Industry Outlook Report 2017

2017 EDITION
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©Geospatial Media and Communications

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FOREWORD
Geospatial industry has been gaining relevance and maturity in today’s digital world. Decades
of technological innovations and sustained business acumen have made it possible for the
geospatial fraternity to a make difference in every walk of life. Currently, most innovative and
disruptive business models are principally based on unique capabilities of location-enabled
analytics and sensors. The value and utility derived for the economy and society through the
geospatial industry is estimated to be over and above $500 billion worldwide. More so, the
exponential benefits of geography and spatial dimension are being realized by citizens globally
in some form or the other.
What is more exciting is the limitless opportunities the future holds for the geospatial industry.
Drivers of the digital world, including Cloud, IoT, Robotics and Automation, Deep Learning
and Artificial Intelligence, Mesh Reality are equally driving geospatial industry, expanding its
horizons and opportunities manifold. However, it does pose humongous responsibility on our
community to change, adapt, collaborate, put forward collective efforts, resources, energy,
and capabilities to harness these opportunities and continue to make our mark and relevance
in global industry and business leadership. As we move forward, several new players would
share our vision and stake, opening new avenues while closing some existing ones. Solution-
centric and system integration-oriented character of the industry would determine successes,
making it imperative to have a better understanding of the digital ecosystem and agility to
collaborate, while maintaining unique business propositions. Therefore revenue models too
would require adaptability, refinement and alignment.
Digital revolution is bringing in a lot of excitement; but for the industry to grow, the focus
ought to be on the Geospatial Readiness of countries. Fundamental geospatial information,
positioning infrastructure, policy frameworks, institutional capacity, industrial development,
constantly moving up the value chain in terms of user adoption are essential for transforming
and converging opportunities. The need of the hour is to assess and understand the
fundamental tenets and consistent investments in preparing the nations' readiness in
leveraging the digital revolution. International organizations have a greater role to play in
raising the profile of geospatial industry and building in the geospatial elements within the
framework of respective development programs. The responsibility of readiness is not limited
to the public authorities and academic institutions, but is shared by industry and the user
stakeholders.
Geospatial Media and Communications undertook the initiative to publish the ‘Global
Geospatial Industry Outlook' in partnership with leading geospatial companies worldwide.
While it took almost a year of consistent effort to collect information and perspectives through
primary and secondary sources, we have also integrated knowledge and learnings of our
research and documentation of the past five years to provide an insight duly supplemented
with facts and figures.
I would like to acknowledge the support extended by several professionals and leaders who
we have interacted with in the last few years to capture their mindshare. These leaders
have been associated with various segments of geospatial industry, including technology,
business, academia, national governments, multilateral agencies, professional societies,
and user industries globally. I express my gratitude towards Karthik Ramamurthy, Aswani
Akela, Manoj Misra and Saurabh Rai, who participated actively in rounds of discussions with
our team and offered their guidance and supervision. I also appreciate the gigantic efforts
put in by the Market Intelligence and Business Consulting division of Geospatial Media and
Communications.
LIST OF CONTENTS
FOREW0RD��i
LIST OF CONTENTS��ii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS��iii
1. INTRODUCTION & METHODOLOGY��8
Global Geospatial Industry Trends and Business Models��11

Countries' Geospatial Readiness Index��13
Global Geospatial Industry Trends and Business Models

2. GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGY IN DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM��20
What Does the Geospatial Industry Encompass?��20

Geospatial and its Linkage with Others��23
Geospatial Industry in Economy and Society��28
Global Geospatial Initiatives ��29
Global Direction: Where is it all Heading?��31
Everything Happens Somewhere: Consumerization of Geospatial��32
3. LANDSCAPE OF GEOSPATIAL INDUSTRY��34
Geospatial Technology Providers' Footprint��35

Technology Landscape��36
Product Companies Landscape��37
Industry Segments and Geospatial Technology Providers��38
Benefits of Geospatial Technology��39
Challenges in Implemention of Geospatial Technologies��39
4. EVER-EVOLVING GEOSPATIAL PRODUCTS��41
Earth Observation��41
GNSS and Positioning��43
GIS/Spatial Analyics��44
Scanning��46
5. TECHNOLOGIES DRIVING GEOSPATIAL INDUSTRY�� 47
Cloud ��46
Internet of Things (IoT)��47
Big Data��48
Automation and Robotics��49
6. GEOSPATIAL IN BUSINESS PROCESS��51
BIM��52
SCADA��52
C4SIR ��52
ERP/CRM��53
Analytics��53
Reality Mesh��53
LIST OF CONTENTS
7. TRANSFORMATION THROUGH COLLABORATION��56
Reasons for Partnerships and Acquisitions��60

Spatial Enablement: Beyond Moor’s Law��63
8. EVOLVING BUSINESS MODELS��65
Geospatial Readiness Index of Countries

9. GEOSPATIAL INFRASTRUCTURE & POLICY FRAMEWORK��68
Data Infrastructure (Topographic & Earth Observation)��69

Positioning Infrastructure��71
Platforms and Portals��72
Open and Linked Data and Standards��74
Policy Framework��76
Final Ranking��79
10. INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY��82
Business Incubation��83
Fundamental Sciences ��85
Professional Education��86
Interdisciplinary Application Courses��87
Vocational Training��88
11. USER ADOPTION LEVEL��92
Mapping or Service Level��93

