In what industries is GIS indispensable?


These days, multiple industries are utilising GIS (geographic information system) as an integral part of how they do business. They use GIS to store, analyse, and quantify data with geographical information to show how it relates to other components.

GIS compliments every industry. And forward-thinking companies recognise that with the ability to analyse information efficiently, they can optimise their efforts, use resources more efficiently, and have an advantage in their industry.

There are many advantages that a business gains when using GIS, and it is transforming industries such as utilities, infrastructure, environment management, and others:

The industries using GIS serve some of our most fundamental needs.
Environmental Agencies

GIS gathers and stores critical data for environmental agencies to track and monitor habitat, wetland, and coastal shoreline erosion, identify locations where threatened species live, water sources and other natural resources. It can also help to track patterns and help predict natural disasters, glacier changes and soil erosion.

All of the environmental data gathered is essential in helping with conservation, protection and restoration efforts. Other industries can also access and utilise the data collected by researchers and conservationists.
Utility Companies

One of the most active users of GIS is the utility sector, and they use it to help with: 

    Managing grids and identifying patterns in customer usage, outages and supply issues
    Tracking and monitoring pipelines
    Locating water pipes and cables
    Wireless networks
    Construction planning
    Monitor assets and field workers

GIS, with its comprehensive database, helps to maintain and monitor overhead and underground utilities, improving efficiency and effectiveness and saving time and money
Infrastructure Companies

The planning and development of our roads, electricity, water supply lines, buildings, and society’s basic framework is mapped, managed, and monitored by companies that incorporate GIS in the infrastructure industry.

GIS simplifies communications, improves efficiency and effectiveness for field workers, helps to monitor assets and workers, tracks and stores customer usage and issues, improves customer/client satisfaction, and much more.
Telecommunications

GIS is widely used in the telecom sector to help monitor real-time data about current use, outages, and signal strength to help them better understand customers’ patterns and needs. 

The telecom companies also use GIS to help optimise their resources effectively and efficiently, mitigate problems and plan for future growth.
Retail

Retail stores depend on knowing where their customer base lives or works and how far they are willing to travel to buy goods. GIS supplies essential data to help retail companies determine location, optimise inventory and sales, and plan their marketing campaigns to reach their ideal clientele.
Government

Geographical information is critical for the government to make decisions based on real-time data.  Government operations are spatial, whether for emergency response and management, fires, accidents, utilities, infrastructure, etc.
Agriculture

Food is a basic need for humans and animals. The agricultural industry uses GIS to help identify usable fertile land vs non-fertile land, weather hazards such as flooding or drought, and water supply.
Development and Urban Planning

Planners and developers rely on GIS to help them factor in several components when looking to build and develop an area. For example, they use GIS to find empty lots and determine resource and infrastructure availability and needs.

GIS helps plan roads, housing, schools, businesses, government spaces, and hospitals. It also stores historical data, including ageing infrastructure, monuments, wetland areas, protected habitats, and species.

Another important factor is soil mapping, identifying possible hazards such as flooding, volcanic activity or other environmental issues.
Healthcare

Today, healthcare sectors use GIS to track disease patterns, whether an outbreak, an epidemic, cancer hotspots, or people in a specific location suffering from an environmentally caused illness. 

GIS has a disease surveillance system that can conduct a spatial analysis to locate which area is high-risk, and the GIS software is better are validating data.
Insurance Companies

Mitigating and understanding risks ahead of time is essential to insurance companies, and they use GIS to ensure they are aware of possible dangers before giving you a quote.