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Are Businesses That Use Geographic Information Systems and Geospatial Technology More Competitive?

By Vector One ⋅ April 30, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

In the ‘Perspectives’ column this week?— “Are Businesses That Use Geographic Information Systems and Geospatial Technology More Competitive?”

Traditional business intelligence is dependent upon business models that never envisioned some of the types of data geographic information systems (GIS) and geospatial technologies are capable of providing. These old strategies rely on information that is often outdated, employed by people without the benefit that new forms of interactive, analytic and dynamic logic bring, and they continuously follow the same pathways forward. New technologies embracing spatial data and associated services cause new thinking, new approaches and peel away information about competitors to provide advantages.

While many people talk about the strength of a brand, in many cases these efforts may look lively on the outside but their underlying working nuts and bolts are the same as many others – employing similar approaches and models for doing business. Differentiation not only relies upon innovation, but it depends upon new screws, rivets and glue – the basic components that build different ways for conducting business through the use of different approaches.

While many people talk about the strength of a brand, in many cases these efforts may look lively on the outside but their underlying working nuts and bolts are the same as many others – employing similar approaches and models for doing business. Differentiation not only relies upon innovation, but it depends upon new screws, rivets and glue – the basic components that build different ways for conducting business through the use of different approaches.

Spatial information is a key part of this differentiation. Take computer aided design (CAD) as an example. Rather than working in analog mode and compiling stacks of paper drawings, new designs can be digitally created, shared and talked about. Before the first prototype even begins, changes can be made and alternate perspectives can be introduced into the design to perfect it’s performance. Not only that, the same information can be shared with policy and approval agencies and even operations staff who will maintain the design over time. This has several competitive advantages including speed to market, lowered design costs and improved communication between involved parties.

Consider a company like Spot Image that employs a service called Spot Monitoring. These are satellite based intelligence services that work a little differently than conventional ways of conducting business. The usual approach is that someone comes to an imagery company looking for imagery after a problem or issue is considered.

This service is operated by Spot Image through automation capabilities that detect changes happening at specific locations. These changes are then products that can be sold. Do you want to see the capacity of a building before the roof goes on? How about road construction as an indication of types of traffic expected? Services like this are contracted or outright sold as is.

While business intelligence is not a new concept, the ability to grasp the essence of the value of this information and use it in intelligent ways is comparatively new. It is also improving because new sensors and instruments are enabling greater capture of more highly accurate information. In the satellite imaging area that means higher resolution more often.

v1word8 Services that enable more people to use these types of information is another part of the equation. Recently I reviewed the Springer book ‘Standards-Based Data and Information Systems for Earth Observation‘ by authors Liping Di and H.K. Ramapriyan. This work explained the advantages and gains the American earth observation satellite agencies are gaining through standard approaches.

It impressed me that many of the gains since around 2007-08 in the U.S. Earth Observation program have increased imagery delivery four-fold and set the ground work for a range of products through standardised services.

The take home point here, I think, is that huge amounts of scientific data can actually be used for your business – now.

GeoEye has a range of services and products providing unique intelligence for fishing, aviation and marine purposes. These are probably in demand at the present time as a huge amount of ocean oil is wading across the Gulf of Mexico. These have particular usefulness not only to those tracking the oil movement, but those needing to initiate emergency services and deal with population impacts. In Europe and Australia, for example, the potential for using similar services to monitor ocean going vessels and events has similar attractiveness for businesses interested in providing localised intelligence.

The entire transportation sector within Europe is becoming highly oriented toward increased traffic management. I use this term loosely because that involves everything from road construction to traffic monitoring to conditions and meteorological services. It is not simply knowing where your trucks and cars are, but whether or not they can arrive or reach their destinations. This information is provided through geospatial technologies and more than likely displayed to you through the use of a map offered up on a web service.

The use and application of geospatial technologies is going to grow. Recent debates by governments over the financial situation globally clearly points to higher levels of transparency and monitoring. This keyword here is risk exposure, and these technologies will be used to provide the intelligence to ensure it is reduced, or at least known. I’m waiting for the credit ratings agencies to begin to employ geotechnology as primary tools for gaining reality insight into their judgement perspectives. People will want to see real data with real numbers – and accuracy – for a host of things.

How do you leverage your business model into the wide spread spatial data capturing and analysis and tool use that is about to begin? That is where, I think, the competitive edges will be found. And those who use them will gain the advantage.