Data drives our digital world, and the proliferation, quality control, and analysis of the data play a huge role in the upheaval experienced across industries. Specifically within the geospatial industry.
Nigel Clifford, CEO of Ordnance Survey, says that geospatial is a fundamental part of the ongoing digital revolution.
What was once comprised of people who constructed maps and models, and collected data, has shifted to an exponential growth in the number of data capture methods, and the amount of data being generated and captured. Geospatial data plays a role in everything from the Internet of Things to AR to machine learning — location intelligence amplifies the effectiveness and roles of new technology.
Here are six key opportunities for the geospatial industry, now and in the future:
- Power of Location – The capture and application of spatial data are becoming more cost-effective. Companies from outside the geo industry are interested in the adoption of location, such as innovative technologies that leverage location (e.g., self-driving cars, health wearables, 3D printing, enterprise mobility, surface computing, nanotechnology, digital mesh, gamification, VR, and context-rich systems).
- Dissolution of Silos – Collaboration is the key to how the geospatial industry can thrive in an ever-changing market. There is an opportunity to diversify and scale developments for geospatial companies by partnering with specialized entities and/or the expertise of larger players.
- Agile Transformation – The geo industry can add value and enable further innovation by focusing on creating solutions for specific applications or business problems, rather than getting hung up on the full breadth of geo’s extensive technical capabilities and inner workings.
- Engagement with Start-ups – The people using geospatial information are not necessarily a part of the geo industry, but they rely on it to innovate and explore. Start-ups can gain value from the geospatial industry through easier accessibility and education around location information and technology; in turn, the geo industry can align its identity and recognition with an extended ecosystem.
- Communication and Education – The geo industry needs to be clear about the value it offers, making it more appealing to a larger segment than just specialized niches and product categories. The focus should be on multi-disciplinary implementation to match customer needs across industries.
- The Road Ahead – The future of geospatial incorporates more varied use cases across areas of societal benefits, and moving towards automation and AI. The speed of technology will support new collaborative efforts.
“Geospatial will only become progressively ubiquitous with varied industries leveraging it,” write co-authors Anusuya Datta and Meenal Dhande. “However, the moot question is whether the industry will stand on its own or whether it will be subsumed into a larger industry. Worst still, if the industry components will get fragmented and aligned to various industries. Only time will tell us.”
