OK – so this will be less dramatic than it sounds – but….this year I stepped back into partnerships. Except Partnerships sounds so formal – I always looked at it as “businesses that complement what I am doing – and (hopefully) I complement what they are doing”. To keep it shorter than that – Partnerships.
I always enter into it the same way: “If this isn’t working fire me”. Back when I started business I used to partner with a lot of different firms. I slowly dropped them all when I figured out it wasn’t working for me. Plus I don’t want to be a “one stop shop”. I can’t do everything. The things I do I want to do well though. So I’ve got this whole opensource thing going on, except I’m also using proprietary tools….like ArcGIS AND
Fulcrum: From that fateful day back in 2013 when I had a project rescued by fulcrum – I’ve been a fan. I’ve been in GIS a long time and over the last bit I’ve submerged myself in databases and data. Fulcrum scratches that Mobile itch. It’s awesome you’ve got a giant yellow GPS that gets readings down to a 1/5 of a cubit – but what do you do after it’s collected? How do you maintain your data?
So this year I kept getting the “Hey we want to put our data on a map” crowd. Yes – ArcGISOnline is happening – but I’m not a fan. I one time set up a online map and blew through 100 credits. No one could tell me what happened to them – so I just sorta stopped. Yeah – you can go cold turkey off ArcGISonline. So what am I doing? MapGeo from AppGeo.
MapGeo: A little bit of open source and a little bit of Google and a little bit of Carto – it’s the perfect hybrid solution. You’re not wrapped up in Credits and tied to one vendor for your GIS Life. It’s mobile friendly. It’s fulcrum friendly. IT’S QGIS FRIENDLY. It’s PostGIS Friendly. So what do I bring to the equation? Help. Technical Hand Holding. If you go with the full package you can load your own data. They will load it. I’ll even help.
…and that’s it. How undramatic was that? For me it was a bit step. As a one man, a dream, and a laptop (and 2 desktop machines) essentially goes “I trust these two companies”. You know what? I even turned down a partnership this year. I was approached by one exceedingly large company and it didn’t make sense. So I said “Love you mean it but I can’t”. I quickly walked away from that one. Not that it was a bad deal at all – it just wasn’t what I wanted to do.
Plans on partnering for 2017? I have none. Something may pop up but right now I’m happy with the 2 companies that I’m working with…or with which I am working to keep my english teacher from spinning in her grave….assuming she’s dead. She may not be. If you’re reading this I’m sorry. Anyway – I can help you collect data and put your “place” on the web. I can help you move your GIS life back into a good mix of open and proprietary – Or even better – Open source on the server and desktop, fulcrum for mobile, and MapGeo for your online presence.
Next up – another Year in Review and I’ll probably review training.