Managed Online Map ServicesMaps have become a critical part of the day to day operations for both the public and private sectors. However, maintaining a functioning geographic information system, (GIS), is an expensive endeavor that requires software licenses, hardware and experienced staff. This presents difficulties for small to medium sized municipalities, agencies and business where funding a functional GIS is often beyond their budget, and maintaining staff with the GIS skill necessary to maintain and utilize a GIS is a constant struggle. Erlandsen, Inc. provides managed online map hosting services, intended to address some of these issues. With nothing more than a web browser you can access online maps that include aerial photography, terrain models and local data such a parcel boundaries, city and county zoning, flood zones, etc. In addition, we can add any map data that you maintain to the online maps so that you can query and display your own information on top of our existing map data. No Software Purchase RequiredGIS software is expensive. Entry level GIS software can cost $1300 or more just for a single seat and can require hundreds of dollars in annual maintenance fees. Accessing Erlandsen Online Maps simply requires a modern web browser. There is no need to install software on multiple machines and track licenses and updates for all of your users. Rather than limiting access to the maps to only those staff members that are fortunate enough to have a license of the desktop GIS software, anyone in your office can access the maps through their web browser. Updated DataPart of the challenge of managing a GIS is maintaining current data. GIS data maintained by other entities are periodically updated. It is continuous task to keep up on those updates, download them when they are available and make sure that the latest versions are incorporated into your GIS database. Part of Erlandsen Managed Online Map Service is to keep track of when publicly available data sets such as county parcels, roads, zoning, aerial photography, etc. are updated and to make sure those updates are incorporated into our maps on a timely basis. Easy to UseDesktop GIS software is typically intended for experienced users and usually requires training in order for users to become proficient. Erlandsen Online Maps are built using ESRI’s ArcGIS Server software, which provides a simple and intuitive interface that allows novice users to interact with the maps without requiring extensive training. Basic web browsing skills are all that is needed to start using the online maps. Display Your DataIn today’s world there are a lot of free, online maps available to the public. What those services lack is the ability to display your own information on the maps along with the existing data. Part of our map hosting service is to allow you to include your data on the maps. If you have existing map data, we can incorporate that information into the online maps so that you can display and query it in relation to other data. For example, a city may have maps that layout its domestic water systems. We can overlay the water lines, valves, etc. on the online map we already maintain. City staff can then easily access their water system maps and see their water infrastructure overlain on other map information such aerial photography and parcel lines. |
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