by Mapserver.
Mapserver is a mature product which has been prefered to ArcIMS
by a number of organisations already.

PostGIS with extensions can solve similiar problems then ArcSDE and Oracle.

ArcInfo is a some sort of frontend, exploration  and map making tool
which can be used for many things.
There are Free Software applications in that realm, too,
like OpenEV, OpenMap and the upcoming Thuban to just name a few.
(Disclosure: Intevation is the main driving force behind Thuban.)

To the cost saving question:
Usually Free Software has a better "Total cost of operation",
which is realised in the mid term.
In short terms the migration and training costs can be high,
but in the mid term the return of the investment is quite good
in the average.

	Bernhard


On Wed, May 21, 2003 at 05:07:37AM -0600, seeker at eventhorizon.ca wrote:
> 	First of all I need to let you know that I am not currently
> 	working in the GIS field.  I do however support the Unix
> 	systems that are currently used by the people in our GIS
> 	area.
> 
> 	I certainly don't understand the complexities of our GIS area but I can
> 	see that we have a huge investment in ESRI products:
> 
> 	ArcInfo
> 	ArcView
> 	ArcSDE
> 	ArcIMS
> 
> 	These products are tied to an Oracle backend.
> 
> 	My question is this:  Is GRASS able to replace any of the
> 	above listed products and if so has anyone ever made this
> 	type of move in the past.  I can see huge cost savings here
> 	if it is possible.
> 
> 	I would appreciate any feedback.  I am trying to determine
> 	if it is worthwhile for me to explore Open Source
> 	alternatives for our GIS area so if anyone can offer some
> 	insight it would really help me out.
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