vould GUIDE-LINES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF A 
map GEOINFORMATION UTILITY IN A DISTRIBUTED ENVIRONMENT 
naps 
| like | C.M. Paresi, M.M. Radwan 
| International Institute for Aerospace Survey and Earth Sciences (ITC) 
P.O. Box 6, 7500 AA Enschede, The Netherlands 
been | Tel. +31-53-4874339, Fax. +31-53-4874335 
  
erent | E-mail: PARESI@ITC.NL, RADWAN@ITC.NL 
| 
| Commission IV, Working Group 6 
hical KEYWORDS: Database, Development, Exchange, Information, Integration, Model, Systems, User. 
antos | ABSTRACT 
\Cias, 
legio Extreme high costs in data acquisition, and increased user demands for sophisticated applications, and thus for 
transparent access to information, regardless of the hosts on which it resides, combined with advances in databases 
systems and communications technology, are rapidly changing information management from a traditional 
)jeda | centralized perspective to a distributed one. This requires inter-operability among heterogeneous hosts, operating 
Icias, | systems, data sources and data structures. The tools and services for supporting the development and management 
Iblica | of applications in such an environment must change consequently. Currently "island solutions" are connected by 
Xico. ad-hoc approaches. 
entral A research project has been started at the ITC, aiming at the development of guide-lines for the development and 
maintenance of a Geoinformation Utility enabling integration, at different levels of decision making (horizontally: 
across different thematic databases; vertically: from local to national levels), of distributed databases, in a federated 
Map. system perspective; the ultimate goal being to enhance the availability of relevant, up-to-date, and integrated land 
information, timely and at an affordable price, to support decision making processes related to country's sustainable 
development. 
ed. 
and This paper reports on progress of the above mentioned research. It includes in particular findings related to: 
- the development of a planning framework for the development and maintenance of a Geoinformation Utility based 
flora on an analysis of the institutional, technical and economical critical success factors for such a development; 
a 14, | - the development of Geoinformation Utility mechanisms, in a federated environment; 
| - an outline of a generic approach to support the cost-effective development of such an Utility. 
' The | 1. BACKGROUND Therefore the need for the development of a methodology 
Inited consisting of models, methods and techniques that support 
tions The way ahead for the information society might be — the comprehensive planning, construction, integration and 
. summarized by the following statements [M. Bangemann, maintenance of a Geoinformation Utility, in a federated 
1994]: "Throughout the world, information and environment. 
Jepth communication technologies are generating a new industrial 
netric revolution already as significant and far-reaching as those 2. GEOINFORMATION UTILITY 
1209- in the past.", and "This revolution adds huge new capacities 
to human intelligence and ... changes the way we work 
together and the way we live together." 
Indeed, advances in communications technology, 
development of powerful desktop workstations, extreme 
high costs of data acquisition, and increased user demands 
for sophisticated applications, and thus for transparent and 
cost-effective access to existing information, regardless of 
the hosts on which it resides, are rapidly changing 
information management from a traditional centralized 
perspective to a distributed one. This requires inter- 
operability among heterogeneous hosts, operating systems, 
data sources and data structures. The tools and services for 
Supporting the development and management of 
applications in such an environment must change 
consequently. 
635 
Information is a commodity; it has value, can be bought and 
sold, and value can be added in various processing steps; 
itis even a very special commodity, as it is re-usable; but it 
is only tradeable if it is known, wanted and available. 
Geoinformation, like any other commodity should be 
provided by an utility: a Geoinformation Utility. 
A Geoinformation Utility is needed to improve access, 
sharing, integration and use of Geoinformation, to support 
decision making at different levels (horizontally: across 
different thematic databases; vertically: from local to 
national levels). Indeed, as already stated, extreme high 
costs of data acquisition (60 to 80% of the project's costs), 
and extensive development of sophisticated applications, 
increases user demands for cost-effective access to 
existing information. Also, wide and easy access to 
International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXI, Part B4. Vienna 1996