It's not about GIS, it's about solving a problem
goo.gl/OxrF4n
James Milner
@JamesLMilner
james@loxodrome.io
Software Engineer
The Team
Professional Services
Engineering
Geovation Challenge
Geovation Programme
Coworking Space
How We Work
- Trello + standups
- Iterate fast
- Work closely with teams
- Code reviews
- Metrics:
- Working software
- Positive user feedback
Tech at a High Level
- Geo/GIS is only a part of what we do
- We don't always use OS maps
- First and foremost we aim to solve problems
- We tend to favour open source
- Easier to debug
- We can contribute fixes back
Tech at a Lowerer Level
Mobile
Frontend
Backend
Mapping
Serverless (!)
Open Innovation
We aim to foster open innovation and open source where possible
Industry Observations
Commerical Geo vs GIS
Commerical Geo
- Google Maps
- CityMapper
- Zoopla
- Uber
- AirBnB (kind of)
- Pokemon Go
GIS
- Local Gov
- TfL
- Crossrail
- Network Rail
- Starbucks
- Utilities etc
I think they could both learn a little from each other
Commerical Geo
- UI/UX
- Scale
- Customer Oriented
GIS
- Specialist techniques
- Coordinate systems exist
- Deeper analysis
- Accuracy oriented
GIS is a useful tool in a box, but not every problem is a nail
Looking into the Future
Source: Andreessen Horowitz, 2015
- Drones
- Autonomous Vehicles
- 'Internet of Things'
- Cube Satellites / Real time
- Augmented / Virtual Reality
Insert more buzzwords
Increasingly less static and more dynamic/ real time data
Manual data handling is becoming an unrealistic expectation
Luckily we have tools to help us build and handle that
The general principle is: automate, simplify and steamline everything
Big Data + AI/ML is the robotics/automation of the knowledge industry
Data and services is not the only change...
Users also have higher expectations
