A Comparative Study of Geographical Information Services in Public and Private Clouds

In recent years, three trends have been developed in the field of Geographical Information System (GIS): 3D GIS, big data, and especially cloud GIS. With the rapid progress of cloud computing in the IT industry, more and more cloud GISs emerge and are now changing the traditional geographical information service mode step by step. Compared to large-scale software must be installed before use in the past, cloud GIS enables anyone to utilize geographical information services (GIServices) anywhere and anytime. According to different types of deployments, cloud GIServices can be divided into public cloud GIServices and private cloud GIServices. GIServices are generally deployed on public clouds when local infrastructures are inadequate or applications are relatively simple, but with the increase in the requirement of data security and the number of customized applications, GIServices deployed on private clouds will become the norm. This paper strives to compare and contrast public cloud GIServices and private cloud GIServices and give insights into the essential characteristics of both.