Five Reasons to Start Using QGIS

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For those of you still sitting on the fence about developing some hands on experience with the open source GIS platform Quantum GIS, or QGIS as it is more commonly know, here are five very strong reasons to start now.

1.  QGIS is Free

QGIS is FOSS which stands for Free and Open Source Software.  Anybody with an Internet connection can visit one of the download sites and retrieve a copy of the GIS software.  There is no cost the to user and the source code is available under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL).  Visit the Quantum GIS desktop download page to find a legitimate download package for the operating system of your choice.  The only cost to you is your time.

2.  QGIS is Cross Platform

On a Mac, PC, or Linux machine?  It doesn’t matter.  There is a QGIS installation package available for all three operating systems.  There is also a build for Android for those users wanting to get QGIS up and running on a compatible tablet.  Unfortunately, the licensing policy for iOS and therefore its incompatibility with GPL means no iPad versions will be available anytime soon.  The cross platform availability of QGIS opens it up to a wider range of potential users than many of the commercial versions currently on the market.  QGIS’ growing popularity can, in part, be attributed to the lack of comprehensive Mac-based GIS software applications.  For Mac users who don’t want to have to run a PC only GIS software application on a virtual machine, QGIS is becoming a very acceptable alternative.

3.  The Use of Open Source GIS is Growing

While it certainly hasn’t reached the widespread level of Esri’s ArcGIS platform, QGIS is growing in its use as a viable alternative to commercial GIS.  The QGIS organization publishes case studies that highlight the practical application of the GIS software on its site which includes the decision by the Swiss Canton of  Solothurn to use QGIS instead of Esri products in 2006 to fulfill the geospatial needs involved in serving its 250,000 citizens.  How many users of QGIS out there is hard to pinpoint but Gary Sherman, the founding developer of QGIS, performed some analysis on worldwide QGIS users by geocoding the I.P. addresses where QGIS was downloaded.   From that analysis, Sherman estimated in December of 2011 that there were at least 100,000 users globally of Quantum GIS.

Worldwide users of QGIS. Analysis by Gary Sherman, December 2011.

The adoption by a growing number of companies of Open Source GIS in lieu of commercial GIS is frequently cited as a growth area in the GIS industry.  The increased user friendliness of open source GIS software packages like QGIS, coupled with agencies and companies looking to trim costs, is leading more and more entities to make the move towards adopting the use of open source software in lieu of purchasing commercial applications.  A 2010 survey by Accenture on the adoption of open source found that:

• Two-thirds have a fully documented strategic approach for using open source in their businesses, while another 32 percent are developing a strategic plan.
• Of the organizations using open source, 88 percent will increase their investment in 2010.

4.  Plenty of QGIS Support and Tutorials

If you’re worried that you’ll be left on your own to slog through figuring out QGIS, know that QGIS has a thriving user based support.  There is a growing and active volunteer developer base that works on fixing bugs and extending the functionality of QGIS.  Nathan W. created an interesting video visualizing the growth of QGIS based on commit history logs.

Peer support for issues about using QGIS can be answered by tagging questions with QGIS on the GIS Stack Exchange section.  The QGIS site has a “How do I do that in QGIS?” with introductory tutorials covering working with raster and vector data, spatial analysis, and cartography.  The Free and Open Source GIS Ramblings blog run by Anita Graser is an excellent source for QGIS tips and tutorials. The Getting Started with QGIS article has further pointers to resources for learning QGIS.

5.  Resume Builder

The request for at least familiarity with open source GIS is growing as a desired skill on many GIS job listings. A survey by Eric Pimpler of GeoChalkboard last year on GIS jobs found that 14% of respondents listed open source GIS software as at least a secondary software used in their jobs.  Mirroring the trend of open source skills as part of job listings in the general job market, the graph below from the job congregation site, Indeed, shows the rise in prevalence of open source skills within listings for the GIS job market since 2006.  For GIS professionals wishing to remain competitive, building experience with a range of open source and proprietary GIS packages is a necessity.

Growth of GIS job listings with the term open source.