Ramboll operates QGIS at enterprise scale, with 500+ monthly users managed through a centralized governance model alongside a substantial ArcGIS user base. This presentation shares practical lessons from building and running a dual-platform geospatial ecosystem in a global engineering and consultancy firm—covering technical setup, organizational governance, and the strategic drivers that shape adoption and funding.
We will outline our technical approach to maintaining QGIS in a managed IT environment: standardized packaging and deployment, controlled upgrade cadences (LTS vs. latest), profile and plugin management, and configuration baselines that ensure consistency across project teams and regions. We will discuss data access patterns that allow QGIS and ArcGIS to interoperate, emphasizing the importance of leveraging open standards while still supporting proprietary formats such as File Geodatabases.
We will also discuss the internal drivers that inform strategy and funding—total cost of ownership, risk management, compliance, and the growing importance of digital sovereignty. Finally, we will share an outlook on how AI is raising the profile of QGIS and open-source systems in the Architecture, Engineering, and Consultancy sector.