Asset Management/Business Process Modelling��94
Analytics and Workflow��95
System Integration Level��96
Enterprise Level��97
12. INDUSTRIAL CAPACITY�� 102
Product Providers
(Hardware, Software and Data)��103
Service Providers��104
Solution Provider and System Integrators��106
Final Ranking ��107
COUNTRIES' GEOSPATIAL READINESS INDEX PILLAR COMPARISON�� 110
LIST OF FIGURES, GRAPHS AND TABLES
Figure 1.1 Stakeholders of the Geospatial Industry Ecosystem�� 8 Figure 5.1 Technologies Driving Geospatial Industry�� 47
Figure 1.2 Key Influencers of Geospatial Industry�� 9 Figure 5.2 Geospatial Industry Trends : A Function of other
Driving Technologies�� 48
Figure 1.3 Global Distribution of Companies Surveyed to Analyze
Global Geospatial Industry Trends & Business Models Figure 5.3 Other Innovative Technologies to Watch out For�� 50
�� 11
Figure 7.1 Waves in Value-Added Collaborative Business�� 60
Figure 1.4 Research Methodology to Analyze Global Geospatial
Figure 7.2 Companies Mapped for Spatial Enablement�� 63
Industry Trends & Business Models�� 12
Figure 9.1 Determinants of Pillar I: Geospatial Infrastructure &
Figure 1.5 Geographical Distribution of Selected Countries for
Policy Framework�� 69
Assessing Geospatial Readiness Index�� 14
Figure 9.2 Frequency Score Representation of Data
Figure 1.6 Identified Pillars for Accessing Countries' Geospatial
Infrastructure of 50 Countries�� 70
Readiness�� 15
Figure 9.3 Frequency Score Representation of Positioning
Figure 1.7 Pillars and Sub-pillars for Accessing Geospatial Infrastructure of 50 Countries�� 72
Readiness Index of a Country�� 16
Figure 9.4 Frequency Score Representation of Platforms and
Figure 2.1 Components of Geospatial Technology�� 21 Portals of 50 Countries�� 74
Figure 2.2 Geospatial Technology & Digital Ecosystem Yielding Figure 9.5 Frequency Score Representation of Open and Linked
Value to Economy & Society�� 23 Data and Standards of 50 Countries�� 76
Figure 2.3 G
eospatial Technology Bringing Benefits to the Figure 9.6 Frequency Score Representation of the Policy
Economy & Society�� 29 Framework of 50 Countries�� 78
Figure 2.4 G
eospatial Industry Applications Moving from Position Figure 10.1 Determinants of Pillar II: Institutional Capacity�� 83
to Precision�� 31
Figure 10.2 Frequency Score Representation of Business
Figure 4.1 Current Trends in Products Pertaining to Earth Incubation in 50 Countries�� 84
Observation�� 42
Figure 10.3 Frequency Score Representation of Fundamental
Figure 4.2 Current Trends in Products Pertaining to GNSS and Science in 50 Countries�� 85
Positioning�� 43
Figure 10.4 Frequency Score Representation of Professional
Figure 4.3 C
urrent Trends in Products Pertaining to GIS/Spatial Education in 50 Countries�� 86
Analytics�� 45
Figure 10.5 Frequency Score Representation of Interdisciplinary
Figure 4.4 Current Trends Pertaining to Scanning�� 46 Applications in 50 Countries�� 87
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ADB Asian Development Bank GALILEO Europe’s Global Navigation Satellite
AI Artificial Intelligence System
AR Augmented Reality GCPs Ground Control Points
BI Business Intelligence GEO The Group on Earth Observations
BIM Building Information Modelling GEOSS Global Earth Observation System of
C4ISR Command, Control, Communications, Systems
Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and GIS Geographic Information System
Reconnaissance GLONASS Russian Global Navigation Satellite
CAGR Compound Annual Growth Rate System
CEN The European Committee for GPS Global Positioning Systems
Standardization GMES Global Monitoring for Environment and
CRM Customer Relationship Management Security
EGNOS European Geostationary Navigation GNSS Global Navigation Satellite Systems
Overlay Service HDI Human Development Index
EO Earth Observation ICT Information and Communication
ERP Enterprise Resource Planning Technology
ESA European Space Agency IoT Internet of Things
EU European Union INSPIRE Infrastructure for Spatial Information in
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization the European Community
GAGAN GPS Aided GEO Augmented System IPS Indoor Positioning System
Figure 10.6 Frequency Score Representation of Vocational Graph 3.4 Industry Segments where Geospatial Technology
Training in 50 Countries�� 88 Provider are Focusing�� 38
Figure 11.1 Determinants of Pillar III: User Adoption Level�� 92 Graph 3.5 Industry Segments Contributing to Business Volume
Figure 11.2 Frequency Score Representation of Mapping or of Geospatial Technology Providers�� 38
Service Level User Adoption in 50 Countries�� 93
Graph 3.6 B
enefits Derived by Adoption of Geospatial
Figure 11.3 Frequency Score Representation of Business Technologies�� 39
Process Modelling Level User Adoption in 50
Countries�� 94 Graph 3.7 C
hallenges of Implementing Geospatial
Technologies�� 40
Figure 11.4 Frequency Score Representation of Analytics and
Workflow Level User Adoption in 50 Countries�� 95 (A) From the Perspective of Users�� 40
Figure 11.5 Frequency Score Representation of System (B)From the Perspective of Technology Providers�� 40
Integration Level User Adoption in 50 Countries�� 96
Graph 5.1 Trends in Driving Technology Influencing Geospatial
Figure 11.6 Frequency Score Representation of Enterprise Level
Industry (2012 - 2020)�� 49
User Adoption in 50 Countries�� 98
Figure 12.1 Determinants of Pillar IV: Industry Fabric��102 Graph 6.1 Trends in Business Process Embedment of Geospatial
Technology (2012 - 2020)�� 54
Figure 12.2 Frequency Score Representation of Product
Providers in 50 Countries��103 Graph 7.1 T
rends in Acquisitions and Partnerships in the
Geospatial Industry (2012 - 2020)�� 57
Figure 12.3 Frequency Score Representation of Service
Providers in 50 Countries��105
Graph 7.2 Determinants of Partnerships in Geospatial Industry
Figure 12.4 Frequency Score Representation of (2012-2020)�� 61
Solution Providers and System Integrators in
50 Countries��106 Graph 7.3 Driving Factors of Acquisition in Geospatial Industry
(2012-2020)�� 62
Graph 3.1 Percentage Share of the Technology Providers in the
Geospatial Industry Ecosystem and their Regional Graph 7.4 Trends in Acquisitions & Partnerships for Spatial
Distribution�� 35 Enablement (2012-2020)�� 64
Graph 3.2 Percentage Share of the Components of the
Geospatial Technology�� 36 Graph 8.1 Trends in Revenue Models of Geospatial Industry�� 66
Graph 3.3 Percentage Share of the Product Companies in the Table 1.1 Assigned Weights to Pillars & Sub-Pillars for Accessing
Geospatial Industry�� 37 Geospatial Readiness Index of a Country�� 17
IRNSS Indian Regional Navigation Satellite SBAS Satellite Based Augmentation System
System SCADA Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
ISO The International Organization for SDI Spatial Data Infrastructure
Standardization SDN The Sustainable Development Network
IT Information Technology SDK Software Development Kit
LBS Location Based Services UAVs Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
LED Light Emitting Diode UAS Unmanned Aircraft Systems
LiDAR Light Information Detection and Ranging UN-GGIM The United Nations initiative on Global
M2M Machine to Machine Geospatial Information Management
MR Reality Mesh or Mixed Reality (UN-GGIM)
Navstar Navigation Satellite Timing and Ranging UN-GGIM PSN The United Nations initiative on Global
System Geospatial Information Management
NFC Near Field Communication (UN-GGIM), Private Sector Network
OGC Open Geospatial Consortium UNOOSA The UN Office for Outer Space Affairs
PUMA Platform for Urban Management and UNSDI United Nations Spatial Data
Analysis Infrastructure
QZSS Japanese Quasi Zenith Satellite System VR Virtual Reality
R&D Research and Development WAAS Wide Area Augmentation System
RFID Radio Frequency Identification
RTK Base Stations Real-time Kinematic Base Stations
1. INTRODUCTION
In this progressively complex and interconnected world, issues

that impact our everyday lives are often analogous. One of the
most powerful and astute ways of exploring the physical and
digital landscapes for individuals, businesses and governments
Geospatial today is through the ‘where’ dimension. Geographic informa-
tion and intelligence not only underpins all decision-making,
technologies
it improves efficiency and productivity leading to sustainable
have become development. No wonder then geospatial technologies have
all-pervasive, become all-pervasive, driving to major disruptions across
driving major industry segments.
disruptions
The burgeoning adoption of location analytics and Big Data
across industry among enterprises, the ubiquity of everyday geo-enabled
segments. The mobile applications like Facebook and Google Maps, the
economic value decreasing cost and increasing accuracy of all sorts of sensors,
and surging reliance on the Cloud have ensured that geospatial
of the sector is becomes a core enabling technology for even those who find it
more than $500 hard to define the term.
billion
Every field that is fuelled by spatial information is a part of the
geospatial industry. The economic value of the sector today
forms a handful of long-established geo-services like digital
maps, satellite navigation, satellite imagery, location-based
search, and satellite receivers and manufacturing. The size of the
industry accounts for today ranges more than $500 billion1. Add
to this the fiscal potential of emerging sectors like autonomous
Figure 1.1 Stakeholders of the Geospatial Industry Ecosystem
Geo-application Research and

Developers Educators
Spatial and Non

Spatial Data Policy
Providers Formulaters
Technology
Providers
Users
1 https://www.geospatialworld.net/article/where-is-the-money/
8 | ©Geospatial Media and Communications

INTRODUCTION
Industry Driving
Fabric Technologies
01 02
GEOSPATIAL
INDUSTRY
03 04
Countries User
Readiness Adoption
Figure 1.2 Key Influencers of Geospatial Industry
vehicles, unmanned aerial systems, trends are leading to diminished inno-

wearables and augmented reality, and sky vation lifecycle and shrinking gestation
is the limit. periods. This has resulted in raised
profit vulnerability for the industry. Rapidly changing
Governments today realize that access geospatial
to reliable and adequate geospatial In such a scenario, it is imperative to
technology trends
information is crucial for any nation understand the key factors influencing
vying for real economic growth, wealth the geospatial industry (Figure 1.2). are leading to
creation, better quality of life and These include users, private companies, diminished
transformation in the society. non-profit organizations, research and innovation
academic institutions, and govern-
lifecycle,
This process of transformation includes ment agencies who research, develop,
deep-seated business transformations manufacture, implement, and employ resulting in
as well, which are stimulated by innova- geospatial technologies (Figure 1.1). heightened profit
tion. In the information age, innovation The industry is also affected by the vulnerability for
plays a key role in national competi- prevailing trends in IT technologies.
tiveness and provides industries with a
the industry
sustainable edge over rivals. Another leading factor that provides
guidance for businesses and govern-
The geospatial industry is no exception, ments by underlining the realities and
where rapidly changing technology opportunities of the ecosystem is the
Global Geospatial Industry Outlook | 9

