The world would be so easy without customers! This is especially true for emerging technologies such as
GIS which can potentially add huge value to business - but which requires a certain level of base
knowledge and skill to use it properly.
Our more progressive customers appear to be quite happy with the concept of MIS (Management
Information Systems). A cynical view would be that they are quite happy because (according to Keen and
Morton, 1978) "MIS is a prime example of a content-free expression that means different things to
different people". It, unfortunately, means that it is much more difficult to use a GIS, and
especially, more difficult to use it all.
My company is located in Romania; since the Revolution in 1989, the economy has been growing fast.
Initially, rather slowly but, more recently, at an ever-increasing pace. Associated with this growth, we
are flooded by consultants and salesmen of every nationality - most trying to make "a quick
buck". This has resulted in some dreadful investment decisions and quite inappropriate technology.
Where is the more apparent than in the world of GIS where organisations have been seduced into the
purchase of systems without data; systems with limited functionality and, at the other end of the
spectrum, high-end systems which require extensive training and competent IT specialists to run them.
Our problem - the problem of Eastern Europe - is that the market place is increasingly aware of the
possibilities offered by GIS but everybody would like a fully working system by next Tuesday!
Realistically, one supposes, this is a manifestation of an immature market. And those things will
eventually get better - but, unfortunately, there will be considerable disillusionment along the way.
Geo Strategies is now Eastern Europe's largest producer of digital map data. We have 24 high-end
workstations and five automatic vectorisation systems for data capture. But, where are we selling our
data? To Nepal, to Uruguay, to Lithuania, to Turkey and to other countries which we are not permitted to
name. But not yet to Eastern Europe.
We have, instead, a local market, which is becoming increasingly frustrated by using GIS systems
while not having digital data. So GIS technology is getting a bad name which is quite inappropriate. But
all is not lost!
As our economy grows, there are an increasing number of international players in the market: Shell,
Amoco, Rank Xerox, Coca Cola, NEI, Procter & Gamble, Colgate Palmolive, Massey Fergusson, Heineken,
etc. Many of these companies have corporate experience of the benefits to be derived from the use of
GIS; these people are beginning to set an example for the way forward.
But even they are dependent upon the initiative of companies like Geo Strategies.
Initially, we set out to provide a data capture service - to be a GIS service bureau. But, as will be
apparent, customers were not exactly beating a path to our door. So we had to take the initiative. We
spent roughly 12 months building data sets on a speculative basis: a 1:500 000 topographic map for the
region, a series of county maps at 1:200 000, a set of street maps for the major cities - all at our own
expense. But this is beginning to pay off.
So, what are the lessons we can learn?
As all GIS professionals know, a GIS is of no use without data.
In the West this is usually taken to mean spatial attribute data - not the base map data which is
usually available. But in Eastern Europe - and, indeed, in many parts of the world, it is the underlying
map data, which is needed as well. And, nowhere is this more true than in Romania where, to this day
(February 1996), all maps between a scale of 1:2000 and 1:200 000 are considered as being secret - a law
that is strictly enforced. (Note: this in itself produces an "interesting" problem for a data
producer!).
So, the lesson is that there is indeed a "quick buck" to be made by the sale of GIS systems
but this leads to a lot of frustrated customers. It is important that the systems suppliers should
locate local data producers and form a partnership. Are these partnerships that will assure a long-term
success in emerging markets such as ours. In this way we will (eventually) have happy customers!
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