Even municipalities that don't have enterprise software systems are evaluating their business applications to see if integrating GIS data would make sense. As part of its enterprise GIS implementation Longview, Texas, reviewed its major applications and databases, according to Justin Cure, GIS administrator. Questions asked about each application include:

• Will it be beneficial to establish a link between the application and the GIS?
• Can the application be linked to the geodatabase?
• Will the link be real-time or must periodic data downloads be made? What unique identifier(s) need to be used to link the two systems?
• Does the software application already have a GIS module or component?
• In what data format does the application store data (SQL Server, Access, Excel, ASCII)?
• What attributes in the enterprise system should be accessible to the GIS?

Cure said a city application called Permits Plus, which tracks all building permits and gas permits, can be tied back to the GIS parcel layer so that every permit ever granted on a property can be seen on a map. "Mapping permits also give visual clues to planners about where the city is growing and where it is not," he added.

GIS integration was rejected in some cases, such as RecTrac, an application that tracks events happening in city parks. "They looked at it and felt the benefit wouldn't be worth the effort," Cure said.

Longview's enterprise GIS implementation has included hiring consultants to teach the city's GIS staff how to integrate applications.  For instance, city staff members are working on adding mapping capability to a program called Sweeps, which gives environmental health reports for restaurants citywide. "It will be valuable for citizens to click on a map of restaurants and read those reports," Cure said. "Our goal is to put as much of these integrated applications on the Web for public consumption as we securely can."