Why Choose a GIS Consulting Firm?

by G. Peterson, PetersonGIS

A GIS consulting firm, specifically a small, highly specialized firm, is sought by clients of many stripes for some very good reasons. What might some of those be? Why not use in-house expertise or learn it yourself? What qualities might you look for in a GIS consultant?

A good GIS consulting firm will provide:

  • Superior customer service at the outset
  • Good customer service: explains, in clear terms, the tasks to complete the project; or, if not prepared to handle a particular job, will advise you as to who can do the work for you, or how it can be accomplished given additional time and resources; is up-front about any project unknowns
  • Poor customer service: feedback that consists of grumbling over potential software expenditures due to your project's requirements, inability to adequately gather requirements, or anything not constructive
  • A high level of GIS project hyperactivity disorder (GISHD)
  • The consultant treats your project as the one and only,
  • You can always reach your project manager (sometimes day and night),
  • Consultant is open to changes and even complete u-turns in scope,
  • Face to face meetings are encouraged,
  • Job gets done quickly either via extended work hours or acquisition of additional personnel at key points,
  • Consultant knows everything needed to conduct a quality project, either through consultation with others or in-house acquisition of the requisite knowledge,
  • Consultant reaches outside of field into areas such as design, knowledge-management, etc., to arrive at an optimal solution.
  • Flexible workflows to accommodate the client's customary way of business, not the consultant's

Some reasons to hire a GIS consultant:

  • You don't have the GIS capability yourself
  • Your in-house staff are flooded with work
  • You have a specialized project and you know a consultant with just the right set of skills
  • You know what you want to achieve but don't know how to get there; you have some abstract ways of incorporating geography into your work-flow, and need someone to brainstorm with
  • You want to learn GIS but would like to bounce ideas off a professional to ensure that you are getting it right as you go
  • You want to learn GIS and need a coach

What are some of the top reasons that PetersonGIS has been hired?

  • Client does not have the in-house capability
  • Client needs a specific and hard-to-find blend of expertise (for example: client needs a refugia analysis)
  • Client needs results right away
  • Client needs to confer with an expert to transform abstract ideas into feasible, concrete, tasks