The new GIS landscape.

Wow, so cool, GIS is totally starting to take off and get really exciting,
now is a perfect time to join Web 2.0 to GIS to Web Services and really
get some fantastic new applications out there.

Here's a great quote from this article:

"GIS Web services will revolutionize how companies use and interact with geospatial information. Consider the example of Joe's New Web Service offering. (See Figure 1.) The Web service is a composite of services provided by three subordinate GIS providers: One provider maintains and offers detailed street data, one focuses on city zoning for specific metropolitan areas, and a third provides extensive demographic data. Joe's service allows builders examining a specific metropolitan area to research street detail, including freeway access, schools, churches, shopping centers and residential developments, and combines that information with the city's zoning laws, as well as layering on demographic data of the areas of interest.

Joe's customers, armed with the analytic, rich information provided by his Web service, can ask questions such as: Where can I build a strip mall that is located on a major city intersection, within a 15-minute drive of a freeway exit ramp, surrounded by middle-class neighborhoods with professional, single families?"

Another quote, about how to monetize this (answer: it's easy):

"GIS Web services prices are based on usage. In other words, many of the services currently available allow you to pay by the transaction, or you can contract for a predetermined transaction block and pay a discounted rate. The point is that you only have to pay for what you use; there's no heavy upfront investment necessary in technology or people resources to exploit the best of GIS."