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Greetings AMA people! We'll kick off in ~1h with @adearing & @acalamito -- feel free to post a question ahead of time, but to make things easier to read once we get started -- please try to keep off-topic chatter to #general, etc.

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@sara pinned a message to this channel.

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Queuing this up as I have a meeting during the AMA? Thanks @adearing and @acalamito for your time today and joining us here. My Q is: How does Boundless differ from other GIS solutions out there?

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Queuing up my own question before I get distracted by playing MC: for both @adearing & @acalamito -- what brought you guys to Open Source GIS?

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thank you all for joining today's AMA! We're kicking off shortly: go ahead and post questions at will. I'll let our guests @adearing & @acalamito introduce themselves, and then once they're ready they can dive right into answering all the things.

hi @adearing & @acalamito ! Thanks for taking part!

Hi ya?ll, happy to be a part!

hi everyone - quick intro - Andy Dearing, GIS lover, CEO at Boundless, and chase kids in my spare time :slightly_smiling_face:

boundless is an amazing example of an open sourcebusiness that works, how do you balance OS philosophy with the business of geo?

Anthony here, Chief Evangelist for Boundless. College trained geographer, preacher of all things GIS. Love watching Formula 1 and Penn State football (and the occasional scotch & cigar)

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@sara for me, my foray into open source started when I was working as a military contractor in Afghanistan and noticed a lot of people were performing fairly simple mapping workflows on $10k machines using $10k software. It seemed to be a waste of taxpayer dollars, and I was determined to find another way.

answering @gisdev-km 's question earlier: The Boundless Ecosystem is based on proven, open source software projects. There are no license costs, and the products are continually improved by users from all around the globe. It works cross platform on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and includes full support and maintenance for use on enterprise or operational systems. Since there are no licenses to keep track of, you can scale the Boundless platform up or out to meet your needs. This includes working in containers like Docker, etc., and in elastic environments controlled by automation software like Puppet and Chef.

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There has been a lot of talk about Business Intelligence tools and geo integration (see mapbox and Tableau, esri's new thing coming out soon ). Does Boundless have initiatives in this space as well?

@sara - for me, my background was a bit different to going to open source GIS. In working at Esri, there were many organizations who had limited budgets, but had a deep passion for GIS. Many were looking at open source, and it was alarming, for me, to see how much the open source GIS capabilities had grown. Upon joining to Boundless, I gained a greater appreciation for the FOSS4G community and all the tireless work that is being done by a whole world of talented individuals and organizations...

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geojson with out without CRS?

@robodonut - great question, while Boundless (nor open source GIS tools) have a solution for BI, per se, we have seen some integration between open source services and BI tools (i.e. organizations using Microstrategy wired up to a GeoServer OGC Service). I think there is a lot of potential to further integrate open source GIS tools with commercial BI packages.

@willcadell it is a delicate balance... We certainly encourage our customers to look at open source first, either as a stand-alone solution, or as part of a hybrid proprietary/open source architecture. If/when that architecture requires additional help/support we consider the business case for professional services. As such, we remain fully committed to the open source projects we build support services around. You can see more about that in our open source report card here: https://boundlessgeo.com/2016/11/boundless-open-source-report-card/

With that in mind I am sure people are interested in the difference between quantum GIS & Boundless Desktop (for instance)

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@robodonut _pleading the 5th on geojson / CRS issue_ :slightly_smiling_face:

You folks had a big launch just the other day, right? Can ya give us some gems that'll make us want dig in further?

@robodonut - Yes! We launched Boundless Desktop and Connect. Since many of you are already know what QGIS is, Boundless Desktop is essentially ?supported QGIS? plus many other bundled tools (pgAdmin, QTDesigner, Python, and more). With Connect, we deliver training, videos, tutorials, documentation, and (in the near future) data/content services directly to Desktop. Ultimately, we want to help promote how great open source GIS is and make it easier for users to transition to the platform.

So Boundless Desktop remains free to download and use. Its built upon the powerful and proven QGIS project we all know and love. In addition, we also include pgAdmin (removed it from Suite), Qt Designer and Python. Then we polish it off with some additional plugins such as one to connect back into our Boundless Connect ecosystem. The biggest ?difference? is that Boundless Desktop has the option for support and maintenance as part of a monthly subscription. Its really just an insurance policy for those who want it.

for those in an operational environment, or those who are new to open source, its a viable option to ensure success

oh no shit? that's pretty cool. Honestly one of the main issues i have seen from higher ups when discussing FOSS options is support down the road.

@robodonut yes, it was something we heard from several customers, and so we are doing our best to provide a solution to that problem :slightly_smiling_face:

So if someone found a bug would they push a pull request to QGIS or Boundless Desktop? :slightly_smiling_face:

I guess I?m asking if QGIS and Boundless Desktop will take different development paths?

