This document provides information about geographic information systems (GIS) including commonly used software programs (QGIS, ESRI), data formats (.shp, .tab), standards (WGS 84), and types of spatial data (vectors, rasters, open data sources). It discusses the benefits of migrating from a proprietary GIS (ESRI) to an open source one (QGIS) in terms of reduced costs and increased access. An example is given of savings of £15,000 in license fees alone for one local authority that switched to QGIS. The document promotes the use of free and open source GIS tools.

1. GIS
27700 CadCorp
Python
ESRI
Vector
QGIS
.TAB
.csv
.shp
WMS
Proprietary
Geogeek
Big Data
data.gov.uk
Open Source
Ordnance Survey
Rasters
WGS 84
Open Data
MapInfo
PostGIS
FOSS4G

2. Who is this man & why is he here!
Name:
Simon Miles
Job title: GIS Developer
Current Employer:
Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead
Geogeek:
YES!
Describe your role:
I create maps from data, scripts and code;
and help 80+ other staff to roughly the same thing!
Why are you here:
To sell you free GIS!

3. Routes into GIS?
Astun Technology
QGIS
Data
Open-Source
Goodies

4. What is QGIS?
Open-Source GIS solution = Licence Free
<0.5 million downloads as of version 1.8
UK Local Authority uptake growing!
www.qgis.org
RBWM migrated from a proprietary to open source GIS last year
Yr 1 savings of £15,000 in just licence costs
Increased our GIS user base to over 80

5. Why migrate?
?
Spend more
with ESRI
?
?
Go
Open-Source
?
?
Alternative
GIS vendor
?
Image - http://abrampoon.files.wordpress.co/2010/08/at-cross-roads3.jpg
ESRI
(Proprietary GIS vendor)
Costing a fortune
Locked in data
No real means of scaling up GIS

6. Savings?
£15,000
in ESRI
Licence costs
Yr 1
Reduction in
Hardware upgrades,
Memory, cpu’s etc
Server consolidation
More GIS for less
Further savings
in ESRI
Licence costs of
£7000
Yr 2
Image -http://www.q4.com/savings-accounts/

7. What do we do with GIS?
Lots!
Over 700 datasets in our database
Some staff….
Just view data
Create data
Analysis data

8. Data - PostGIS
750 odd GIS datasets
From
Dog bins
to
CCTV camera coverage

9. Data - Rasters
Ordnance Survey supplied data,
Vector Map Local
1:50,000 map etc
We purchase…
Aerial Photography
Historic Maps
Image:http://clayman5.deviantart.com/art/raster-man-reggae-music-296533472

10. Data – Raw GIS formats
• Supplied by contractors
• Created in-house
• Downloads from
data.gov.uk
ONS
Environment Agency
Image:http://images.flatworldknowledge.com/campbell/campbell-fig04_008.jpg

11. Black & White
Bit of 3D
Colour
Master Map – look and feel

12. Master Map – Urban Grain

13. 2001 census data

14. Crime data

15. imd 2010 – Living Environment

16. VML + QGIS + Inkscape =

17. Me! – Simon Miles
simon.miles@rbwm.gov.uk
@geosmiles
http://ukqgis.wordpress.com/