Web Software

The really cool thing about web-based GIS is that almost none of it was around 10 years ago, or really even 5.  Back then there were two major players: ArcGIS Server (which had a much different architecture then) and MapServer.  There was stuff around the edges but that was about it.

Now, the situation is totally different.  Open-source tools have sparked a vast amount of innovation in this space, and there are new for-profit players as well.  Google in particular has jumped into online mapping in a big way.  Established companies, particularly ESRI, have taken notice and dramatically updated their software, both for the web and for desktop, both to keep up with innovation and to justify the princely sums they charge for their software.

The web is where GIS is going.  Desktop has a major role as that is where most data gets created, and where hardcore analysis happens, but a lot of the simple mapping tasks that so confounded many GIS users are going straight to the web.  Instead of creating paper maps, people want web-based maps so that they can share and interact with the data behind the map.

This a very interesting time to be doing GIS!