【访谈资讯】Mapping The Future---《Fast Company》采访Esri总裁Jack Dangermond
分享
Mapping The Future----绘制未来蓝图
--------正文--------
信息丰富的地图，是Esri众多成功品牌背后的秘密武器。
资产十亿级别的Esri公司，面对地理中的数据，运用制图技术，诞生一系列壮举，比如洪水预报系统、供应链的实时管理系统、阻止疾病爆发系统。来自世界各地不同领域的350000用户，从石油勘探到城市管理领域，使用Esri的GIS软件，将数据叠加在底图上，进行空间分析。
杰克·丹杰蒙德，Esri公司创始人，公司位于加利福尼亚Redlands。杰克从1969年开始担任Esri首席执行官，他将自己的商业模式描述为“the Science of Where”，带领着Esri历经各个技术周期，从主机直到云端。这里，他谈到的制图方案是如何为实时数据和云端连接提供强劲动力，给组织指引更好的决策，以及是如何为城市的未来绘制蓝图的。
技术总是组织运营的重要支撑，但是现在这个进程逐步加快，有什么区别吗？
通过实时的连接，我们的星球得以连通。通过传感器网络，例如物联网，所有移动和变化的事物都会被量测到，每个人也将会有所联系。现在所做之事比之前任何时候都更加兴奋。
那么制图在这个演变中扮演什么角色？
对于我们而言，这是巨大的转变，包含了利用实时的大数据和丰富的分析方法，以及向Web端和云端的转变。我们在公共事业、运输公司和政府单位部署了大约1000台实时服务器，可以测到诸多信息流，比如车辆的运动。城市的智能连接对于我们而言是新型的快速增长市场。迪拜想成为世界最智能化的城市，从社会媒体到交通的所有实时能源数据集成起来，我们的技术会将充分展现。
数据经常被誉为灵丹妙药，但事实比这复杂，面对海量的数据，存在什么挑战？
去分析由新技术产生的大量数据，是目前的挑战。假如有100个银行交易点，我可以轻松地在电脑上查看空间格局。1000个点，甚至10000个点也是如此，或者，通过空间聚合100000个点。但是当我有数百万个点，就会束手无策。从可视化的角度来看，无法实现。计算时间可能需要长达数周。
那么解决方案是什么？
我们所做的是将大型的空间数据放到多处理环境中。跨越了从提供单服务器和单机的客户空间到泛云端网络服务器鸿沟。我们现在能分析亿级和十亿级的海量观测数据，或者是航天器、飞行器拍摄的数万张影像。也可以轻松展示三维数据。比如我们的政府和房地产客户，在世界的另一端，通过我们某个服务器，可以远程浏览房屋、建筑或者整个城市。
实际运用怎么样？使用这些工具的公司是如何更好做决策的？
创建地图是一种快速沟通理解的方式，但这只起了个头。地图背后的空间分析是令人惊奇的，你可以看到的空间关系：什么附近有什么，什么上面是什么，什么驱动着成功。
像UPS这样的包裹快递和货运公司，现在就在使用空间分析，使得物流更加有效，为此节省了数百万美元。大型零售商星巴克，通过机器学习，使用GIS来选址，叠加地理数据图层，然后利用高级的空间分析，指导他们选择最具战略的新仓储点。我们为全世界提供数百幅权威的数据底图，从地质到气候变化和人口统计。补充了用户需要的信息。
这是Esri新的业务部分吗？
这种分析我们做得有段时间了，但是新的分析工具和功能，很轻松的与非常大的人口和消费者数据集合交互，使得在零售商和房地产行业很受欢迎。商业是我们快速增长的区域之一。
对于这种分析需求的增加，你们是如何做到领先地位的？
我们的成功部分源于不疏远我们的客户。我们将投资用到用户需要和想要的，而不是虚有其表的东西。我们的软件有一个演化架构，并且我们花巨资为现有用户提供版本更新。我们27%的花费用在研发上。是苹果的5倍之多，在微软的2倍以上。我们将大公司和初创企业一视同仁，而不是重复他们所做的。
你认为该产业接下来将朝向何方？
制图将会做成一个平台，而不是单单专注于技术。比如壳牌石油公司，几百人是地理空间技术人员，整个组织的数千人可以查看其它团队制作的地图，然后做关于他们自身的分析。
该产业拥有一个广阔和不断增长的用户社区，并且用户热衷于该信息系统，使用、分享以及在不同方面应用它。形成了一种新兴的合作文化。我们感觉自己就像一滴水，汇聚到快速流动的河里。
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
本人水平有限，翻译较渣，现附上原文和网址链接。
Mapping The Future
Technology has always played a role in how people run organizations, but recently that process has accelerated. What’s so different about today’s technology?
