What is GIS?
It’s GIS Day but what is GIS? A Geographic Information System (GIS) is system built to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage and display all kinds of spatial or geographical data.
Why is GIS day celebrated?
GIS Day was created to celebrate the technology of geographic information systems (GIS) and to mark the importance of geography and its usefulness in our everyday lives. GIS Day provides an initiative for people to learn how GIS is used, as well as providing a forum for individuals and corporations to showcase the many ways in which GIS can be used in real-world applications.
Initiated by spatial analytics world-leader, Esri, the first official GIS Day took place in 1999. Prior to 1999, The National Geographic Society used to organize a geography awareness week in the third week of November every year. Since GIS tools are extensively helpful in solving land problems and improve the approach to geographical roadblocks, in 1999 GIS Day was incorporated in this geography awareness week. It was henceforth celebrated every Wednesday in the third week of November.
Functions of GIS
The primary function of GIS is to provide a visual representation of data. GIS provides a platform for this data to be stored, represented and accessed visually in a smooth and easy to use format that allows for easy data retrieval. It also overlays multiple data sets together to identify relationships between them.
What is the need for GIS?
The availability of data in a geospatial format allows the exploration of opportunities. It helps in gaining potential advantages by understanding necessary metrics and forecasting accordingly. It is widely used as a decision-making tool across many industries.
Undetected trends between different layers of information often emerge because of the visual representation of geographic information. GIS is crucial in helping individuals and organizations make important location-based decisions, such as, determining which area would be best to build a new park or identifying which area is most likely to be flooded given different circumstances.
GIS can be applied in various sectors related to communications and telecom, insurance, engineering, planning, and management.
Advantages of GIS
GIS technology has the ability of interpretation; questioning and analyzing the data. It answers important questions, proving to be a necessary problem-solving tool. With updates provided in real-time, the use of GIS improves efficiency and effectiveness in the decision making process. It also reduces costs and improves profitability. It automates record-keeping and closes the communication gap.
Simply put, GIS attaches multiple layers of information to give an optimum understanding of a geographical location. Using GIS allows individuals and businesses to improve efficiency and effectiveness in decision making. The use of this advanced technology is strengthening across industries and will soon take over the world
In today’s time, end-to-end project management is possible via GIS technology. gisAMPS, a GIS software product created by geoAMPS, can be leveraged by integrating it with each organization’s unique data gathering system. Different kinds of data can be closely assessed; be it shopping zones, flood-prone areas, parks, playgrounds and other kinds of demographic information depending upon the requirements of the business.
geoAMPS offers software solutions to manage land rights and infrastructure assets. Under Yogesh and Leena’s leadership, the company’s initial product offering has been customized and expanded into 11 different software products, each of which are industry-specific. geoAMPS serves the right-of-way, oil and natural gas, renewable energy, transportation, utilities, survey, land reclamation, government, document generation, and telecommunications industries. Products also include a geographic information system (GIS) viewer.