Or in the case of a non-technical individual, could they call or email in the event of a bug/problem?

@willcadell if a supported user of Desktop requests a bug to be fixed or enhancement to be made, we will make enhancements and push back to community.

we have no intention of forking open source projects - that is BAD :disappointed:

@adearing super cool!

@brianbancroft - yes! Call, email, or put a post out on one of our forums in connect (http://connect.boundlessgeo.com) and we have a team to answer (or others in community can answer via forums as well)

I?m always curious? how busy do your support teams get?

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We encourage all of you to check out Boundless Connect. Beyond a one-stop-shop of a ton of tutorials, training resources and videos, Connect is also a great knowledge base for users to ask questions and search for solutions.

Favorite way you've seen Boundless used? example links? Random follow up for you both. Whats the last song you put on in your car?

@willcadell they are pretty busy - while not having specific metrics, the team is actively working customer enhancements and bugs with many open source projects (GeoServer, GeoWebCache, QGIS, etc..)

In addition to Boundless employess seeding content, our hope is that the global open source community also contributes to the ecosystem and helps other users

It sounds to me that prime target customers for Boundless Desktop are in local government, who currently (at least where I live) almost exclusively have arrangements with Esri for their GIS software. What barriers do you see for the displacement of Esri with Boundless in local government?

Best example of a large airport or municipality or gov't agency all-in with Boundless products? I know Portland is pretty heavy on Open Source geo, but from what I read about on the website, some places like NYC have a mix of things.....

@robodonut last song?? I?m an EDM fan, so I think Martin Garrix & Bebe Rexha - In the Name of Love

@robodonut actual, cool project going on right now with a helicopter dispatch company in Gulf Coast of US - they track their helicopters in flight as they are flying people, equipment, etc.. to/from the coast to oil rigs. Use GeoServer to track assets, use openlayers to visualize.

ooooooo dang!!! that sound cool

@robodonut unlike @acalamito , not a regular listener of EDM. I am more of a Strumbella's listener ( Shovels & Dirt fav. track right now)

@alphabetasoup Great question. State/local governments are definitely one group who would benefit from open source desktop GIS (shrinking budgets suck). Right now the biggest barrier is simply evangelism and making people aware of alternative solutions.

We need to continue to promote open source as much as possible.

Educators are another area we are trying to target, as they too have shrinking budgets and a need to scale infinately

@arcvancouver good question. Large municipalities are Port of Seattle and NYC, along with Portland. Starting to see a few of the larger Port Authority / Municipalities that are looking at open source and using it in a hybrid environment (colocated with Esri infrastructure)

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@adearing had one client go completely all-in?

(that would have been some kind of internal culture shift for sure....)

Do you have more information on hand on how that company is using Geoserver to track assets? I have a former employer who might be interested in something similar.

@arcvancouver MSP International Airport's Noise and Environment programs (my former employer) use a full FOSS stack for analysis/server see http://macnoise.com

@arcvancouver from a Boundless customer perspective, not yet. There might be others out there (unsupported) who are using an entire open source stack (i.e. what @bitnerd references)

I?m interested in how ?traditional? GIS companies are looking at opportunities in the consumer geospatial world? obviously there are some big moves afoot in the tech world these days??

@adearing while they are not a Boundless client now, the OpenLayers animated flight tracks were developed by OpenGeo :slightly_smiling_face:

@brianbancroft will need to get back to you on that. I know they are using it, but don't know underlying architecture. I do know that they asked for moving helicopter blade symbols on the map to track assets - that was pretty cool to see animated icons moving across a map.

@brianbancroft ExactEarth in Canada is also experimenting with GeoServer on top of GreenplumDB (massively scalable Postgres) to track ships globally (AIS data)

Thanks @adearing! I know a contact that uses an antiquated hodgepodge of Radio -> COM -> Ozi Explorer for tracking and display, and has approached ESRI to bring his tracking to the 2010's. Issue is that the WTI has hamstrung his client budgets. He'd love to hear of this case study!

@jgarnett uploaded a file: https://thespatialcommunity.slack.com/files/jgarnett/F346F2XM2/hi_from_postgis_day._null_

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@willcadell traditional GIS software is obviously moving to the cloud. Scaling the backend GIS Server infrastructure to handle massive data streams, perform analytics, enable alerting, and provide monitoring back to clients (BI systems, or other apps) is where the shift is occurring.

What changes in open source GIS would you most like to see? what are the biggest failings of FOSS in GIS and how can this community help?