It’s real-time and connected. The planet is being wired up. Sensor networks like the internet of things means that everything that moves and changes will be measured. Everybody will be connected. I’m more excited about what we’re doing right now than at any other time in our history.
And what role does mapping play in this evolution?
For us, there is a huge transformation that includes leveraging real-time and big data, richer analytics, and moving to the web and the cloud. We have about 1,000 real-time servers in utilities, transportation companies, and government, which are measuring information flows like movement of vehicles. “Smart” connected cities are a new and fast-growing market for us. In Dubai, which wants to be the “smartest” city in the world, our technology will integrate real-time data into everything from energy use to social media to traffic.
Data is often hailed as a magic bullet, but the reality is more complicated than that. What challenges does the tsunami of new data present?
The challenges lie in analyzing the vast amounts of data that are being produced by these new technologies. If I have a hundred points of, say, banking transactions, I can very easily see patterns on a laptop. I can do 1,000 points, even 10,000 points, or, through spatial aggregation, 100,000 points. But when I get to a few million, I’m lost. From a visualization standpoint, you can’t do it. The computational time could take weeks.
So what’s the solution?
What we’ve done is put very large spatial data quantities in multiprocessor environments. We basically jumped the chasm between providing customers space on a single server and tapping into the broader “cloud” of networked servers. We can now analyze very large volumes of data, in the hundreds of millions and billions of observations, or tens of thousands of images from spacecraft or aircraft. That also means we can display 3-D very easily. Our government and real estate customers, for example, can allow someone halfway around the world to remotely zoom in and look through rooms and buildings or entire cities from one of our servers.
What does this look like in practice? How do companies use tools like these to make better decisions?
Maps are a way to create and communicate understanding very rapidly, but they are just the beginning. The thing that is extraordinary is the spatial analysis behind the maps. You can see relationships in space—what’s near what, what’s on top of what, what drives success.
Package delivery firms, like UPS, and trucking companies are using spatial analysis to make logistics more efficient and are saving millions of dollars. Large retailers like Starbucks are using GIS to do site selection with machine learning. With this technology, they can lay out their existing successes on the map, overlay that with other layers of geographic data, then perform advanced statistical analysis that can guide them toward the most strategic places to locate new stores. We have a base map for the whole world with hundreds of layers of authoritative data, everything from geology to climate change and demographics. That complements our users’ information.
Is this a new business segment for Esri?
We’ve been doing this kind of analysis for some time, but the new analytics tools and the ability to easily interact with very, very large data sets of demographic and consumer data is making this very popular among retailers and the real estate community. Business is one of the fastest-growing areas for us.
As demand for this sort of analysis increases, how do you stay ahead of the game?
Part of our success stems from not alienating our customers. We invest in things our users need and want, not just flashy stuff. Our software has an evolutionary architecture, and we spend a lot of money coming out with new releases that go out to our existing customers. We spend 27% of our revenue on R&D. That’s more than five times what Apple does, and more than double what Microsoft does. We partner with big companies and startups alike, and we think of them as colleagues, rather than try to reinvent what they’re doing.
Where do you see the industry heading next?
Mapping is becoming a platform rather than a focused technology. For example, Shell Oil went from a few hundred users—geospatial technical people involved in exploration—to thousands of people across the organization who can look at the maps other teams are making, make some of their own, and do analytics.
There is a vast and growing community of users who are committed to this kind of information system—using it, sharing it, and applying it in various ways. There’s a culture of collaboration that’s emerging. It feels like we’re just a drop in a river that’s moving very quickly.
