The importance of Spatial Data has been steadily increasing in the past decade. This trend is even clearer for small and medium organizations and enterprises. Whereas classic GIS was related mostly to Defense, Environment Protection and Government, Spatial Information is used on a regular base by a large number of actors of all sizes and sectors. The need of those actors to exchange data with the external world by the means of standardized formats and data specifications, fits particularly well with the aims of the INSPIRE initiative. The development of an easy to setup solutions at fair cost can accelerate the adoption of the INSPIRE specifications dramatically, bringing to the SME a large number of benefits. The FreeGIS.net project, started as a Interreg Italy-Switzerland project by the Italian company R3 GIS, the technological Park of the Province of Bolzano (TIS), the Province of Bolzano (Italy) and the Kanton Graubünden in Switzerland. It’s aim was to devlop a platform based on best of breed open source software packages for creating INSPIRE compliant web services. A particular attention was given to multilingual aspects, since South Tyrol and Kanton Graubünden are both multilingual areas. A well defined and standardized setup lowers the investments needed to create INPIRE web services and brings INSPIRE to organizations, which would otherwise be excluded from the INSPIRE initiative, for financial or for technical reasons. Also, the ability to consume INSPIRE services in a standardized way and to easily merge them with own datasets using INSPIRE and OGC standards, will give SMEs access to geographic data all over Europe, lowering costs and difficulties related to obtaining data from different organizations. FreeGIS.net is an example on how a small enterprise can create business opportunities by investing on the deployment of INSPIRE-compliant technologies.

1. Paolo Viskanic
(paolo.viskanic@r3-gis.com)
Lowering the entry barrier for
INSPIRE compliant Web Services
Leveraging SMEs’ Strength for INSPIREGWF 2013 16/05/2013

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Content
• Who is R3 GIS?
• The FreeGIS.net Project
• Project partners
• Activities
• Results
• Our experience with INSPIRE

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• Founded 2003
• Main office in Merano (BZ), second office in Milano
• 12 Collaborators, (6 in software development)
• Quality Certification ISO 9001:2008
• Member of the Open Geospatial Consortium
• Funding member of the Foss Academy
• Operating through partners in Italy, Austria and Germany

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Ac0vi0es
SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
CONSULTING
SERVICES
TRAINING
PROJECTS
ACTIVITIES
ENVIRONMENT
AND
AGRICULTURE
GREEN
AREA
MANAGEMENT
PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION
TOURISM
AND
SKI
AREAS
FOSS
ACADEMY
UTILITIES
SECTORS

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Ver0cal
solu0ons
based
on
open
source
technology

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Open
Source
Technology
• CentOS or RedHat operating system
• Geodatabase PostgreSQL/PostGIS
• PHP, Java, Javascript, HTML
• UMN Mapserver/GeoServer
• Analysis: Grass, jGrass, gvSIG, uDig, QGis
• WebGIS Client: OpenLayers, GisClient
R3 GIS contributes to most of these Technologies

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Our
customers
• Public Administrations in Italy and Austria (mainly small
local administrations)
• Infrastructure companies
• Private contractors
• Universities and research institutions

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FreeGIS.net

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FreeGIS.net
Partners
Lead Partner: Free Software Center
of TIS Technology Park, Bolzano (I)
Supporter:
Province of Bolzano (I)
Technology Partner
R3 GIS srl (I)
Swiss Partner:
Kanton Graubünden (CH)

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Main
ac0vi0es
The FreeGIS.net Project aims to find Free Open Source
solutions to Public Administrations GIS needs. The main
activities of the project are:
• Geographical multilingual web services
• FOSS-based Reference Implementation
• FreeGIS data license
• Documentation, dissemination and training
Duration:
02.08.2010 – 02.08.2013 (extended to 31.12.2013)

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Mul0lingual
Web
Services
Multilingualism is a key aspect of WebGIS services,
especially considering the INSPIRE directive. The
Work Package included:
• Analysis of OGC and INSPIRE specifications
• Participate to OGC Technical Committee to support
and follow-up extension of multilingual aspects
• Support multilingual Services in the reference
implementation
• Implement Inspire compliant WMS in Mapserver
(subcontracted to EOX)

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FOSS-­‐based
Reference
Implementa0on

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FOSS-­‐based
Reference
Implementa0on
Activities carried out:
• Analysis and selection of software components
• Development of a FreeGIS.Viewer Map Client
which communicates to the server only through
OGC Services
• Integration of Humboldt Tools for data
transformation (Hydrologis)
• Publication of a virtual machine with all components
necessary to build an INSPIRE compliant SDI
based on Free and Open Source Software

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FreeGIS.net
Viewer

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Open
Data
Licence
Analysis, discussion, training and promotion of licenses
to make data openly available (Simone Aliprandi and
Carlo Piana)

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Dissemina0on
• Participation to +10 international events to promote the
Project and its result
• Organisation of training sessions on INSPIRE and OGC
standards to PAs and companies in the Province of
Bolzano and Kanton Graubünden
• Website and Newsletter
• DVD, final report and a last round of presentations is
being organised.

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FreeGIS.net
You
can
find
documenta0on
and
the
reference
implementa0on
on
the
website:
www.freegis.net

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Our
experience
with
INSPIRE
1
• The FreeGIS.net project allowed us to study and
implement new technologies to meet INSPIRE
requirements
• Through the participation to conferences and OGC we
met new partners and created a network to meet
changing requirements of market
• However all this was possible because of the use of
open technologies. Through Free and Open Source
software we are actors in the application of INSPIRE and
not spectators

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Our
experience
with
INSPIRE
2
• We re-engineered our products to use the same stack of
applications as the FreeGIS.net reference
implementation
• We implemented INSPIRE policies in our application
(e.g. management of urban green areas)
• We proposed and implemented SDI based on this
technology in many municipalities, provinces and regions
in Italy and Austria
• We are constantly extending the stack of applications of
the FreeGIS.net project: e.g. mobile offline client

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Our
experience
with
INSPIRE
3
• INSPIRE enables interoperability
• Interoperability opens new opportunities
• INSPIRE opens new market opportunities
• Through FreeGIS.net we have tried to lower the entry
barrier for small administrations to implement iNSPIRE
compliant services
• However we miss consciousness about INSPIRE in the
local Administrations in Italy and in Austria (our two main
markets)

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Thank
you
for
your
interest
Main office:
Via Johann Kravogl, 2
39012 Merano (BZ)
Tel. +39 0473 494949
Fax +39 0473 069902
Office in Milano:
Via Vallisneri, 2
20133 Milano (MI)