Changes between Version 30 and Version 31 of whatIsIBIS

Timestamp:

11/18/16 18:56:20 (6 years ago)

Author:

Garth Braithwaite

Comment:

--

whatIsIBIS

@@ -13 +13 @@
 ''' IBIS-PH Pros (compared to other solutions): '''
 - '''Your site, your data, your way'''.  100% control over how your pages are laid out, how navigated, and can be extended with custom programming.  The data and software is on your server(s) - you control it and own it all (Adopters may choose to host all or part of their applications and data in the cloud e.g. with a third party service provider.  In some instances it is easier and cheaper than using their state IT environment.).
+- '''Feature Complete'''.  Site provides the most asked for features which includes static content, indicators with context, real time dataset querying, and basic comparisons.
 - '''Integrated'''.  Same look and feel and features throughout the site.
 - '''Searchable'''.  Because the site uses standard URLs, it is easily crawled and indexed by basic search packages and by most web crawlers (Google).  
@@ -37 +38 @@
 '''IBIS-PH Alternatives:'''
 - '''Static Content / Content Management Systems'''.  On one end of "presenting data on the web" continuum is the use of static web pages or a CMS along with a desktop graphics package. This solution is great for contextual content and very simple/straight forward to understand and maintain.  It provides great flexibility, robust tools, and is typically very cheap when considering hard costs.  This approach is typically easily mastered.   The downsides are that is very expensive considering the soft costs; labor to produce charts, maps, and updating the ever changing datasets.  This solution does not provide any type of query capability (although query capability can be added using by integrating with another software package).  When considering presenting lots of datasets or datasets with real time data access this type of solution quickly outgrown.  CMS UI customization are typically limited. 
-- '''The data warehouse with some sort of business intelligence front end'''.  This represents the other end of the  "presenting data on the web" continum.  This type of solution "can" provide it all (if setup correctly and sufficiently funded).  Advantages include ability to process disparate datasets, provides powerful user defined "what if" tools, provides rich user defined complex reporting, provides robust complex data processing.  These types of solutions are rapidly evolving with rich analysis features, improved speed (historically these have been slow), and better usability.  The downside to these solutions are that they are typically slow, complex, hard to learn, can be difficult/expensive to modify, expensive (skilled IT support, high initial purchase and yearly maintenance fees, needs fast and large computing resources), and can have high soft costs (data stewards and end user training, in addition to the standard effort needed to maintain the data and content).  
-- '''Hosted / Web Service / Cloud based data dissemination sites'''.  This approach involves putting your data into online data presentation tool(s).  This type of solution can be very powerful and has little impact on current IT,  are typically easy to use, can be very flexible in terms of changing the user interface as well as the data reporting capabilities, and can have large support which means that the service provider has funding for support and active software development to keep things current.  There are a few downsides to these solutions which include not owning the application and must maintain the subscription(s) to keep your site.  They typically do not provide robust real time data querying capability.  They typically do not provide any way to add / modify the base features of what their software provides.  They typically do not provide a mechanism for secure datasets and if they do handle secure datasets your secure datasets are under their control.
+- '''The data warehouse with some sort of business intelligence front end'''.  This represents the other end of the  "presenting data on the web" continuum.  This type of solution "can" provide it all (if setup correctly and sufficiently funded).  Advantages include ability to process disparate datasets, provides powerful user defined "what if" tools, provides rich user defined complex reporting, provides robust complex data processing.  These types of solutions are rapidly evolving with rich analysis features, improved speed (historically these have been slow), and better usability.  The downside to these solutions are that they are typically slow, complex, hard to learn, can be difficult/expensive to modify, expensive (skilled IT support, high initial purchase and yearly maintenance fees, needs fast and large computing resources), and can have high soft costs (data stewards and end user training, in addition to the standard effort needed to maintain the data and content).  
+- '''Hosted / Web Service / Cloud based data dissemination sites'''.  This approach involves putting your data into online data presentation tool(s).  This type of solution can be very powerful and has little impact on current IT,  are typically easy to use, can be very flexible in terms of changing the user interface as well as the data reporting capabilities, and can have large support which means that the service provider has funding for support and active software development to keep things current.  There are a few downsides to these solutions which include not owning the application and must maintain the subscription(s) to keep your site.  Robust real time data querying is typically not provided.  Software changes are also typically not possible or are limited by what the software provides.  Many do not provide a mechanism for secure datasets and if they do handle secure datasets your secure datasets are under their control.
 - '''Mix and Match'''.  This approach involves using different products to handle different needs.  The pros to this include ability to use the best solutions.  The cons to this approach are consistent look and feel, integration challenges, complexity.