原文链接：https://www.fastcompany.com/3066265/mapping-the-future
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2017-03-13
导语：这是美国最具影响力的商业杂志《Fast Company》对Esri创始人杰克的采访报道。对于成立近半个世纪的公司，Esri是如何创立自己品牌的呢，未来又会朝向何方？下面将揭晓答案
Mapping The Future----绘制未来蓝图
--------正文--------
信息丰富的地图，是Esri众多成功品牌背后的秘密武器。
资产十亿级别的Esri公司，面对地理中的数据，运用制图技术，诞生一系列壮举，比如洪水预报系统、供应链的实时管理系统、阻止疾病爆发系统。来自世界各地不同领域的350000用户，从石油勘探到城市管理领域，使用Esri的GIS软件，将数据叠加在底图上，进行空间分析。
杰克·丹杰蒙德，Esri公司创始人，公司位于加利福尼亚Redlands。杰克从1969年开始担任Esri首席执行官，他将自己的商业模式描述为“the Science of Where”，带领着Esri历经各个技术周期，从主机直到云端。这里，他谈到的制图方案是如何为实时数据和云端连接提供强劲动力，给组织指引更好的决策，以及是如何为城市的未来绘制蓝图的。
技术总是组织运营的重要支撑，但是现在这个进程逐步加快，有什么区别吗？
通过实时的连接，我们的星球得以连通。通过传感器网络，例如物联网，所有移动和变化的事物都会被量测到，每个人也将会有所联系。现在所做之事比之前任何时候都更加兴奋。
那么制图在这个演变中扮演什么角色？
对于我们而言，这是巨大的转变，包含了利用实时的大数据和丰富的分析方法，以及向Web端和云端的转变。我们在公共事业、运输公司和政府单位部署了大约1000台实时服务器，可以测到诸多信息流，比如车辆的运动。城市的智能连接对于我们而言是新型的快速增长市场。迪拜想成为世界最智能化的城市，从社会媒体到交通的所有实时能源数据集成起来，我们的技术会将充分展现。
数据经常被誉为灵丹妙药，但事实比这复杂，面对海量的数据，存在什么挑战？
去分析由新技术产生的大量数据，是目前的挑战。假如有100个银行交易点，我可以轻松地在电脑上查看空间格局。1000个点，甚至10000个点也是如此，或者，通过空间聚合100000个点。但是当我有数百万个点，就会束手无策。从可视化的角度来看，无法实现。计算时间可能需要长达数周。
那么解决方案是什么？
我们所做的是将大型的空间数据放到多处理环境中。跨越了从提供单服务器和单机的客户空间到泛云端网络服务器鸿沟。我们现在能分析亿级和十亿级的海量观测数据，或者是航天器、飞行器拍摄的数万张影像。也可以轻松展示三维数据。比如我们的政府和房地产客户，在世界的另一端，通过我们某个服务器，可以远程浏览房屋、建筑或者整个城市。
实际运用怎么样？使用这些工具的公司是如何更好做决策的？
创建地图是一种快速沟通理解的方式，但这只起了个头。地图背后的空间分析是令人惊奇的，你可以看到的空间关系：什么附近有什么，什么上面是什么，什么驱动着成功。
像UPS这样的包裹快递和货运公司，现在就在使用空间分析，使得物流更加有效，为此节省了数百万美元。大型零售商星巴克，通过机器学习，使用GIS来选址，叠加地理数据图层，然后利用高级的空间分析，指导他们选择最具战略的新仓储点。我们为全世界提供数百幅权威的数据底图，从地质到气候变化和人口统计。补充了用户需要的信息。
这是Esri新的业务部分吗？
这种分析我们做得有段时间了，但是新的分析工具和功能，很轻松的与非常大的人口和消费者数据集合交互，使得在零售商和房地产行业很受欢迎。商业是我们快速增长的区域之一。
对于这种分析需求的增加，你们是如何做到领先地位的？
我们的成功部分源于不疏远我们的客户。我们将投资用到用户需要和想要的，而不是虚有其表的东西。我们的软件有一个演化架构，并且我们花巨资为现有用户提供版本更新。我们27%的花费用在研发上。是苹果的5倍之多，在微软的2倍以上。我们将大公司和初创企业一视同仁，而不是重复他们所做的。
你认为该产业接下来将朝向何方？
制图将会做成一个平台，而不是单单专注于技术。比如壳牌石油公司，几百人是地理空间技术人员，整个组织的数千人可以查看其它团队制作的地图，然后做关于他们自身的分析。
该产业拥有一个广阔和不断增长的用户社区，并且用户热衷于该信息系统，使用、分享以及在不同方面应用它。形成了一种新兴的合作文化。我们感觉自己就像一滴水，汇聚到快速流动的河里。
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
本人水平有限，翻译较渣，现附上原文和网址链接。
Mapping The Future
Esri's data-rich maps are the secret weapon behind many of today’s most successful brands.
Data meets geography at Esri, a billion-dollar company whose mapping technology enables feats like predicting flash floods, managing supply chains in real time, and cutting disease outbreaks off at the pass. Some 350,000 customers around the world in disparate fields ranging from oil exploration to city management use Esri’s GIS (geographic information system) software to layer data over maps and conduct spatial analysis.
Jack Dangermond, cofounder of the Redlands, California–based company, and CEO since 1969, described his business now as the “science of where.” He has managed Esri through every tech cycle, from mainframes to the cloud. Here, he discusses how mapping solutions turbocharged with real-time data and cloud connectivity are guiding today’s organizations toward better decisions, and how this geo-mapping giant of a company is plotting a course for the cities of the future.
Technology has always played a role in how people run organizations, but recently that process has accelerated. What’s so different about today’s technology?
It’s real-time and connected. The planet is being wired up. Sensor networks like the internet of things means that everything that moves and changes will be measured. Everybody will be connected. I’m more excited about what we’re doing right now than at any other time in our history.
And what role does mapping play in this evolution?
For us, there is a huge transformation that includes leveraging real-time and big data, richer analytics, and moving to the web and the cloud. We have about 1,000 real-time servers in utilities, transportation companies, and government, which are measuring information flows like movement of vehicles. “Smart” connected cities are a new and fast-growing market for us. In Dubai, which wants to be the “smartest” city in the world, our technology will integrate real-time data into everything from energy use to social media to traffic.
Data is often hailed as a magic bullet, but the reality is more complicated than that. What challenges does the tsunami of new data present?
The challenges lie in analyzing the vast amounts of data that are being produced by these new technologies. If I have a hundred points of, say, banking transactions, I can very easily see patterns on a laptop. I can do 1,000 points, even 10,000 points, or, through spatial aggregation, 100,000 points. But when I get to a few million, I’m lost. From a visualization standpoint, you can’t do it. The computational time could take weeks.
So what’s the solution?
What we’ve done is put very large spatial data quantities in multiprocessor environments. We basically jumped the chasm between providing customers space on a single server and tapping into the broader “cloud” of networked servers. We can now analyze very large volumes of data, in the hundreds of millions and billions of observations, or tens of thousands of images from spacecraft or aircraft. That also means we can display 3-D very easily. Our government and real estate customers, for example, can allow someone halfway around the world to remotely zoom in and look through rooms and buildings or entire cities from one of our servers.
What does this look like in practice? How do companies use tools like these to make better decisions?
Maps are a way to create and communicate understanding very rapidly, but they are just the beginning. The thing that is extraordinary is the spatial analysis behind the maps. You can see relationships in space—what’s near what, what’s on top of what, what drives success.
Package delivery firms, like UPS, and trucking companies are using spatial analysis to make logistics more efficient and are saving millions of dollars. Large retailers like Starbucks are using GIS to do site selection with machine learning. With this technology, they can lay out their existing successes on the map, overlay that with other layers of geographic data, then perform advanced statistical analysis that can guide them toward the most strategic places to locate new stores. We have a base map for the whole world with hundreds of layers of authoritative data, everything from geology to climate change and demographics. That complements our users’ information.
Is this a new business segment for Esri?
We’ve been doing this kind of analysis for some time, but the new analytics tools and the ability to easily interact with very, very large data sets of demographic and consumer data is making this very popular among retailers and the real estate community. Business is one of the fastest-growing areas for us.
As demand for this sort of analysis increases, how do you stay ahead of the game?
Part of our success stems from not alienating our customers. We invest in things our users need and want, not just flashy stuff. Our software has an evolutionary architecture, and we spend a lot of money coming out with new releases that go out to our existing customers. We spend 27% of our revenue on R&D. That’s more than five times what Apple does, and more than double what Microsoft does. We partner with big companies and startups alike, and we think of them as colleagues, rather than try to reinvent what they’re doing.
Where do you see the industry heading next?
Mapping is becoming a platform rather than a focused technology. For example, Shell Oil went from a few hundred users—geospatial technical people involved in exploration—to thousands of people across the organization who can look at the maps other teams are making, make some of their own, and do analytics.
There is a vast and growing community of users who are committed to this kind of information system—using it, sharing it, and applying it in various ways. There’s a culture of collaboration that’s emerging. It feels like we’re just a drop in a river that’s moving very quickly.
原文链接：https://www.fastcompany.com/3066265/mapping-the-future
