Tag Archives: ESRI

GIS-Centric or GIS-Based?

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Anyone who has seen a demo of the Elements software can attest to it’s uniqueness.  The asset management and GIS integration methods found in Elements are quite different than those offered by our competitors – and it’s a good thing.

Every now and then someone will ask me if Elements is a “GIS-Based” or “GIS-Centric” application.  My answer?  I’m not sure (and does it matter?) -  I haven’t found either term defined in a real dictionary anywhere and to be completely honest, when building the application we weren’t too concerned with terminology – we were more concerned with solving the problems at hand.

With that in mind, here are a few questions we’ve received about the GIS integration methods in Elements:

Question:  Is the ESRI ArcGIS geodatabase the asset and feature data repository in Elements?

Yes.  Or No.  Elements clients can select whether they want to use the ESRI ArcGIS geodatabase as the asset / feature repository or if they want to use a different GIS integration method.  For those who choose to do so, whatever they’ve got in their ArcGIS setup is what comes across in Elements.  Elements users read directly from (and write directly to) the ArcGIS geodatabase.  Using this method GIS is not duplicated or synchronized and all GIS asset data is created and maintained using ArcGIS software.  For clients who don’t use ESRI products or who have limited access to GIS resources there are other GIS integration methods available that do not use the ArcGIS geodatabase as the asset and feature data repository.

Question:  Does Elements synchronize my GIS data?

That depends; clients using the ESRI ArcGIS integration method described above will not be synchronizing data.  Period.  Clients using other GIS integration methods usually won’t synchronize data either – but depending on how Elements has been configured, it is possible to synchronize GIS.

Question: Is there any data duplication with Elements?

There is no data duplication using the ESRI ArcGIS integration method in Elements; all users are reading directly from (and writing directly to) the ESRI geodatabase.  Other GIS integration methods in Elements allow users to “Link” GIS files, which also does not duplicate data.

Question: Is the asset management data stored in the same database as the GIS data?

Nope.  The asset management data including work orders and other documents are stored in a separate database.  In the early years of Elements all of the data was contained in the same database, but that has since changed.  Why?  Because Elements has evolved as a complete asset and work management application designed to manage both GIS and non-GIS assets as well as Heavy Equipment, Fleet, Facilities, Customers, Meters, Locations, Permits, Licenses, Inspections, and several other things that are better maintained outside of the geodatabase.

Municipal Work Order & Asset Management Software Selection Tips

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This post contains several common questions asked by municipalities and utilities when going through the selection process for asset and work management software.  The objective of this post is not to sell one particular software application or method, but rather to put a few things out there on the table for you to think about and hopefully help you decide what is best for your individual organization.

When selecting asset and work management software for government and utilities, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Usability

There’s a fine line between powerful software and an application that’s too complicated for people to use.

The nature of powerful software often entails processes that can be difficult and/or confusing to the end user.  My recommendation would be to have some end users sit in on a demo – by this I mean end users like the guys in the field who will be filling out work orders, and end users like the office admins who will be logging the phone calls – not necessarily end users like the IT staff.  If the office and field personnel are confused in the demos, you can count on them being confused when it comes time to actually use the thing.

GIS Integration

Do you need to purchase additional GIS licenses?

Depending on your GIS setup, this may or may not be an issue.  For smaller systems with limited resources, this is definitely an area where you can save some money, depending on which work order / asset management package you select.

Do you need to ‘synchronize’ your GIS data between your main GIS application and the asset management software?

This can save money, but be careful – when pushing data back and forth wires can get crossed and you can quickly run into data integrity issues with your GIS if you’re not careful.

Is the application built exclusively on top of a single GIS vendor?

Let’s face it – most people in the United States use ESRI for their GIS.  However, you may want to incorporate GIS data from multiple vendors into your asset / work management application – so keep that in mind.  We’ve seen some of our clients use their asset management software with MapInfo and other vendors as well.

Scalability

Can the application grow with your organization?

Remember, today you may only be interested in work orders, but next year you may want to integrate things like business licenses, permits, and inspections.

Is the application modular?

By this we mean do you have to buy each piece of the software separately or is it an all-in-one type application?  For example, do you need to buy a Work Orders ‘module’ and a separate Storm Water ‘module’?  The good news is, you only pay for what you need – the bad news is, you usually need more modules than you initially expect – and the dollars can add up fast.

Implementation and Maintenance Fees

How much is the annual maintenance?

Nobody likes maintenance fees, but unfortunately these fees are what make the world turn (in the software world at least).   20% of the software purchase price is pretty much industry standard, although software vendors vary on this and you may end up paying more or less depending on a) the vendor you select and b) your negotiating skills.

How much will you be paying for technical support?

Some companies offer an introductory period where you won’t pay for technical support.  Other companies are not so excited about giving away free support hours.  This is definitely an area that will vary with each vendor – but remember that support for niche products in niche markets typically doesn’t come cheap ($150-$250 per hour is industry standard).

How long will the implementation take?

For smaller cities and utilities (populations less than 10,000 or so) this can be fairly quick – sometimes as quick as 30-60 days or less.  For larger systems you can expect up to a year or more, depending on how complicated the workflow processes are and how much data needs to be converted.

What did I miss here?  I’d love to hear your comments and/or experiences.

GIS-Centric Asset Management and the ESRI 2010 International User Conference

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The annual ESRI International User Conference is always incredible, but this year novotX was nowhere to be found – no booth, and no people sitting through classes.  Are we crazy?

Maybe.

Online plenary presentations, Twitter, Foursquare, and LinkedIn groups helped us make the decision.  The biggest factor in our decision, however, was our customers.

So where were we?

At our office, working – just like most of you.

The fact is, this year we’ve been absolutely swamped with implementations and new customers coming onboard with our GIS-based asset and work management software.  So, instead of putting our resources into an exhibit hall and buying alcohol for anyone at the conference that could possibly buy our software, we decided to put our money into our existing customers.

Our goal is to keep our customers happy and provide GIS-based asset management software that works.

I’ll be the first to admit – there’s not a better place to see the latest technologies, learn from experts in the industry, and meet new geo-peeps.  These conferences have also proven to provide excellent resources for GIS admins to find information on asset and work management software applications that integrate with ESRI and other GIS products.

So for those of you who made it to the conference, hopefully we’ll see you next year.  For those of us who didn’t make it to the conference?  I guess we can count ourselves lucky that we didn’t have to walk through a crowded exhibit hall full of sales reps trying to Jedi Mind Trick us into buying whatever it is they’ve got to offer.  Exhibit halls are funny places, but I’ll save that for another post.

If you’d like to find conference information related GIS and Asset, Infrastructure, or Work Management (whether you attended the UC in person or not) you can join our newly formed LinkedIn group GIS in Asset, Infrastructure, and Work Management for Government and Utilities.

Elements Management Software integrates with ESRI and other GIS applications, providing GIS-centric asset and work management for government and utilities.  For more information visit www.novotx.com.