INTRODUCTION
Geospatial geospatial readiness of a nation. Read- This study investigates the interaction
readiness of a iness is dependent on the institutions, between the two inter-reliant pillars of
policies and factors driving the level of industry trends and geospatial read-
nation lays the productivity in a country. This productivity iness to determine the success of the
foundation for level, in turn, will determine the rate of global geospatial industry.
businesses and return on investment in any economy.
But, how do you find out the trends
governments
It is an established fact that and direction of the global geospatial
by underlining geoinformation plays a conspicuous role industry? How do you ascertain the
the realities and in a nation’s development, accelerating geospatial readiness of a country?
opportunities as the global development agenda. An How do you get an accurate picture of
innovation-driven and efficiency-centric the drivers influencing the geospatial
a whole
economy can be achieved only through industry in a nation? The Global Geospa-
the growth of the entire fabric of the tial Industry Outlook strives to succinctly
geospatial ecosystem for decision answer these questions in a clear,
support in the public sector, and market coherent manner.
development in the private sector.
The Global Geospatial Industry Outlook is presented in two parts:
Global Geospatial Industry Trends Geospatial Readiness Index of

and Business Models: Countries:
This section presents a transparent In a first-ever study of the geospa-
picture of the global geospatial tial readiness of any nation, the
industry fabric by scrutinizing trend Global Geospatial Readiness Index
in technology, product, drivers of ranks more than 50 countries
geospatial business and trans- across the globe on their readiness
forming business ecosystem. for this industry.
Objectives
`` Assess the current prevailing global geospatial technology trends
`` Identify and appraise the additional factors influencing these trends
`` Establish a trend in innovation of geospatial products over the years
`` Ascertain the business trends reigning the global geospatial industry and
their correlations
`` Access the readiness of a country on parameters affecting geospatial
industry by unveiling 50 countries’ geospatial readiness index
`` Understand whether a country possesses the drivers necessary for
geospatial technologies to meet their potential
`` Get an accurate picture of all the drivers of the geospatial industry to flourish
at the country level

METHODOLOGY
Global Geospatial Industry To analyze the above key factors 500+ companies
Trends and Business Models globally, the basis is both primary surveyed,
This part of the study is the global and secondary research (Figure
evaluation of geospatial industry. To 1.4). Primarily, Geospatial Media and
1500 press
highlight the industry trends, firstly, Communications is a domain expert on releases
the objective of the study was defined. the Geospatial Industry having consider- mapped that
An analysis of the industry trends able in-house information available and had shed
sheds light on the economic health of therefore this has been collated together
the industry globally, highlighting the to begin modelling the study. The
light on the
following key factors: benchmarking analysis is from a survey economic
of 500+ companies which has led us to health of the
`` The types of the geospatial draw some eye-opening conclusions industry
companies (Figure 1.3).
`` Driving technologies of the
geospatial industry Field Research
`` Top industry sectors that use Field Research is an important compo-
geospatial technologies nent to conduct any analysis. To
`` Business process embedment understand the industry trends in the
`` Spatial embedment geospatial industry, one-to-one inter-
`` Benefits and challenges of geospatial actions supplemented with secondary
technology data sources (case studies, company
`` Product trends websites, press releases, magazine
`` Acquisitions and partnerships articles, etc.) have been conducted with
`` Revenue model in geospatial industry 500+ companies globally.
Figure 1.3 Global Distribution of Companies Surveyed to Analyze Global Geospatial Industry Trends & Business Models

METHODOLOGY
The sample has 20% of these companies are leading `` Product companies (hardware,
been chosen players in the geospatial industry. software and data)
Questionnaires were generated which `` Solution providers
strategically to were shared with the stakeholders of `` System integrators
define accurate the geospatial industry and analysis `` Service providers
representation has been done from their perspective. `` Consultants
The sample of the study has been
of the geospatial
chosen strategically to define the 500+ companies have been analyzed
industry universe of the study to give an accu- and studied to understand the regions
dynamics rate representation of the geospatial they operate in, the type of industry
globally industry dynamics. The intelligence offerings they have and the driving tech-
has been drawn from one-to-one nologies like Cloud, IoT, etc., that drive
interactions with the leading industry the geospatial industry and define the
players of: revenue model within the industry.
INDUSTRY
ANALYSIS
COMPANY
ANALYSIS
COMPANY ANALYSIS
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS  Global and regional distribution
(a) International Industry sources  Technology profiles
 Relationships with industry players  Benefits and challenges
 Assessing the current scenario  Driving technology
RESEARCH
through trend analysis  Business process embedment
METHODOLOGY
 Acquisitions and partnerships
Information on  Revenue models
500+ industry
players SECONDARY RESEARCH
 Company annual reports
 Independent analysis reports
 Case studies
 1,500+ press releases mapped
PRIMARY RESEARCH PRIMARY

 One to one interactions RESEARCH
 Online survey based on a questionnaire
SECONDARY PREDICTIVE
RESEARCH ANALYSIS
Figure 1.4 Research Methodology to Analyze Global Geospatial Industry Trends & Business Models

METHODOLOGY
The analysis has been done on the Predictive Analysis Correlation has
basis of interviews conducted with top Future outlook is very important for been drawn
management officials, technology prac- any industry and therefore is a key
titioners, product managers and industry element of the global industry market
from previous
stakeholders. intelligence. The objective of the study and current
is also to highlight the futuristic trends industry
The industry has therefore been in the geospatial industry. Predictions standing to
assessed to define the technology are drawn from the already available
ecosystem, the enabling technolo- knowledge and the analysis conducted.
forecast the
gies, the technologies offered and the Correlation has been drawn from the future trends in
industry types to draw final inferences previous and the current industry the geospatial
on the basis of the sorted sample size standing to define the future trends in industry
using factor analysis (Figure 1.4). the geospatial industry domain.
domain
Secondary Study Countries' Geospatial
The field research or the primary Readiness Index
research is validated and supplemented The Geospatial Readiness Index of 50
by the review and analysis of extensive countries reflects an assessment of four
secondary information. Intelligence is primary pillars driving the readiness of a
drawn from the study of: country’s geospatial ability.
`` Company annual reports To create a Countries' Geospatial

`` Independent analysis reports Readiness Index, it was first necessary
`` Press coverage to identify the wide spectrum of factors
`` Case studies that define the geospatial readiness in a
country. The methodology defines and
1,500+ press releases and other prioritizes the parameters impacting and
secondary information collected, have influencing the geospatial industry as a
been studied through the years 2012- critical factor.
2016 to define the trends in technology,
revenue models, acquisitions and part- The methodology used in this study
nerships and others so that a rational consists of the following steps:
analysis of development patterns can be `` Identify 50 countries for the readiness
carried out. index
`` Determine the pillars, sub-pillars and
Detailed secondary study has also sub themes to model the study
been conducted to evaluate the `` Assigning weights to each pillar and
recent trend of spatial embedment sub-pillars
in the non-geospatial companies `` Determine and conduct the survey
and mainstream consultants. Such strategy (primary & secondary) to
companies include, Facebook, Twitter, encompass the pillars holistically
LinkedIn, IBM, Flipkart, etc. `` Formulate the Readiness Score

