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Integrate Spatial Data in your business processes

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Integrate Spatial Data in your business processes
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237
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Spatial information always brings added value to workflow processes of all kinds. Traditionally, applications for managing general information do not incorporate management functionalities for the associated spatial information, which is treated independently and, thus, not synchronised. This leads to lack of coordination and can cause management and decision-making processes to be delayed or not have the spatial information updated in real time. This success case shows the development of a general interface for the integration of spatial information in the worflow of general purpose applications by establishing communication interfaces based on OGC protocols and Open Source tool capabilities, acording to the following workflow: Workflow process identification and sending of information in JSON format. Representation of the general purpose information using OGC protocols. Editing of the spatial and alphanumeric file information via OGC protocols. Consolidation of spatial information in the central processing repository. In this way, by means of Open Source technologies, instantaneous updating of the spatial information associated with procedures is carried out in real time through the use of OGC protocols and Open Source technologies. This success case proves how, through standard-based interfaces, the absolute integration of spatial data in a centralised repository is achieved and managed in the data production processes in an instantaneous way, resulting in a unified product that allows the processing and management of procedures with spatial information updated in real time. Technologies: PostGIS, GeoServer, OpenLayers, Mapea, OGC standards, GeoJSON, REST API
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Software developerOpen sourceSineInformationSystem programmingImplementationDisintegrationVirtual realityElectronic GovernmentService (economics)Self-organizationPlanningData managementSystem administratorCartesian coordinate systemElectronic GovernmentComputerComputer fileCASE <Informatik>SynchronizationGoodness of fit40 (number)
DatabaseState of matterMultiplication signElectronic mailing listDifferent (Kate Ryan album)Projective planeInformationMereologyDigital photographyProcess (computing)Hill differential equationEmailAreaWater vaporMoment (mathematics)Error messageFile formatReal numberThomas BayesComputer animation
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Kolmogorov complexityDisintegrationStandard deviationMeta elementCurveServer (computing)Process (computing)Cartesian coordinate systemTheoryThomas BayesLevel (video gaming)Digital photographyMoment (mathematics)Multiplication signWater vaporOrientation (vector space)File viewerComputer animation
Mobile WebCurveCartesian coordinate systemFunctional (mathematics)Multiplication signStack (abstract data type)Program flowchart
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Transcript: English(auto-generated)
Can you confirm this? Okay, now I see myself. Okay, so well, I still have commented I'm
going to make a follow up on how to integrate the spatial data in business processes. First of all, I will go very, very fast to give you some background on the company I work for, not for commercial, but to let you know that we're a company, let's say that
have different businesses. One of them is the GIS and the other one is e-government services, electronic administration and that kind of things, files and so on. So, sorry,
I think there are some problems with my mic. Let's see, equal mic volume, better now too. Is it better? Okay, I hope so. I'll try to speak louder in any case. So, the thing
is that we have a strong background in the GIS and in general purpose for e-government applications. We work worldwide and we have realized that there is a desynchronization
of spatial and the non-spatial world. Okay. Traditionally, these have been very separated worlds. It's true that in the past 10 to five years, we have tried to integrate GIS in every place that the users are more and more aware of the needs
of having the GI information updated in the processes, but the real problem that we face everywhere is that still there is a big difference between both worlds. You know, you go to a project and you have in a separate part the non-spatial
data and then the spatial data. And that's a really big problem for us because the spatial data that you actually have are inventories, which are kind of photos at a certain time. You have a list of licenses or a list of places or a list of
whatever at a given moment, but they do not remain alive because these entities live in the non-spatial world and from time to time come to the spatial world yearly, mainly. So, we started to think some time ago on the need to
integrate these both worlds. Well, nothing new to you, but we will tell you our experience here and where we are. So, what we did is to create kind of applications where the spatial data will be very, very, really easy to
manage. Okay? So, actually, all the users have the opportunity to create their own layers and have them updated. We gave them the abilities to have the
tools to create layers, to update them, to give them styles, to build some tools specific for their needs. So, they will be able, these non-spatial
users, they will be able to manage their own spatial data. Of course, everything, and this is very also linked with the other talk, also with only with OGC standards, following the standards and open source software.
So, we created some platforms that was during time, and they had a lot of tools and capabilities. So, we made a modular orientation where they could easily select what were the basic layers to add in a map and also to add
the tools that they needed for a moment. So, we reduced, even though it's quite simple to deploy, for us, let's say for GIS people, it's quite simple to deploy a GIS, let's say a GIS server or a WMS or a WFS or whatever
server, and then a map viewer with tools and so on. For these non-average GIS users, it is a huge learning curve. So, we, in our processes in the
years, back in the years, we built applications to try to make them publish the spatial data in three clicks, trying to avoid that the spatial data was kind of photographs, as we commented before, so they could live at the same time and they could be updated by the users themselves.
