The article is titled "Web-Based Mapping Tools Help Governments Transform GIS into New Services" which seems a bit dated to me.

The main focus is Google apps - implementations by Utah (Mapserv) and Alabama (Virtual Alabama) and Las Vegas (which has an ESRI backend). Then there's a bit about Sheboygan, WI and it's use of Autodesk software. After that rundown you read this:

Google Earth, Autodesk and a host of other platforms offer possibilities limited only by the imagination. But do these applications threaten the demise of traditional GIS? It might seem like these new, user-friendly manifestations of GIS data would spell the end for ESRI, CARIS and other traditional GIS solutions providers. But according to those using new-school applications, the opposite is true.

The first defender is not who you might think; it's a rep from deCarta. Then there are co-existance words from Chikai Ohazama, product manager for Google Earth and the theme of "moving such tech to the masses is the real revolution" from Chuck Herring at DigitalGlobe.

Also, you can read Jack Dangermond's latest predictions about the future.