GIS Acquisition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

GIS Acquisition - Essay Example The main objective of implementing GIS in an organization is to construct a business case for the proposal of GIS acquisition. Network dictionary defined a geographical information system as â€Å"a computer system capable of capturing, storing, analyzing, and displaying geographically referenced information, that is, data identified according to location. Practitioners also define a GIS as including the procedures, operating personnel, and spatial data that go into the system†. For acquiring GIS, cost, risks, benefits, and impacts associated with the GIS are calculated, in order to continue with the current data and information products. If fundamental different approaches are included in the preliminary design models, for instance, centralized systems versus distributed systems, analyzing cost benefit analysis are essential. The activities that are involved in cost benefit analysis are: Estimating all the cost Identification of all benefits Evaluation of economic value for i rrefutable profit Evaluating impact on the staff and organization Evaluating Risk Examining results The implementation cost for the GIS includes acquisition and maintenance for software, hardware, maintenance, data capture, and training. The highly qualified staff is required for management of systems, programming, support, operation of applications, and preparation for the site with all related expenses along with an acquisition cost. Discounted on the present value, recurrent cost needs to be analyzed for five years over an insignificant system life. As identified in the preliminary stages, the cost associated with software, hardware, maintenance and training cost needs to be obtained from more than two vendors. If it is achievable, than the validation of these cost will be achieved by discussions by existing agencies. Moreover, the data capture cost will be significant and vary from 10 to 1000 times from the software and hardware cost. The benefits related to efficiency are assoc iated with time and cost via robust data processing and eliminating the duplication processes. On the other hand, effectiveness benefits are linked with improvements in the decision-making processes via new data in a timely manner. Moreover, the intangible benefits consist of an advanced image of the public for the organization. The ambiguous data reduce the confusion enables superior communication between users via enhanced staff professionalism and morale, superior co-operation between the users by data sharing, capability to handle unexpected events. In addition, unanticipated applications and enhanced data analysis will provide new knowledge. The definition of economic value is available at ‘www.investorwords.com’ that states as â€Å"The value of an asset deriving from its ability to generate income† (, what is economic value? Definition and Meaning). Economic value enthusiastically can be allocated to efficiency benefits. The usefulness, value and benefits are not easy to calculate. There may be key impacts of the proposed GIS on the staff and organization, and may have a considerable comportment on the cost benefit analysis. From the user requirement analysis, the impacts for the data processing, decision making and data collection can be accessed. The management and organizational structure linked with the new technology, new procedures, new roles and new necessities for co-operation and consultation will contribute to make an impact on the organization. These issues may contribution towards the successful GIS as compared to technical issues. Discussions and consultations of impacts with the staff in the early states facilitate to eliminate disputes during the deployment. Moreover, eyeing on authority, responsibility and undertaking related to propagation of information products and data maintenance, there are legal and political connotation for the organizations. The inclusion of risk assessment defining that the project will not b e able to

The five to seven most important things about computer networks that Essay

The five to seven most important things about computer networks that should be understood by everyone who uses one - Essay Example Every computer user should have a basic understanding of the 'Error Message'. The man that got his first computer with AOL spent most of his afternoon running down his driveway when the computer kept announcing that, 'You've got mail'. It took almost as long as the user who spent hours looking for the 'Any' key when the message said "Press Any Key To Continue". All this time could have been saved by requiring new computer users to take a short course in computer messages. Understanding the error messages is almost as important as learning to communicate with the technical people. An important time saving tip for computer users would be to invest in a tech support to English dictionary. Learning the basic lingo of the geek squad would be invaluable in improving communications (Strange user requests, 2006). Users may tend to interpret tech support literally and confuse the meaning of everyday words such as 'frozen', 'mouse', or 'boot'. Who knows what 'LAN', 'OS', or 'USB' stands for A quick reference card placed near the computer screen could help the user decode the special language of tech support. Reducing calls to tech support could also be accomplished by giving computer users a basic course in hooking up a computer and eliminating static electricity. If a keyboard does not respond, there is some likelihood that the cable has come disconnected. The simplest and most common cables are the power cord, mouse, LAN cable, and keyboard. It would be a simple task to check these before using the scarce resources of tech support. In addition, static electricity has been cited a primary cause of computer lockup or failure (Miastkowski, 2002). A few minutes of instruction on reducing the risk of static could potentially save thousands of dollars worth of computing equipment. While some computer knowledge will save time and money, there are other things that a user should know to keep their information secure. Using passwords on key information is mandatory, but is of little use if the password is given out to fellow employees or friends. In addition, the password should be something that is not easily deciphered. It is also critical to know what to put a password on. Network users will often be unaware that many of their personal files may be accessed by any user on the network. Users should have an understanding of how a basic network operates and where the information is stored. This would help users understand just how vulnerable their private information can be on a network. Simple passwords and a basic understanding of computer networks can eliminate the threat from prying eyes. However, it can do little to dissuade the dangers posed by the malicious hacker. Users need to be fully aware of the threat posed by viruses, spyware, and other forms of 'mal-ware'. Security software needs to be installed and updated regularly. Out of date security software is vulnerable to attacks from the latest version of a virus. Users also must be sure that the software is active and the firewall is turned on. Hackers that take advantage of systems that are not running security software can do irreparable harm to an individual or a corporation. In conclusion, the tips listed for basic computer skills may seem blatantly obvious to any intermediate level user.