But, the thing is that even though we tried to do so, still, there was a learning curve for them. To mention all that we provided to manage
the spatial data, we made an API so the applications could integrate. We gave them lots of functionalities. I'll come to this later. We have a very, let's say, simple or a very classic flavor with all
these technologies. We can go from, let's say from business to technology, as you prefer. Okay? So, as you desire. So, in any time you can write
and we can answer. So, we provided this technology stack and built all these functionalities. We made them with this three clicks approach to publish layers, even in WMS or using vector data as PDF, also editing
data, downloading WFS, editing with WFSD, metadata, mashups, you could embed your map wherever with the layers you wanted to. You can embed
this. This is HTML with JavaScript at the end and CSS. So, finally, we also gave them mobile apps to field work so they could have a mobile application ready to go. We gave them the chance to publish in social
networks. And even more functionalities, styling, high resolution printing, search engines, vector tiles I mentioned before, and more than others. But still they were separate worlds. Still they needed to go to the spatial part. Still they needed to get into a map. They
needed to draw. They needed to edit. They needed to put the pieces together. It improved the situation because it spread the knowledge of the GIS but didn't solve the initial problem, the state of the problem at
the beginning where these worlds were completely different. Still they had separate lives. And our main goal here and our difference from other approaches was to join them together. And so coming back to the
initial slide where we said we are a company focused in GIS but also in non-GIS product, we realized that we had the problem and the solution
inside the house. So we started to work together, not in the clients but in our own products, to offer a different value to the clients by the integration of the spatial data in all the procedures and the workflows
that the rest of the applications were dealing with. I mean, when I'm referring to non-GIS applications, for example, for local entities,
licenses for a bar, a restaurant, or let's say a public event, whatever is a workflow, all that has a spatial address, has a street name, has
very, very specific spatial data which lived in separate worlds. So for our workflows, what we try now is to with all the tools that we have built during time to manage the spatial data, integrate them in our own
products. So the clients themselves wouldn't have the chance to avoid the GIS world. So we incorporated all the tools, all the layers in these
tools, specifically in one tool, which is the creation of the forms. This is not GIS related, but we integrated in a general purpose application where you build some formularies to the user so they fill in
their data, their address, where they want to ask something. So we integrated a map, we integrated straight map reverse geocoding. It may seem simple things, but in the end, in the few years, well, a couple of years
ago, people were not feeling a normalized address. They did not have a reference street name. So they could type different streets, they could even fail in the spelling. So in the end, well, we realized that the GIS
was needed and was needed specifically at that point, at that time when you are creating the data, no matter spatial or non-spatial, because it's all the same entity. So finally, we gave them the possibility
to locate the positions on a map. And then we have noticed, it's a little bit different. Finally, we came with a product that has really like to the customers, because they feel that they have everything
managed in a single point. And all the information can be changed live. So each time they provide with a restaurant license, the layer of restaurants in the city changes as the license is approved or
rejected or whatever. So this was the real game changer for us. We had lots of tools, lots of ways to make maps very, very, very, very easy. But in the end, we needed to integrate them and was
not an actual integration. So I think I'm okay with the time. I'm six minutes left. I'm just going to show you a couple of live things, a small video to let you know. This evolution, so
you are aware of the changes that we have made, which I insist it may seem very simple, but it has made really, really a difference. So in the past, we gave the users the possibility to build a map. Well, you upload a layer, you connect to a database,
you add a layer here, you mark or unmark the layer you want. You can put or remove the buttons you want, whatever. Really, really easy to the users. But the thing is what I
commented before, it didn't work. It didn't work as much as we wanted. It worked very, very well because it was a lip for the users. But it didn't work in the way we wanted. Or we expected to or we were looking for. So what we made
then was to move it to another application to include it, embed it as a part of a workflow. So in order to avoid
running out of time, let me move here. This is what I wanted to show you. This is an application where you are building a form, okay, for a specific purpose. No matter what. Then you have a control that you say it's an evolution of the map. Then you have a control where you
say, okay, I have the location of a restaurant precisely. So then you add it. You put the map that you have also, that you have created here. You have several maps to choose. You put the map there. And then you add it
here as a component. And you can also interact with the rest of the form by adding expressions on the JSON file or the info of the WFS request that you made. And you can put a query to extract certain
property from a GeoJSON that is returning it. And then you fill another part of the form with that information. So as you type in or you put a point on the map, non-spatial data, traditionally known as
it, is filled. So we can see another example. This is how we build the form. Let me show you how the form is then presented. You have the usual license request for restaurant. Then you have it
there, your map as you configured before. Then you put the name, then you put certain aspects of the license. And finally, what you do is to locate and put the correct address. You look for your