METHODOLOGY
50 economies Identifying 50 countries for Identifying the Pillars, Sub-Pillars

selected for Geospatial Readiness Index and the Sub-themes to model the
The Geospatial Readiness Index study
readiness index assesses the readiness of 50 countries. The index pillars put a great emphasis
represents 75% It provides a key tool of detailed metrics on the fundamentals imperative to the
of the world's for 50 economies representing 75% of global geospatial industry. As a result,
the world’s population and 89% of the the following four pillars are identified:
population
world’s total GDP. The countries have
and 89% of the been chosen keeping two considerations: `` Geospatial infrastructure and policy
world's GDP framework
`` Geographic representation `` Institutional capacity
`` Economic representation `` Users adoption level
`` Industrial capacity
Also, it is to be noted that the countries
have been chosen by leveraging the 20+ These pillars are not independent of
years of global geospatial knowledge of each other and reinforce each other
professionals of Geospatial Media and constantly. To model the readiness
Communications. It has helped to identify index, the four pillars have been sub
an almost equal distribution of the above divided into several decision criteria
two factors – geographically and econom- such that each decision attribute is
ically. Only after careful assessment of the defined. These pillars and sub-pillars
geospatial industry on a whole, 50 coun- are defined as follows
tries have been shortlisted (Figure 1.5) . (Figures 1.6 & 1.7):
Figure 1.5 Geographical Distribution of Selected Countries for Assessing Geospatial Readiness Index

METHODOLOGY
Geospatial Infrastructure and Policy `` Platforms and Portals: Geoportal, For any country
Framework characteristics, functionality and to flourish in
For any country to flourish in the architecture
Geospatial domain, it is important `` Open and Linked Data: Data dissemi-
geospatial
that the country has an efficient and nation mode, inter-intra data linkages, domain, it is
extensive geospatial infrastructure and standards important
and policy framework. This pillar has `` Policy framework: National-level
that the country
been further divided into the following policies, tech-specific and data
sub-pillars which have been analyzed related has an efficient
for each of the 50 countries to reach a & extensive
score: Institutional Capacity geospatial
It is a well-known fact that quality educa-
`` Data Infrastructure (Topographic tion institutions and training institutes
infrastructure
& Earth Observation): Layer, scale, are crucial for economies to move up the and policy
characteristics of data, type of value chain. It is imperative that in today’s framework
imagery, resolution, etc. global economy, countries have well
`` Positioning Infrastructure: Positioning established institutions to nurture pools
system, augmentation system and of well-educated workers who are able to
geodetic infrastructure adapt to the changing environment.
GEOSPATIAL
READINESS INDEX OF COUNTRIES
PILLAR I PILLAR II PILLAR III PILLAR IV

GEOSPATIAL
INFRASTRUCTURE USER
INSTITUTIONAL INDUSTRIAL
& ADOPTION
CAPACITY CAPACITY
POLICY LEVEL
FRAMEWORK
GEOSPATIAL READINESS
Figure 1.6 Identified Pillars for Accessing Countries' Geospatial Readiness

METHODOLOGY
The user Similarly, we have studied the institu- This pillar is analyzed using the
adoption level tional capacities specific to geospatial following sub-pillars:
knowledge dissemination (courses) in
measures the each of the 50 countries with respect to `` Mapping Services
agility and the following criterions: `` Business Process Modeling
extent to which `` Analytics and Workflows
`` Fundamental Science `` System Integration Level
the economy
`` Professional Education `` Enterprise Level
is adapting `` Interdisciplinary Application Courses
the geospatial `` Vocational Training Industrial Capacity
technologies `` Business Incubation Industry plays an important role in the
economic development of the country
User Adoption Level and therefore it is important to assess
The user adoption level measures the role of geospatial industry in each of
the agility with which an economy the 50 economies to elucidate the read-
is adapting the Geospatial technol- iness of the index. The Industry fabric
ogies to enhance the productivity of has been sub-divided into the following
its industries. It also measures the sub-parameters:
capacity to fully leverage ICTs and
Geospatial knowledge together in `` Product companies (hardware,
everyday activities of the major software and data)
industries. `` Service providers
`` Solution and system integrators
Data Infrastructure Fundamental Mapping or Product Companies

(Topographic & Earth Science Service Level (Hardware, Software
Observation) and Data)
Professional Business Process
Positioning Education Modeling Service
Infrastructure Providers
Interdisciplinary Analytics and
Platforms and Portals Application Courses Workflows Solution and System
Integrators
Open and Linked Data Vocational System
and Standards Training Integration Level
Policy Framework Business Enterprise

Incubation Level
GEOSPATIAL
USER
INFRASTRUCTURE INSTITUTIONAL INDUSTRIAL
ADOPTION
& POLICY CAPACITY CAPACITY
LEVEL
FRAMEWORK
Figure 1.7 Pillars and Sub-pillars for Accessing Geospatial Readiness Index of a Country

METHODOLOGY
As discussed, each parameter within (Table 1.1). Once the scores of the four
the four pillars comprises a series of five pillars are derived, they are summed to
sub-pillars that are each converted to a map the overall readiness of the ranking.
score of 0-5 and weighted summed to It is to be noted that the weights are
generate the pillar scores to 25% each based on our assessment of the relative
TOTAL
PILLARS FOR GEOSPATIAL READINESS INDEX
WEIGHTS
PILLAR I: Geospatial Infrastructure & Policy Framework 25%

Data Infrastructure (Topographic and Earth Observation) 5%
Positioning Infrastructure 5%
Platforms and Portals 5%
Open & Linked Data Standards 5%
Policy Framework 5%
PILLAR II: Institutional Capacity 25%

Fundamental Sciences 5%
Professional Education 5%
Interdisciplinary Application Courses 5%
Vocational Training 5%
Business Incubation 5%
PILLAR III: User Adoption Level 25%

Mapping or Service Level 5%
Business Process Modelling 5%
Analytics and Workflows 5%
System Integration Level 5%
Enterprise Level 5%
PILLAR IV: Industry Capacity 25%

Product Companies (Hardware, Software & Data) 8.33%
Service Providers 8.33%
Solution and System Integrators 8.33%
TOTAL 100%
Table 1.1 Assigned Weights to Pillars & Sub-Pillars for Accessing Geospatial Readiness Index of a Country

METHODOLOGY
Interactions importance of each dataset, parameters adoption of geospatial technologies and

with and pillars to determine the readiness the geospatial industry fabric in the 50
index. countries.
stakeholders of
the geospatial Research Methodology Data sets henceforth are available
ecosystem The methodology for the study includes through field research and extensively
extensive quantitative analysis using available public data. The primary
have been
both primary and secondary survey research data has also been authenti-
conducted and strategies. For the global geospatial cated for each country through exhaus-
supplemented readiness index, interactions with tive cross referencing with secondary
& validated stakeholders of the geospatial research. These data sets aim to
ecosystem have been conducted which capture the multi-dimensional facets
through
is further supplemented and validated of geospatial innovation in geospatial
secondary through secondary sources. The industry and therefore are tailored to
sources study has been conducted to identify map the readiness index accordingly.
the status of the geospatial data
infrastructure, policy framework, image Formulate the Readiness Score
resolutions, etc. Similarly, primary After thorough analysis has been
interactions and secondary research conducted through primary and
have been conducted with various secondary means, the data sets have
institutions in the top 50 countries to been analyzed according to the four
identify the numerous course offerings pillars, their sub pillars and further
in each country. sub-themes on an equal weightage of
25% and then aggregated to arrive at
Primary and secondary research have the final score for the country. On the
also been conducted on the basis of basis of the final score, the countries
a specially designed questionnaire to have been ranked to arrive at the Global
evaluate and elucidate the user level Geospatial Readiness Index.

GLOBAL
GEOSPATIAL
INDUSTRY TRENDS
AND BUSINESS
MODELS
Core geospatial technologies has evolved exponentially. They have
rallied with a potpourri of information technology disciplines to
complete the digital puzzle. There has been a constant transfor-
mation in the geospatial landscape and business environment is
simultaneously giving birth to exciting opportunities and formidable
challenges. Information, communication, and other driving technol-
ogies have been steadily disrupting the industry’s fabric and adding
new dimensions to the value and utility of geo-information and prac-
tices. This has enabled, reorganized and redefined the composition,
character and the business models of the industry. We did a deep
dive into some of the key forces influencing the geospatial commu-
nity and put them into a comprehensive framework to make sense
of them all. More than 500 companies were surveyed to gauge the
landscape of the industry and understand where it is heading.
This part of the study is the global evaluation of geospatial industry.

