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first published week of: 10/24/2016
No matter how sophisticated information technology gets – and who can deny that IT is evolving exceptionally fast these days – there’s nothing that can replicate the combination of two unique pieces of data: Time and place. That’s why the place for geospatial data is here, and the time is now.
The advent of big data analytics has enabled companies to answer all sorts of questions that they couldn’t have before, like precisely who bought exactly what, and when. As data practitioners get deeper into the technology – and especially as they dive into the world of real-time analytics driven by smart phones and other devices connected to the Internet of Things (IoT) – they’re increasingly turning to geospatial data to optimize the delivery of products and services for people as they move about the real world.
In a recent Forrester Wave report on geospatial tools, Forrester analyst Rowan Curran writes that geospatial insights are not only involved in collecting data for sales, CRM, customer support, HR, and marketing initiatives, but they’re also used in the delivery of services.
“These allow companies to use spatial data to drive unprecedented levels of understanding and analysis of users’ habits and behavior,” Curran writes, “but they also provide the platforms to deliver the messaging, content, and other actions directly to users in the most appropriate context.”
The potential applications of geospatial data are vast. Consider these recent real-world examples: continued…