own address, which previously you had to, what you were doing was to type it free, which was a mess in the end. And then you have this information right from a street map, from an
airport map. And then you can verify, then you have a lot of info there. So the goal here as I commented, it is a very, very simple use case. It is not rocket science. But believe me,
that is an evolution for the way that the non-spatial applications behave with spatial data. And finally, you can see how it is integrated. There is a special part in the application, which is called G1 Spatial. And
then you have all the layers. This was one of the ones that we have been editing with the forms updated on real time. So what you have finally is all the licenses that are being
on a workflow, correctly positioned on a map with the real data with no mistakes and a layer that is alive in real time and updated by completely non-GIS users. They do not know what is
behind. They only type the street name or they paint on the screen. They put the point in the place and that's it. So well, this is it. I'm trying to go very, very fast, but I hope
I explained the point. Okay. So this is how we have integrated spatial data. No very fancy functionalities, but very simple, but very, very, very effective for the use cases that we have, that we have faced with our customers. So this is it. Still on time, I
think. I cannot hear you. Better to unmute. Thank you very much. Thank you, Enrico. Thank you for your impressive talk, the amazing platform you
presented to us. And I heard it's also raining in South Africa, but it stopped here. So you probably can better hear me now. There's a question that came up and the question is when integrating GIS and non-GIS workloads, what role do unified
data management platforms play? Have you considered using a unified database for GIS and non-GIS business data? Yes, we have tried everything. We have tried several approaches there. We have faced that, for example, you can do it,
maybe the audience is pointing to, for example, it can be as simple as creating a layer in a table in a database with the spatial data and then making the non-spatial application to populate that
table in the post GIS. It can be as simple as filling all fields in a database and forget about these tools. And I agree, depending on the case, it can be very simple. But the thing is that we, during time, we have evolved these tools
to provide the users real, well, powerful tools. And the role that this platform to manage all the data has played here is to also engage a little with the customer because we provide them very, very specific tools. Maybe this is
very, very simple, but once they have the platform for a simple use case, they see the potential of it and they start using it for a general purpose, even for the very, very specific GIS. So I will say that in some cases, we have
started with bottom to top with very specific use cases, maybe only with a table and then the platform and so on. And in other cases, we have started directly with the platform because the users have that need and in the end they have integrated. So depending on the case, the platform may have a
different role. But for us, we have always tried to put it there because in the end, it is very, very useful for the users. Okay, thank you. I have another question. You're using a lot of
open-source stack in your things and you talked about that these are very simple functionality that you offer. But is there any drawback to the projects you have when using the things? How do you manage that? That
would be really interesting, I think. Yes, indeed. Well, I have not gone into the details, but if you see, for example, we have created a little small open-source project here, which is Mapea 5, which has its own
GitHub repository under this and you can put it there. When we find any issue or we have any need or when we fix any issue or anything that, well, we are in contact with the respective communities, so we can, well, have that feedback to them or even
contribute with a commit, respecting all the needs and the timeline of the project. But yes, in one hand, we revert, we try to give it back by contributing to the project as we are able to find some enhancements or we
produce some enhancements. And in the other hand, we have created on top of this another project for whoever who wants to use it. Okay. So, and one more thing, sorry, all we do in the end is also open source because all we do is for the
government and here in Spain we have a very good policy, let's say, that you have to provide all the sources and then it becomes open source and is offered to the community. So all that you have seen is in their respective client and it's part of the entity.
Perfect. I'm happy now with that. Thank you. Another question came up. The question is, when integrating a GIS workflow, do you find that it generally just needs to be simplified or do non-GIS users need completely different workflows?
Again, it depends on the case. They are very, very complex. For example, for hydrology, they needed extreme processes to give some permissions to extract water from a place,
calculations, so they needed a lot. So the logic was put in the GIS part and they needed very specific tools and probably they needed also to simplify their approach. But the real deal was in the GIS part. I have seen the other way around
when the users are not very GIS enthusiastic, they are fine. If they have an address and they have a point and they say, wow, that's what I wanted. But depending on where they are coming from and their business, you can face the extremes. You need really, really
tough tools to decide on your workflow. You need just to have a point in a place. So we have faced everything, as I guess you have done in life. I'm laughing because I know the game
and the opposite is when people from non-GIS came over and see and they told me, oh, you're a GIS guy. It's always easy because you have these marvelous pictures on your application, which really helps. I don't have to say it in English, but they say, oh, little maps,
brochures, YouTube brochures, touristic maps and things like that. Cool. Okay. So get your kudos in the chat. Thank you very much for your presentation and for the listeners. We have three minutes to switch over and then we proceed with the
next talk.