It highlights the:
 Geospatial industry fabric
 Product trends
 Driving technologies of the geospatial industry
 Business process embedment
 Acquisitions and partnerships
 Revenue model
A detailed analysis of these is presented in the following pages

2. GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGY IN DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM
It could be stunning satellite imagery from space, or detailed

surveying data gathered by total stations, or even beautifully
layered maps on mobiles. The truth of the matter is the key
to solving many of our problems today lies in unlocking the
potential of these data, and turning it into meaningful infor-
mation that enables the decision-making process.
Today, billions of people are aware of and use spatial tech-

nologies and products daily — especially online maps and
GPS-based car navigation — but very few understand the
range and complexity of the technologies involved and how
they interact.
The global The first known use of the term ‘Geographic Informa-
GIS market is tion System’ can be traced back to Dr Roger Tomlinson's
expected to touch research paper A Geographic Information System for
Regional Planning in 19681. Since then, GIS has evolved from
$14.62 billion by
being a niche scientific tool to a mass-market technology.
2020 from $7.61
billion in 2014, Today, while GIS is being used in different industries and
growing at a CAGR applications, the industry itself has evolved into what has
of 11.4%3 come to be known as geospatial, encompassing all forms of
technologies that are involved in collection and processing of
spatial data. Regardless of whether the famous quote “80%
of all data in the world has a spatial relation” — attributed
to various sources — is accurate or not, it is true that by the
end of this year, there will be 5.72 billion smartphones2 with
GNSS capabilities, up from 3.1 billion in 2014.
What Does the Geospatial Industry

Encompass?
The geospatial industry comprises of government organi-
zations, private companies, non-profit organizations, and
academic and research institutions that develop, manufacture,
research and employ geospatial technology. They are involved
in gathering, storing, processing, integrating, managing,
mapping, analyzing and distributing data tied to a particular
location on Earth.
Geospatial technologies include Geographic Information

System (GIS)/Spatial Analytics, Global Navigation Satel-
lite System (GNSS) & Positioning, Earth Observation and
Scanning (Figure 2.1).

GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGY IN DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM
Desktop
Web/Cloud
GIS/Spatial
Analytics
Mobile
Navigation
Indoor Positioning
GNSS &
Positioning
GEOSPATIAL Surveying
TECHNOLOGY
Satellite Remote Sensing
Aerial Mapping
Earth
Observation
UAVs /Drone
LiDAR
Laser Scanning
Scanning
Radar
Figure 2.1 Components of Geospatial Technology
GIS /Spatial Analytics `` Web/Cloud GIS: A desktop or

The use of GIS/Spatial Analytics by mobile application allows the user
various industries is only expected to to connect with the GIS server on
go up in a market driven by increasing the Internet. Running GIS software
global demand for geographically on Cloud allows a user to leverage
correlated information. GIS can the flexibility of the Cloud environ-
primarily be categorized into three ment for data capture, visualization,
types: analysis and sharing
`` Mobile GIS: Takes GIS technology
`` Desktop GIS: Software is installed out of the office and into the field on
onto and runs on a personal a mobile device like a smartphone
computer or a tablet

GNSS & Positioning raphy (manned as well as unmanned

GNSS or Global Navigation Satellite flying vehicles). Over the next decade, 419
Systems has become such an integral satellites are expected to be launched
part of our daily lives that it is almost generating $35.5 billion in manufacturing
impossible to do without them. Be it revenues5. In the meantime, small, mini
surveying, navigation or indoor posi- and nano satellites have shaken up the
tioning, GNSS is the backbone of it all. traditional earth observation market.
Everything from businesses and banking,
to defense and aviation is heavily depen- And while aerial remote sensing, which
dent on GNSS and positioning services. involves flying a piloted plane to collect
data, has been widely used in areas like
Regional systems operate on the same land surveying, mining and agriculture,
As many as technology as GNSS, but instead of it was always regarded as an expensive
being global, their coverage is limited task. Enter unmanned aerial vehicles, or
3.6 billion GNSS
to a certain region. Satellite Based drones, which are expected to boost the
devices were in Augmented System (SBAS) is an aerial photography industry by 12.9%
use in 2014 and by improvement of the positioning service over the next six years6.
2019, this number of the satellite navigation system and is
is expected to primarily meant for aircraft navigation. Scanning
Meanwhile, major synergies are also The scanning market comprises
cross 7 billion, or
developing in terms of wireless mobile of Laser, LiDAR, Radar and Point
an average of one terminals with a navigation capability. Cloud from images – non-con-
device per person tact technologies that can digitally
on the planet5 The newest kid on the geospatial block, capture the shape of physical objects.
indoor positioning, is a still evolving field. 3D laser scanners create “point clouds”
It combines the power of GPS and precise of data from the surface of an object or
mapping to the place where human data about the surroundings.
beings spend 70% of their time – indoors.
Indoor Positioning can be broadly clas- While the government sector will
sified into: magnetic positioning, radio continue to lead the demands in scan-
waves, mobile sensors, RFID. However, it ning technology, increased penetra-
must be mentioned that there is no stan- tion across areas like wind energy,
dard way to build an IPS. A company may transportation, urban data acquisition
use WiFi triangulation, bluetooth, beacons, are expected to be big growth drivers.
Near Field Communication (NFC), infrared, Meanwhile, factors such as technolog-
indoor mapping, sensors or even acoustic ical superiority, encouragement from
analysis LED lighting, and ‘pedestrian government, and various applications of
dead reckoning,’ among others to deter- LiDAR, such as, engineering projects and
mine a person’s position in a building. large magnitude set are key drivers for
the growth of LiDAR market.
Earth Observation
Earth Observation, or remote sensing Further, the radar sensor ecosystem,
from space to surface, includes technolo- made up of of chip designer companies,
gies like satellites in space, aerial photog- component manufacturers, technology

providers and system integrators, is anyone who works with spatial data as a The 3D scanner
expected to touch $30.67 billion by 2022 geospatial professional? market is
from $19.29 billion in 2015 growing at a expected to grow
CAGR of 6.94% between 2016 and 20227. Most applications and technologies
today use location data for some
from $3.41 billion
Geospatial and its Linkage purpose or the other. Self-driving cars, in 2015 to $5.90
with Others UAVs, wearables, augmented reality, billion by 2022, at
We need to remember that definitions Internet of Things, all use spatial a CAGR of 9.6%
can be a tricky thing. If one were to define data and maps for a wide variety of between 2016
geospatial technology with the typical purposes and applications. This is
and 20228
dictionary definition of “any technology where the line starts blurring and
that enables the creation, management, geospatial either gets integrated or
analysis and visualisation of geospatial rides on other platforms to produce
data”, then would it be correct to identify knowledge or deliver complicated
that any field/domain that uses spatial solutions to human problems.
information and maps, as part of the
geospatial industry? And as a natural Figure 2.2 explains the geospatial
extension, would it be accurate to identify ecosystem in a digital environment.
GEOSPATIAL FACILITATOR PROCESSES MEDIUM
GOVERNMENT
GIS/SPATIAL OPEN & LINKED SYSTEM
ENTERPRISE
ANALYTICS DATA INTEGRATION
WORLD ECONOMY AND SOCIETY

GNSS & POSITIONING BUSINESS
BIG DATA SOCIAL MEDIA
GEOSPATIAL VALUE IN
INTELLIGENCE
BUSINESSES
EARTH ICT DIGITAL

OBSERVATION MOBILE APPS
INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING
STANDARDS & DEEP LEARNING /

SCANNING ARTIFICIAL WEB PORTALS
INTEROPERABILITY INTELLIGENCE
CITIZENS
WIRELESS & INTERNET OF ROBOTICS &

CLOUD
COMMUNICATION THINGS AUTOMATION
DRIVERS
Figure 2.2 Geospatial Technology & Digital Ecosystem Yielding Value to Economy & Society

