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GIS

KMS A model for Ordnance Survey ?

Today I presented a Keynote to the Partner Conference of Kort & Matrikelstyrelsens or KMS the Danish National Mapping Agency, and as a organisation it represents an interesting contrast to Ordnance Survey. There is in Denmark a clear separation between the capture and use of core geographic information for government use and the commercial exploitation of that data.

Within government agencies there is a free flow of information with little restriction to allow goverment activities to be carried out and services provided to the citizen. All commercial applications of geographic information are served by a group of partners of KMS who all have access to the national datasets via a range of web services implemented using OGC WxS services, including feature serving. Something the OS has been experimenting with for 5 years…
KMS have added to the standards to allow e-commerce tracking of usage and the correct licensing to take place.

Importantly KMS do not compete with their partners in serving these commercial markets.

Technically this is a great solution, which seems to be working both for the customers of KMS and its dynamic partner community and there is complete clarity as to the respective roles of each within the market.. it is nicely summarised by the following statement on the KMS website

The National Survey and Cadastre creates and maintains geodata, which professional firms use to produce maps and mapping products.”

If nothing else, this should be food for thought for the OS with the government response to the OFT report expected any day now…

Written in the BA Lounge, Copenhagen Airport and submitted from home, using my home 802.11 network.

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