ESRI
ESRI: Changing world.
© Jyoti Bachani
University of Redlands
Jyoti_Bachani@Redlands.edu
909 748 0545
909 748 8763
ESRI: Changing world.
Case Synopsis
Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) is a privately held, debt free, company that is a global leader in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) software used for visualization and analysis of geographic data by institutional users across the globe. ESRI has pioneered this technology for four decades as it pursued its founder leader Jack Dangermond’s mission to change the world by making it spatially enabled. Since 2000, the world has changed. The new Internet companies have put electronic maps with live data and interactivity on the internet enabled desktops of every user, for free. Jack sees the Internet becoming ‘geo-enabled’ as an opportunity, but it could also be a threat if ESRI does not make the right moves. How should ESRI respond to this changing world? The case describes ESRI, its leadership, management, products and services and internal organizational structure, in order to facilitate class discussion of their strategic choices.
MBA Strategy Case to be used for topics of maintaining competitive advantage in the face of changes in the industry and technology, using the firm’s internal resources and capabilities.
ESRI: Changing world
In August of 2005, Jack Dangermond, the founder and CEO of Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc (ESRI), the company that has been at the forefront of geographic information systems (GIS) for forty years, speaking at the ESRI user conference in San Diego, CA, said:
““The Web is the new platform for GIS" and it is becoming "geographically enabled." It will "change the way we do things and the way we talk about them…GIS on the Web, provides many additional possibilities for sharing, integrating, and leveraging the full stack of geographic knowledge," allowing users to "share maps and data, models, analyses." This, he argued, will
© Jyoti Bachani
University of Redlands
Jyoti_Bachani@Redlands.edu
909 748 0545
909 748 8763
ESRI: Changing world.
Case Synopsis
Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) is a privately held, debt free, company that is a global leader in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) software used for visualization and analysis of geographic data by institutional users across the globe. ESRI has pioneered this technology for four decades as it pursued its founder leader Jack Dangermond’s mission to change the world by making it spatially enabled. Since 2000, the world has changed. The new Internet companies have put electronic maps with live data and interactivity on the internet enabled desktops of every user, for free. Jack sees the Internet becoming ‘geo-enabled’ as an opportunity, but it could also be a threat if ESRI does not make the right moves. How should ESRI respond to this changing world? The case describes ESRI, its leadership, management, products and services and internal organizational structure, in order to facilitate class discussion of their strategic choices.
MBA Strategy Case to be used for topics of maintaining competitive advantage in the face of changes in the industry and technology, using the firm’s internal resources and capabilities.
ESRI: Changing world
In August of 2005, Jack Dangermond, the founder and CEO of Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc (ESRI), the company that has been at the forefront of geographic information systems (GIS) for forty years, speaking at the ESRI user conference in San Diego, CA, said:
““The Web is the new platform for GIS" and it is becoming "geographically enabled." It will "change the way we do things and the way we talk about them…GIS on the Web, provides many additional possibilities for sharing, integrating, and leveraging the full stack of geographic knowledge," allowing users to "share maps and data, models, analyses." This, he argued, will
References: www.ESRI.com www.GIS.com Barney, JB (1991). Firm resources and sustainable competitive advantage. Journal of Management. Barney, JB (1996) The Resource-Based Theory of the Firm. Organization Science, Vol. 7, No. 5, 469. Sep-Oct., 1996. Christensen CM and M Overdorf, (2000). Meeting the Challenge of Disruptive Change, Harvard Business School Pubublication. Christensen CM (1997) The Innovator 's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fall.