The first column lists out the main industry’s ability to link information on
pillars of the core geospatial industry the Web becomes extremely important.
that are involved in data collection. The Linked data offers the opportunity to
second column lists out various plat- connect data to other pieces of data on
forms that facilitate the outreach of the Web, contextualizing and adding
geospatial technologies in their process value to the information that already
of reaching out to users – open and exists. To this end, we may see data
linked data, Big Data, ICT infrastruc- increasingly being distributed as ‘linked
ture, and standards and operability. The data’ in the coming decade.
third column stands for the processes
on which geospatial rides – system Big Data: As location intelligence
integration, business intelligence, digital becomes more and more relevant across
engineering. Finally, we come to the industries, Big Data and its analytics are
mediums that are used – enterprise what the future depends on. Big Data
technologies, social media, mobile apps is characterized by five Vs — Volume,
and Web portals. The common drivers Velocity, Variety, Veracity and Value.
in this entire process are platforms While Volume is easily understood,
like Cloud, wireless and communica- Velocity, Variety, Veracity and Value lie in
tion technologies, Internet of Things our ability to take fast-moving data and
and robotics and automation. The convert it into something meaningful
users could be citizens, governments through analytics.
GEOSPATIAL FACILITATOR PROCESSES MEDIUM or private enterprises, who all can be
GOVERNMENT
clubbed together as Geo Users. Traditional geospatial data, which

ENTERPRISE
BUSINESS
includes remotely sensed data, is

GNSS & POSITIONING BIG DATA SOCIAL MEDIA
GEOSPATIAL VALUE IN
INTELLIGENCE
BUSINESSES
EARTH ICT DIGITAL
The Facilitators
MOBILE APPS
structured and stored for analysis

OBSERVATION INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING

Open and Linked Data: The value of post facto in analytical systems like
CITIZENS

CLOUD
open data is well established now and GIS. However, modern data with
DRIVERS
ranges from improved efficiency of useful geospatial content like photos,

PATIAL FACILITATOR public administrations and
PROCESSES economic
MEDIUM social media chats, video, voice and
growth in the private sector to wider messages now constitutes almost 80%
GOVERNMENT
OPEN & LINKED

social welfare. Governments across
SYSTEM
of the total data. In its unstructured
PATIAL
the ENTERPRISE
world are moving toward opening form, it cannot be used in conventional
YTICS DATA INTEGRATION
their datasets. While the US govern- analytic systems like GIS because the
ment launched an open data initiative sheer volume far exceeds the data
OSITIONING BIG DATA in BUSINESS

2011, the European Union
SOCIALisMEDIA
working storage capacity available. It also has
GEOSPATIAL VALUE IN
INTELLIGENCE
on regulations to unlock the data held a high velocity, but its veracity may
by European institutions. Between 2016 require curation. Big Data improves
BUSINESSES
RTH ICT
andDIGITAL
2020, the market size of open data innovation, sustainability and trans-
VATION for the MOBILE
EU 28+ is expected APPS
to increase lates into billions in savings. Globally,
36.9% from €55.3 billion to €75.7 billion9. the Big Data technology and services
markets is expected to touch $48.6
NNING When 2.5 quintillion bytes
ARTIFICIAL
of data are
WEB PORTALS
billion by 2019, growing at a CAGR of
INTEROPERABILITY being created every day, the geospatial
INTELLIGENCE 23.1% between 2014 and 201910.
CITIZENS

CLOUD
DRIVERS
ICT Infrastructure: Information and The Processes GEOSPATIAL FACILITATOR PROCESSES MEDIUM
Communication Technology (ICT) Infra- System Integration: As the world is
GOVERNMENT
ENTERPRISE
structure encompasses all the devices, beginning to reject systems that create

GEOSPATIAL VALUE IN
INTELLIGENCE
BUSINESSES
networks, protocols and procedures that silos or force inefficient workflows,
EARTH ICT DIGITAL
DEEP LEARNING /
are employed in the communications or system integration is the key to making

SCANNING STANDARDS &
ARTIFICIAL WEB PORTALS
CITIZENS
information technology fields to foster disparate solutions fit the customer
CLOUD
DRIVERS
interaction amongst different stake- workflow rather than the other way
holders. And geospatial is no excep- around. Since there are too many
tion here. ICT infrastructure includes permutations to simply make everything
computer hardware (servers and related ‘plug and play’, systems integration
workstations), network connectivity will be GEOSPATIAL
the dominating trend across the
FACILITATOR PROCESSES MED
with accessories, and all the necessary industry for the next five years.
equipment. It is a necessary condition
for the deployment of digital services. Further,ANALYTICS
geospatial capabilities are being ENTER
DATA INTEGRATION
ICT infrastructure is most fundamental integrated into all kinds of systems
to the most recent technological wave wherein they don’t exist as separate
— the Third Wave — that uses infor- industries. Geospatial content is being
BIG DATA SOCIAL
mation and knowledge as the prime driven by tremendous innovation in the INTELLIGENCE
factors in production. The Internet is the technologies used to generate it or the
most influential category of ICT, making ones it rides on — faster processors,
EARTH ICT DIGITAL
significant economic and social impact, better OBSERVATION
displays, wireless networks, online MOBIL
especially in developed countries. databases, fixed and mobile sensors,
etc. These disparate technologies are
Standards and Interoperability: One growingSCANNING
new branches and spawning
ARTIFICIAL WEB PO
interesting aspect of the recent tech- new hybrids as inventive minds seek new
nology advancements is the ability solutions.
of interoperability, or the capacity of
different and diverse systems, data, Business Intelligence (BI): About 80% &
WIRELESS INTERNET OF ROBOTIC
CLOUD
platforms, processes and services to of all data stored in corporate databases
COMMUNICATION THINGS AUTOMAT
efficiently and effectively work together. has a spatial component. Traditionally,
DRIVERS
such data would be presented to the user
Geospatial technologies are a pivotal in the form of long reports, either with
part of this convergence. Interopera- graphs and pie charts, or in a spreadsheet
bility between heterogeneous computer format. Now, given the complex inter-
systems is essential for providing relationships of multidimensional data,
geospatial data, maps, cartographic and integrating spatial data and visualization
decision support services, as well as technology has become ineluctable for
analytical functions. Geospatial interoper- offering an accurate, high impact insight
ability is dependent on standards, which to business intelligence users.
are essential to advancing data access
and collaborations in e-Government, Humans think visually. Therefore, BI
natural hazards, weather and climate, environments must provide visual-
exploration, and global earth observation. ization techniques based on spatial

relationships. In this background, In geospatial systems, for example,

spatial data is becoming a boon to one of the accepted methods of clas-
GEOSPATIAL FACILITATOR PROCESSES MEDIUM
GOVERNMENT

ENTERPRISE
analysts, wherein the definition of a sification of remotely sensed data for


GEOSPATIAL VALUE IN
INTELLIGENCE
modern warehouse needs to include thematic mapping is using AI software

BUSINESSES
EARTH ICT DIGITAL

‘space-centric’ aspects along with called Neural Networks. Companies like

CITIZENS
traditional characteristics, such as, DigitalGlobe and Airbus Defence & Space
CLOUD
DRIVERS
‘integrated’ and ‘time-variant’. are already taking help of artificial intelli-

gence and deep learning to process large
Digital Engineering: The key to volumes of satellite imagery to identify
successful digital engineering (aka objects and patterns automatically in
SSES MEDIUM Building Information Modelling or BIM) huge volumes of satellite imagery. The
GOVERNMENT
lies in proper management of data. next step will be the ability to handle
EM Aligning that data across multiple information in a manner that enables a
ENTERPRISE
ATION project stakeholders and project lifecycle personalized experience, as is illustrated
phases provides a platform on which by Apple’s Siri or the Google Assistant.
the model can be built. That said, digital

ESS
SOCIAL MEDIA engineering is not limited to just creating Artificial intelligence could dramat-
GEOSPATIAL VALUE IN
GENCE
models. Unlocking knowledge and ically boost economic growth and
insight, and creating the platform for true productivity by up to 40% in 2035, while
BUSINESSES
TAL collaboration are its mainstays. the economic growth in the US could
MOBILE APPS
ERING increase from 2.6% to 4.6 % over the
Efficient management of geospatial same period with the adoption of AI
RNING /
information is fundamental to the technologies11. Among the countries
CIAL WEB PORTALS success of engineering projects across that stand to make the largest gains in
GENCE the private and public sectors, underpin- productivity from AI in 2035 are Sweden,
ning a wide range of activities — from Finland, the US and Japan.
CITIZENS
sustainable development, conservation

