1975 to 90 – GIS Software Commercialization
As governments realized the advantages of digital mapping, this influenced the work of the Harvard Laboratory Computer Graphics. In the mid-1970s, Harvard Laboratory Computer Graphics developed the first vector GIS called ODYSSEY GIS. Esri’s ARC/INFO used the technical framework from ODYSSEY GIS and this work led to the next stage of development in GIS – software commercialization.
In the late 1970s, memory size and graphics capabilities were improving. New computer cartography products included GIMMS (Geographic Information Making and Management Systems), MAPICS, SURFACE, GRID, IMGRID, GEOMAP and MAP. In the late 1980s, this segment of GIS history was marked with an increasing range of GIS software vendors.
One of these GIS software vendors was Esri – which is now the largest GIS software company in the world. In 1982, ARC/INFO for minicomputers was launched and in 1986, PC ARC/INFO was launched with the production of the Intel microcomputer. Esri is now the world’s leading experts in GIS software development and it has played a key role in the history of GIS.
At this point in the history of GIS, it also gained steam with some of the first conferences and published work. The first GIS meeting in the UK was in 1975. It included a small crowd of academics. The first Esri conference was in 1981 and attracted a crowd of 18 participants. GIS consultancies started sprouting. Roger Tomlinson first used the term “Geographic Information System” in his publication in 1968 “A Geographic Information System for Regional Planning”. That was a real lonely time for GIS.
But all of us users have made GIS what it is today. Especially for the next time period: