Measuring Up: The Business Case for GIS is a collection of case studies that documents the many benefits of implementing GIS technology. Compiled by Christopher Thomas, Esri State and Local Government Solutions manager, and Milton Ospina, Esri Urban and Regional Planning and Economic Development Solutions manager, the book was published this summer by Esri Press. It outlines 13 different benefits of GIS as they are realized in individual departments, interdepartmentally, and throughout entire organizations. The book contains dozens of articles that demonstrate how making GIS an integral component of any organization's business work flow will result in a multitude of benefits such as saving time and money and increasing accuracy, productivity, communication, and collaboration.

The case studies cover a range of disciplines from the business, transportation, natural resources, telecommunications, health, urban planning, cadastre, and public safety sectors as well as state and local government applications including several international user stories.

In the three decades since the development of GIS technology, thousands of organizations in all business sectors have benefited from integrating GIS into their daily business operations. The pioneering efforts of those who waded into the uncharted waters of this new science helped define a vision that today is shared by the hundreds of thousands who see real benefits from their GIS applications.

GIS has evolved into a mainstream technology because organizations that use it continue to yield a return on investment. Measuring Up documents some of these successes. Some benefits are quantifiable and measured in the amount of time saved to perform a task; money saved; revenue generated or recovered; or the percent of increased accuracy, efficiency, and productivity. Other examples in the book show how GIS helps reduce the workload, support decisions, and manage resources.

Measuring Up promotes the use of GIS as part of daily business processes and work flows and encourages GIS users to document the benefits that GIS brings to their organizations. For an in-depth look at the book and for information about how to contribute case studies for a future edition, visit www.esri.com/measuringbenefits.

Measuring Up: The Business Case for GIS is available for purchase at www.esri.com/esripress or www.esri.com/measuringbenefits or by calling 1-800-447-9778.