T OF ROBOTICS & and environmental monitoring to infra- The Mediums
GS AUTOMATION structure planning, implementation and Enterprise Systems: Like all other
asset management. enterprise systems — essentially large-
scale application software packages
Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI encom- that support information flows, business
passes many technologies like cognitive processes and data analytics — enter-
computing, machine learning, language prise GIS is a system that is integrated
processing, neural networks, data for the entire organization to enable all
analysis, information retrieval, genetic its employees to manage, share, use,
and evolutionary computation, knowl- create, visualize, analyze and dissemi-
edge discovery, machine vision, and, nate spatial data. GIS-based data service
of course, the latest catch word, deep levels may be formal or informal agree-
learning. All these techniques have one ments between departments, divisions,
common thread: how to mimic human or external agencies such that the enter-
faculties like vision, thought processes prise GIS is the application system that
and reasoning using computers. holds a process together.

Social Media: Ubiquity of location and for effective use of GIS and are a key GEOSPATIAL FACILITATOR PROCESSES MEDIUM
GOVERNMENT
ENTERPRISE
smartphones in every hand has led to element of Spatial Data Infrastruc-


GEOSPATIAL VALUE IN
INTELLIGENCE
an ever-increasing amount of spatially ture (SDI) for any nation. Geographic
BUSINESSES
EARTH ICT DIGITAL
located information on social media information providers, including SCANNING STANDARDS &
INTEROPERABILITY
DEEP LEARNING /
ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE
WEB PORTALS
— in most cases, without it even being government agencies and commer-
CITIZENS
CLOUD
DRIVERS
a conscious decision of the user. In cial sources, use geoportals to

addition to an exponential increase publish geospatial metadata of their
in the availability of geo-referenced geographic information. Geoportals
information, as the use of social media can help avoid duplicated efforts, DRIVERS
for providing realtime information and inconsistencies, delays, confusion, and
expanded functionality increases, it wasted resources. CLOUD
offers newer opportunities for
location-based service providers to The Drivers
further detect patterns and behavior Cloud: Geospatial systems are solu- WIRELESS &
prediction. tions always in search of innovative COMMUNICATION
technologies. The emergence of Cloud
Mobile Apps: The growth of apps has computing has provided a platform for
been driven by the evolution of mobile the evolution in Big Data Analytics with INTERNET OF
devices like tablets and smartphones. an elastic, on-demand computing plat- THINGS
What’s new in this segment are the form to integrate the essential elements
professional apps that cater to users of the geospatial sciences — obser-
from the fields of science, engineering, vation systems, parameter extracting ROBOTICS &
defense, homeland security, adminis- algorithms, phenomena simulations, AUTOMATION
tration and business. Today, soldiers, analytical visualization and decision
police personnel, firefighters and support. Public cloud services are
rescue teams require apps to navigate expected to cross $195 billion in 2020,
areas under threat or damage. Profes- more than doubling the $96.5 billion in
sionals do not have to go back to their revenues forecast for 2016 and repre-
desktops for analysis. This has made senting a compound annual growth
in-situ decision-making and viewing rate (CAGR) of 20.4% over 2015-202011.
the results in real-time or near-real- While these figures are for the total
time possible. Apps are platform and Cloud computing market, geospatial
software neutral, and have to follow Cloud services are also forethought to
open standards to be acceptable in grow at similar rates.
the marketplace, which makes this
medium a gold mine for independent Wireless and Communication Technol-
developers. ogies: A seamless and robust spatial
decision support system relies on three
Web Portals: Geospatial Web portals, major components — Internet GIS,
often referred to as geoportals, are a Mobile GIS and broadband wireless
popular way of delivering geographic communication networks. Each compo-
information and associated services, nent needs to be customized in order to
such as, updates, analysis, etc., via provide real-time or near-real-time GIS
the Internet. Geoportals are important functions.

Further, location-based services depend researchers have estimated that 47% of

on two cutting-edge technologies — US jobs could be automated within the
wireless location and mobile Internet. next two decades15. In the geospatial
Recent developments in the processing space too, unmanned and remote auton-
capabilities of smartphones and other omous systems and interactive robots
mobile computing devices have contrib- are boldly going where no one has gone
uted to making LBS much more acces- before.
sible to many users. Persistent efforts
by IT majors have led to location infor- The growing adoption of unmanned
mation being shared much more freely platforms such as UAVs and robotics
globally, and LBS being buttressed in has taken hold in the public safety and
many parts of the world where compre- security space. From tactical military situ-
hensive spatial databases are either still ations to routine security patrolling, these
being developed or are too expensive to platforms have the potential to transform
access. traditional security and public safety
processes. Robotics and automation are
Internet of Things (IoT): Fundamentally, already addressing challenges in risky or
IoT is about devices connected to the complicated operations where continuous
Internet or Machine-to-Machine (M2M) human presence is either undesirable or
communications. But, the real value of impossible, such as such as mining, engi-
this technology is not based on the tons neering systems or utility maintenance.
of data these sensors and devices are
gathering every second. Its true potential Geospatial Industry in
depends on that data’s analysis, and on Economy and Society
how Cloud-based applications leverage If growth drivers are to be considered,
that information. Currently, the Internet is the geospatial industry couldn’t have
human-orientated. The change toward had it better. The continuing global
machine learning or IoT will need to take economic uncertainty has brought
into account devices which are, for all increased focus on productivity. While
intents and purposes, autonomous and companies and government are
act independently. battening down the hatches, dramati-
cally reducing staff and spending, there
2020 will be a big year to watch out are others looking at how they can use
for while talking about the Internet of the time of uncertain to advance their
Things. As many as 50 billion devices12 business.
will be connected to the Internet by that
time, making the IoT industry $1.9 trillion Geospatial technologies provide not
in size13. IoT will start to impact close only the ability to manage and integrate
to 6% of the global economy in the next data, but also the analytical tools that
four years14. sharpen decision making and, ulti-
mately, save time and money (Figure
Robotics and Automation: Even as the 2.3). Using data in new ways counter-
debate rages over robotics and automa- acts the forces of a sluggish economy. It
tion taking away jobs, Oxford University helps make organizations efficient and

resilient during economic downturns. A Global Geospatial Initiatives

Google-commissioned report prepared Geospatial technology and informa-
by Oxera in 2013 found that the global tion has great potential to be a public
geo services generate $150-$270 billion commodity and a panacea to the larger
in revenues. challenges facing global economic and
social well-being. However, this requires
No wonder then most developed coun- the right policy framework, such as
tries and forward-looking governments the promotion of other technologies,
are turning geo evangelists by encour- including telecommunication, broadband
aging uptake of spatial technologies in and the Internet, to unlock its potential.
work processes. Certain countries have
adopted the technology more quickly In addition to governments and govern-
than others. The legislative approach ment agencies, many international
of governments of these countries in organizations have been working on
bringing market-oriented policies and issues related to geospatial information. A
enabling the users to capitalise on such big boost to the sector when in 2015, the
a versatile technology is the major United Nations Sustainable Development
reason for the growth. Agenda recognized the importance of
Europe6 United Kingdom4

