AM or GIS for managing infrastructure

The two approaches to managing infrastructure are discussed in this paper: Automated Mapping (AM) and Geographic Information System (GIS) It is very important to recognize their similarities and differences when they are used for developing an infrastructure management system (IMS). Both AM and GIS can be defined as Spatial Data Base Management System (SDBMS). The essential difference between GIS and AM for managing infrastructure exists in their approaches to spatial analysis of the infrastructure data. The GIS performs analysis of the infrastructure data. THe GIS performs a three-dimensional spatial analysis using topology. The AM performs a spatial analysis in one and a half dimensions using a dynamic segmentation technique. Dynamic segmentation enables the spatial analysis to be conducted quickly in AM environment. Decision whether to adopt GIS or AM depends on whether it is needed to store the spatial relationships in SDBMS for infrastructure management or not.The advantages and disadvantages of AM and GIS are also discussed in this paper.