2025 FOSS4G NA | Dragging Some FOSS4G into your Closed Source Life - Randal Hale
In this session from FOSS4G NA 2025, Randal Hale of North River Geographic Systems presents Dragging Some FOSS4G into your Closed Source Life. Randal shares a decade of experience transitioning public and private organizations from proprietary GIS stacks to open-source solutions like QGIS and PostGIS.
Through a series of candid—and often humorous—case studies, Randal explores the "messy middle" of open-source adoption. He details the reality of replacing expensive commercial software in small-town 911 centers and state agencies, offering practical advice on managing IT hurdles, securing leadership buy-in, and avoiding the "easy button" trap. The talk emphasizes that moving to FOSS4G is a journey rather than a weekend switch, requiring careful planning, community engagement, and a healthy dose of patience.
Highlights:
🛰️ The Caribbean Leap: How a consulting gig in the islands forced a sudden, total immersion into the world of open-source mapping
🔄 Sneaker-Nets and Lenovo Servers: A look at the real-world hardware and data management challenges facing small county GIS departments
🧩 The "Infection" Strategy: Why starting with low-impact datasets like bus routes is the best way to introduce PostGIS to an organization
⚙️ Beyond the Price Tag: Debunking the myth that open source means "spending no money" and the importance of budgeting for support
🌐 Community-Driven Solutions: Navigating the unique support structure of the FOSS4G community—from email lists to bug reporting
🏢 Hybrid Realities: Why a "burn the licenses" approach isn't always practical and how a hybrid stack can provide the best of both worlds
🏗️ Failure and Recovery: Lessons learned from 10,000 lines of dead ArcPy code and the ongoing effort to modernize state-level standards with SQL
For more content like this check out www.projectgeospatial.com
#Geospatial #FOSS4G #OpenSource #QGIS #PostGIS #GIS #DigitalTransformation #PublicSector #SmallBiz #TechTransition #OpenData #ProjectGeospatial #SoftwareDevelopment #Governance #CommunityBuilding
