Statistical and geographic information systems software often lack 'mutual' functionalities. Essential gaps are mainly found in areas of explorative spatial data analysis (ESDA) and spatial interpolation of data (kriging). Based on user demands several software packages have been investigated for ESDA and kriging usage. The software packages are weighed with several criteria to recommend future actions. Developments of software as announced by software vendors are also considered. The main recommendation is to use the current releases of S-PLUS and Arc/Info. For further improvement it seems best to await developments announced by software vendors and investigate further integration of both packages. With respect to kriging GeoEAS and Geopak are recommended for simple problems. For more complicated problems GS-LIB seems to be the best choice.<br>