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July 24, 2008

ESRI Press Publishes Definitive Book on GIS and Return on Investment

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The Business Benefits of GIS

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  • Interview with Victoria Kouyoumjian, ESRI [WMV]

Redlands, California—The latest offering from ESRI Press, The Business Benefits of GIS: An ROI Approach, details a return on investment (ROI) methodology that explains how the implementation of a geographic information system (GIS) can create business value for an organization. This book was written by David Maguire and Victoria Kouyoumjian, ESRI's chief scientist and IT strategy expert, respectively, and Ross Smith, a member of PA Consulting Group, Inc.'s management team and leader of the firm's GIS initiatives

"Today's executives are seeking more sophisticated approaches for prioritizing and targeting investment in GIS technology and for proving how and when that investment will deliver tangible benefits to their organization," said Maguire. "The Business Benefits of GIS: An ROI Approach provides the steps necessary to quantify the return on investment when implementing a GIS project."

Maguire believes that a wide variety of GIS practitioners, including managers and business architects, will use the material in the book, in conjunction with the supporting Web site (www.esri.com/roi), to implement an ROI-based GIS project. The site provides access to all the tools and templates necessary to implement the steps in the methodology.

"The 10-step methodology leads people through the whole process, from the initial idea to a complete, compelling report that can be presented to a review committee or funding body," said Smith. "Although it is written as an end-to-end process, we anticipate that some organizations will use only portions of the methodology. For example, some may use the approach to create a budget or to model benefits they expect to be delivered by their ongoing work."

Kouyoumjian added that "The approach focuses on six key topics that we believe are critical to creating a defensible position on the value of GIS for any organization: demonstrate the real business value, determine the specific costs, estimate the time frame for delivery of benefits, understand the resource requirements, define the governance and management, and calculate the return on investment."

The original methodology was developed by PA Consulting Group, Inc., a global management consulting firm. It was customized by the book's authors, under license from PA, for use by GIS practitioners.

The Business Benefits of GIS: An ROI Approach (ISBN: 9781589482005, 256 pages, $24.95), is available at online retailers worldwide, at www.esri.com/esripress, or by calling 1-800-447-9778. Outside the United States, visit www.esri.com/esripressorders for complete ordering options or contact your local ESRI distributor. For a current distributor list, visit www.esri.com/distributors. Interested retailers can contact ESRI Press book distributor Ingram Publisher Services.

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The information in The Business Benefits of GIS: An ROI Approach is derived in whole or in part, under license, from the ROI Methodology of PA Consulting Group, Inc.

About PA Consulting Group, Inc.
PA Consulting Group, Inc., is a leading management, systems, and technology consulting firm with a unique combination of these capabilities. Operating worldwide in more than 35 countries, PA draws on the knowledge and experience of 3,000 people, whose skills extend from the initial generation of ideas, insights, solutions, and new technology all the way to detailed implementation. Visit us at www.paconsulting.com/gis.

The PA Consulting Group Logo and www.paconsulting.com are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of PA Knowledge Limited in the United States, Japan, the Russian Federation, Czech Republic, China, and the European Community and certain other jurisdictions.

About ESRI Press
ESRI Press publishes books on GIS, cartography, and the application of spatial analysis to many areas of public and private endeavor including land-use planning, health care, education, business, government, and science. The complete selection of GIS titles from ESRI Press can be found on the Web at www.esri.com/esripress.

Press Information:
Image Available upon Request
Jim Baumann, ESRI
Tel.: 909-793-2853, extension 1-1807
E-mail (press only): press@esri.com
General Information: info@esri.com

 

 
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