Author Archives: John Lockton

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To delete or not to delete

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Leigh Jasper (Co-founder and CEO of Aconex) has written an interesting article discussing the perils of deleting records from collaboration based systems.  Leigh talks about the integrity of the system.  If you cannot be sure that a document in a control system will still exist at some point in the future, then that is a risk legally but also for business value.

I believe the same is true from a spatial and communication point of view.  For example, if a user can delete a ‘well’ entity from a gas field, and it just vanishes from…

Cloud computing – a shot in the arm

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I came across an article which discusses how ‘cloud computing’ may be one facet of how the global economy may be able to kick-start itself.

“Economists and pundits have long feared the emergence of what they called “hollow corporations,” or businesses that don’t actually produce actual goods or services themselves, but instead act as brokers or intermediaries relying on networks of suppliers and partners. But now, thanks to technology, successful businesses surprisingly are often brokers of services, delivered via technology, from providers and on to consumers. Where are these services coming from?  Look to the cloud.”

Interestingly, it goes…

What’s the next disruptive idea for collaboration?

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Paul Wilkinson wrote an article on his blog recently entitled ‘What’s the next disruptive idea for collaboration’.  Paul’s blog is normally focused around collaboration for the construction industry, but it made me think about collaboration more generally.  Below is my reply I posted on Paul’s blog.

Paul, your blog post made me think about the convergence of a number of collaboration technologies that I believe is happening – particularly in the SaaS/Cloud space.

SaaS/Cloud solutions are either established or gaining traction for many specific tasks. For example, the delivery of Document Management (there are many), maps (Google Maps)…

Queensland Gas Conference & Exhibition

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QGCE is a premium, authoritative Gas Industry Conference and Exhibition that offers energy, petroleum and gas industry professionals in domestic and international markets:

  • Unparalleled networking opportunities with leading industry players;
  • A forum to be informed on industry developments and issues; and
  • A platform to showcase the latest industry trends, products and technologies.

QGCE enables industry to leverage the huge potential of Queensland -specific Coal Seam Gas (CSG) to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

Introducing in 2012:

  • Matchmaker/Meet the Buyer Program – Bringing together exhibitors with key industry buyers
  • Enhanced Technology Showcase
  • Fully integrated conference and exhibition programme

…

Queensland International Gas Symposium: A World of Opportunities

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The Queensland Government invites you to a not-to-be-missed business event – the Queensland International Gas Symposium: A World of Opportunities on 7 – 8 December 2011.

As the site of the world’s first CSG to liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facility and home to over $45 billion in projects under construction, Queensland is the ideal place to showcase what is happening across the sector at both a national and international level.

Join industry leaders and experts at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre for an engaging two-day program to learn more about the latest global market trends, environmental management…

Collaboration in the workplace

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Collaboration in the workplace has changed tremendously and is still evolving at a rapid pace.

Thousands of years ago people communicated face-to-face and by drawing on cave-walls. Over the years there has been a progression to letters, memos, telephone calls, telex, faxes and during the last +/-20 years email and applications on mobile devices (including SMS and MSN Messenger).

A lot of business people are now also using newer technologies to collaborate.  For example, public access solutions such as Facebook, Twitter, Skype and LinkedIn allow for communication between people.  There are also similar ‘enterprise social network’ solutions for corporate…

Cloud, SaaS, etc

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Introduction

When talking to people about ‘The Cloud’ and ‘SaaS’ I have found that the terms are often either not fully understood, or used interchangeably (me included !), or both. There are also a few associated terms that are used as well. So I thought a discussion of this space would be useful.

So what is ‘The Cloud’?

‘The Cloud’ as defined by Wikipedia is: “the provision of computational resources on demand via a computer network. Historically, the term ‘The Cloud’ is used as a metaphor for the Internet.

Cloud computing can be compared to the supply of electricity and…

Common problems facing the GIS industry (part2 – process/system focused)

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This is Part 2 of a discussion about problems that appear to be facing individuals and organisations within the spatial industry. As per Part 1, I would appreciate your comments, even if you disagree, and your examples of these happening in the real world.

In Part 1 the focus was on data issues, in Part 2 the focus now moves to process and system problems.

8. LACK OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PROJECT STAKEHOLDERS

Multiple stakeholders of a project are rarely on the same page (information is not available, or hard to…

Common problems facing the GIS industry (part1 – data focused)

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During recent discussions with others in the spatial industry it has become apparent that there are a set of common problems that appear to be facing individuals and organisations within the spatial industry. This text tries to summarise the problems, but does not pertain to be an exhaustive account – there are no doubt others. I would appreciate your comments, even if you disagree, and your examples of these happening in the real world.

This is part 1 of the discussion and focuses on data issues.

1. DUPLICATION OF DATA

It appears to be common that people take a copy…