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The “information age” with the development 
of the personal computer and multiple 
television channels saturates us with data. 
Everyone accepts that there is a relationship 
between access to information and improving 
decision making. However, the wealth of 
information tends to obscure decision making. 
That individual and important piece of 
information often does not jump off the 
printed page on a long report. Most 
organizations tend to restrict the information 
available to decision makers to the data that 
appears to be necessary. This is primarily 
summary information. Executive information 
software can also display this data in a 
graphical format to assist decision making. 
The tactic of eliminating detail information for 
decision support is based on the premise that 
there is no appropriate method of massaging 
complex detailed data and making it useful. 
Multimedia communicates using all human 
senses except for smell. GIS techniques 
allows complex data to be displayed in easily- 
comprehended patterns. The key to 
empowering an organization is not to restrict 
the data, but rather to present that data in a 
useful and flexible way. 
  
Figure 3: 
Traditional Office 
Automation Tools 
    
Geographic 
Information 
Multimedia 
Decision Support 
Users are empowered when multimedia aids the integration of office automation and 
decision support software in an information-centric environment 
  
7. Multimedia GIS “Office of the Future” 
As a re-seller of computer aided design, 
geographic information, document 
management and multimedia systems, Fifth 
Dimension has encountered numerous 
installations which integrate GIS into a 
corporate system. There are many 
organizations on the cusp of implementing 
studies. 
The need that is in the forefront of 
multimedia/GlS/corporate ^ integration ^ is 
operations centre integration. Computerized 
operations centres are used in both the public 
and private sectors for such needs as wide 
area network support and emergency 
planning. GIS had been a discrete tool used in 
these applications. It has only been recently 
395 
that GIS has been integrated effectively for 
the operations centre and the organization as 
a whole. 
A typical operations centre in the 
transportation sector would be functional 
twenty four hours of the day, seven days a 
week. Data relating to scheduling and 
weather conditions would be displayed to the 
information centre staff. That data would also 
be used by decision makers outside the 
operation. centre when making budgeting 
decisions. : 
In the case of an emergency, for example, a 
train derailment of chemicals; the power of an 
integrated solution would be immediately 
visible. First, details about the derailment 
would be automatically E-Mailed or facsimiled