If there was any segment of the GIS business that has both risked the technology investment and shared in its defeats, it is the utility industry.Not to overstate the issue, but the world does not produce the goods and services that its citizens need without sound infrastructure management of the electricity, gas, water, and telecommunications that we need to live.GIS is fundamental in the jobs that are done each day in this field and its IT professionals are on the front lines 24x7.
However, I came away from the show thinking that not much has radically changed in the last few years.Perhaps this is a good thing as GIS matures and finds its way into the broader IT function.Sessions on wireless location services were added but I'm not sure deployment is high on any manager's list when basic mapping provides the essential backbone of everyday needs.I'd like to hear your comments on this issue.
But another issue is the way in which the association is positioning itself with its membership.During the time at which GITA changed its name from AM/FM, there was a philosophy in its ranks that saw a need to expand beyond its focus on utilities.Session on "Business GIS" were held in conjunction with traditional data conversion, CAD, and SCADA.But this year's show was very traditional in scope, and for an industry which has suffered because of the economy, this is also not a bad thing.However, it fails to generate the interest or push the limits of expectations that may be needed to excite its membership and broaden its base.I will readily admit that I am not an expert on the utilities industry and I offer this space to anyone who feels differently.But the broad scope that the association intended to address is not there.It is still fundamentally the AM/FM show of the past.