Any thoughts on GeoMesa? http://www.geomesa.org/

@alphabetasoup: Great LocationTech project, working with CCRi, included in boundless suite.

Probably should have googled geomesa + boundless first! That's great.

@robodonut open source GIS tools are extremely powerful. However, sometimes usability becomes a challenge (i.e. needing some sort of hand-holding to get the tech up and running). It would be great to see a track on usability / user-conference at the next FOSS4G (i.e. how do GIS analysts and/or non-developers use / implement open source to solve problems)

@alphabetasoup We have a great relationship with the CCRI team running GeoMesa, and we have a GeoServer extension that enables users to connect to a GeoMesa store for ?big data? mapping. We are working with them now to extend into Cassandra and other data stores. We also work well with GeoWave and GeoTrellis, so we don?t really have a favorite in the geospatial big data space, we try and work with everyone :slightly_smiling_face:

I always get confused by the difference between FOSS4G and LocationTech...

I would love to see our base support libraries (jts, real, proj) receive better support. Our communities do not see these building blocks, letting then stagnate.

@willcadell LocationTech is a software incubation foundation just like OSGeo. Both are designed to foster the best-of-breed open source GIS projects we all use in our day-to-day (FOSS4G the thing). As for FOSS4G the event, both OSGeo and LocationTech play a part in organizing that conference

@adearing do you see the recent management shake up at Locationtech impacting Boundless or its mission?

@toddzilla will actually let @acalamito answer it from a LocationTech perspective (he is on steering committee).

softball Q for @adearing and @acalamito .... If you could have dinner with one geo heavy hitter (current or past) who and why?

From a Boundless perspective, we depend upon LocationTech and OSGeo to help amplify the open source gis mission.

@toddzilla I do not see the change at LocationTech impacting Boundless at all. I am actually a LT steering committee member, and can assure you the organization has a clear and defined path for the future. LocationTech has many great leaders in the organization who are working hard to ensure no projects are affected.

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@robodonut I had the pleasure of meeting Roger Tomlinson at his last Esri UC before he passed away. While I didn't have a chance to talk with him in depth, it would have been great to meet with him and hear his story from the beginning...that would have been special.

@robodonut good question?for me its a toss-up between Roger Tomlinson (father of GIS!) and John Snow (the epidemiologist, not the GoT character). Would LOVE to pick their brains on how they saw maps as a way to communicate

ALCON what are you going to do for #PostGISDAY

_10m to last call, get your questions in now if you got 'em_

@toddzilla we have been rocking it at the Geography 2050 conference today. What a special event here in NYC.

While no specific discussions on PostGIS, focusing on how understanding geography and how it impacts global sustainability has been extremely enlightening.

>John Snow (the epidemiologist, not the GoT character) no clarification needed round these parts bud :wink: :metal:

Yeah cause GoT is spelled Jon :stuck_out_tongue:

You know nothing @robodonut

@acalamito uploaded a file: https://thespatialcommunity.slack.com/files/acalamito/F346QDCS0/cy-7o8rwkaaee5l.jpg

John Snow pub in London this past January

hell yeah. that close the the legendary pump?

yep, right across the street

was a bucket list item for me

best Web app/site you guys have seen online with Boundless products?

nice pun ... "bucket list" @acalamito

i try...

@acalamito mine was walking by the statue of David Livingstone at the Royal Geographic Society building in london by Hyde Park there... on a stopover on the way to Malawi for an internship ....

@arcvancouver peronsally, http://mapstory.org is a great implementation of Boundless / open source products (although it is undergoing maintenance right now so not that many layers show up).

@arcvancouver very cool. Malawi must have been one heck of an experience

It was! My first professional "GIS" experience, circa 2000-01...

we're coming up on the 1h mark -- we'll officially wrap up on the hour, but feel free to keep the chat going. @adearing & @acalamito , you're welcome to stick around and continue answering questions as long as you like but I know you both are busy so drop whenever you need to - we understand. To both of you, thanks again for coming out for this AMA! Andy specifically, since you're at Geo 2050 right now -- appreciate you taking time out to chat with us today. Cheers, everyone!

/giphy thumbs up

thanks guys!

cool - thanks all! It's been fun!

Thank you!

Thanks for the opportunity to chat with you all

feel free to email/tweet/slack any other questions you have, happy to answer...

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Thank you both for stopping by. Really rooting for Boundless

And thanks to @sara for running this thing

_Housekeeping note: the admins will keep this channel open until we have time to archive it & post on thespatialcommunity.org_

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/thumbsup

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@adearing I'm a bit late, well super late, but thanks for bring up no forking of QGIS code.

@adearing as a QGIS dev that makes me happy to hear

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hey @nathanw long time no chat

@jgarnett: hi, long time indeed

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