Investigation of Geobase Implementation Issues

US companies spent more than $250 billion each year in the 1990s on information system and technology (IST) projects. Furthermore, the US government expends approximately $25 billion annually on IST purchases. However, the overall success rate of IT projects is below 20 percent. In 2001, over 500,000 IT projects were initiated. Increasing the success rate of IST projects equates to billions of dollars in savings. The 1990s also experienced a diffusion of geographic information systems (GIS). Specifically, many military installations adopted GIS technology. Rapid technological developments created a gap between potential benefits of GIS and the frustrations realized due to an inability to assimilate GIS into business processes. The lack of a coherent service-wide insertion process led to the failure of all DoD-sponsored GIS. GeoBase represents the most recent attempt to exploit GIS by the Air Force. The GeoBase program focuses on information resource management (IRM) and cultural issues. The GeoBase Sustainment Model (GSM), anecdotally developed by GeoBase leadership to reflect implementation issues and the IRM practices of the program, presents a prime research opportunity to examine the legitimacy of the initiative. The researcher conducted a case study investigation of GeoBase implementation issues.