$1013-1514 mn $498 mn
Benefits to EU nations and regional Boost to GDP in England & Wales from geospatial infor-
organisations in 2006 against an mation by public services providers in ’08-‘09
annual cost of $122-182 mn on Inspire $872-934 mn
Boost to GDP in England and Wales by 2014-15 with
data access & copyright and improved awareness
UNITED STATES3
$1.4k bn Australia1
Cost savings to agriculture construction $6.4-12.6 bn
and geospatial services industry in 2011 Contribution to GDP in 2006-07
$1.6k bn 0.08-0.14%
Revenue created by geospatial applica- Contribution to GDP in 2008
tions in next five years
$2.6 bn
Expected revenue creation by geospatial
applications in next five years
New Zealand2
$37 bn India5 $1.2 bn
Annual value of geospatial services as
$40-45 bn Productivity related benefits
per US consumers
Boost in revenue to businesses from geo to NZ economy in 2008
services in 2011
Source: $70-75 bn
1 The Allen Consulting Group Cost savings accrued by industries
2 ACIL Tasman
3 Boston Consulting Group
4 Consulting Where Limited and ACIL Tasman Figure 2.3 Geospatial Technology Bringing Benefits to the Economy & Society
5 Boston Consulting Group
6 INSPIRE

space-technology-based data, in situ moni- actions for the benefit of humankind are
toring and reliable geospatial information informed by coordinated, comprehen-
for sustainable development policymaking, sive and sustained earth observations.
programming and project operations16. This
was a formal recognition of declaration in G8: As part of an Open Data Charter signed
the Rio+20 Outcome Document, The Future in 2013 at the G8 summit in Northern
we Want in 2012: “… the importance of Ireland, the Group of Eight economic
space-technology-based data, in situ moni- powerhouses have put geospatial informa-
toring and reliable geospatial information tion firmly at the forefront of international
for sustainable development policymaking, efforts to drive economic growth and use
programming and project operations” and transparency to improve accountability.
noted “the efforts in developing global envi- The G8 members identified 14 high-value
ronmental observing systems, including sectors including geospatial data and infra-
…. the Global Earth Observation System of structure from which they will release data.
Systems (GEOSS)17.
World Bank: For international devel-
UN-GGIM: The United Nations initia- opment organizations and profes-
tive on Global Geospatial Information sionals at institutions like the World
Management (UN-GGIM) aims at playing Bank, every project and initiative has
a leading role in setting the agenda for the geospatial data. The World Bank uses
development of global geospatial infor- geospatial data and owns a huge
mation and to promote its use to address amount of it. The Sustainable Develop-
key global challenges. ment Network (SDN), a vice-presiden-
tial unit of World Bank, has launched
UN-GGIM-Private Sector Network: The the tool GeoSDN, which is a repository
UN-GGIM PSN was established during for geospatial data and a Web inter-
the sixth session in New York in August face that offers a new capability to
2016 to work in a mutually beneficial leverage development datasets and
collaboration with Members for devel- to analyze them in the context of an
opment of global geospatial information online mapping tool. The Platform
to address key global challenges; enable for Urban Management and Analysis
citizen services; support the initiatives of (PUMA) is another geospatial tool from
United Nations; facilitate direct connec- World Bank that allows users with no
tion and communication for the private prior GIS experience to access, analyze
sector with member states; and facilitate and share urban spatial data in an
an ongoing dialogue for collaboration interactive and customizable way.
between and amongst members of
UN-GGIM and participants of PSN. Asian Development Bank: ADB recog-
nizes that space technology and
GEO: The Group on Earth Observations geographic information can be applied
(GEO) is a partnership of around 100 to various development works. Based on
national governments and more than this understanding, ADB has implemented
100 participating organizations that many projects applying space technology
envisions a future where decisions and and GIS since the 1990s.

Food and Agriculture Organization: The of geospatial or space technologies

United Nation’s FAO uses satellite remote explicitly in the official draft. This despite
sensing, GIS and global positioning the fact that spatial data and technol-
systems for comprehensive worldwide ogies have become fundamental to
assessment and monitoring of environ- environment monitoring and protection.
mental conditions related to sustainable Further, the the UN Office for Outer
agriculture development and food security. Space Affairs (UNOOSA) focuses on
FAO’s interactive visualization Geonetwork space technology and sustainable
- is built upon a host of datasets - is an development in a major way.
open source platform that allows enables
sharing of geographically referenced Global Direction: Where Is It
thematic information between different All Heading?
organizations to improve access to and
integrated use of spatial data and Position to Precision
information. A decade ago, geospatial as a domain
was still evolving. And everybody felt
COP21: The COP21 Climate change that GIS could be used only for deci-
agreement doesn’t mention the role sion-making. This thought was being
Navigation Land Use Environment

Climate Change
> 10 Meters
Tourism
Social Sanitation
Telematics
Infrastructure
Business Forestry
Healthcare Analytics
Emergency Response Water Resources
Oil & Gas
Meter
Transportation
Utilities Marine
Navigation
Disaster Management
Defence Urban
Precision
Infrastructure
Architecture Mining
Centimeter
Autonomous Building Information

Vehicles
Indoor Positioning Heritage
Land Administration
Industrial Workflow
Machine Control
Engineering
Millimeter
Manufacturing
Metrology
Seismology
High Low
Positional Accuracy
Figure 2.4 Geospatial Industry Applications Moving from Position to Precision

broadcasted in colleges and universities from a singular technology, but from a

too. Recent technological advance- combination of multiple technologies.
ments have changed the state of The geospatial community itself is one
affairs. Geospatial technology today of the best examples of this principle —
uses modern software and hard- the now-ubiquitous nature of mapping
ware to store, access, visualize, map, is only possible from the universal
analyze, and disseminate geographic availability of global positioning, the
data. And it is permeating into all increased reduction in the size of
kinds of processes. Geospatial data computers and the ability to store and
can now be referenced to a globally distribute large volumes of data over
defined coordinate system. An inte- different technologies. The globe is in
grated analysis of these combined our pocket now. Geospatial is in the
data can provide new insights into the process of becoming a toothbrush tech-
geographic phenomena. nology — something you use every day!
The most important benefit that Sensors are not just processing the
The market
geospatial technology offers today is location and the properties of that
for geomatics efficiency, followed by precision, moni- location, but also the time that the
products can be toring, analytics and productivity. As information was collected, providing
broken down into is with all technologies, the value from an important and foundation variable
three segments increase in productivity will become for so many applications and services.
by the level much higher in the coming times. This is an important and growing trend.
of accuracy:
Today, the industry includes basic and In the past, technology or products
consumer grade, applied research, technology develop- from the professional world would
resource grade, ment, and applications to address all get migrated to the consumer space.
and survey grade types of planning, decision-making, and Today, that trend has shifted with
operational needs of the government, the consumers driving and seeding
the private sector, science, and indi- the development in the professional
viduals. Today, as the industry moves ecosystem. The rise of social media
from position to precision (Figure 2.4), and Internet has also added on to this
the market for geomatics products can interest in location from the consumer
be broken down into three segments by side.
the level of accuracy: consumer grade,
resource grade, and survey grade. There are different tiers of what is
required to support the geospatial
Everything Happens Some- initiatives — the consumer tier, the
where: Consumerization of professional tier, and then something
Geospatial in the middle — the ‘prosumer’ market,
As is the norm of the technology land- which sort of dabbles with some
scape, the most significant changes in professional requirements, but also
the world of geospatial will not come needs basic mapping capabilities.

As location becomes mainstream, the line Technology is enabling better business

between geo and non-geo is fast getting models. For the geospatial industry,
blurred. Today, geospatial industry is not it is an opportunity to connect it
comprised of only a handful of 20-30 core with sensors, real-time data, and
geo companies that deal with location. It Cloud computing to deliver smarter
is about every industry that deals in loca- solutions.
tion and builds on top of it. And then there
are the startups — a growing ecosystem Ten years ago, geospatial was all
of new ventures that has the blessings of about visualization. Today, it is more
the investor community. prevalent at the enterprise level.
The GIS silos are breaking. They are
The geospatial industry is the prime becoming a part of a larger picture.
example of a highly dynamic market Business processes are being inte-
whose members may be able to benefit grated. This is the future direction — a
from ecosystem mapping — particularly representation of tomorrow.
as older, high-investment incumbents
struggle with new innovative disruptors.
REFERENCES
1
www.esri.com/news/arcnews/fall12articles/the-fiftieth-anniversary-of-gis.html
2
www.gsa.europa.eu/system/files/documents/lbs_0.pdf
3
www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/geographic-information-system-market
4
www.gsa.europa.eu/system/files/reports/GNSS-Market-Report-2015-issue4_0.pdf
5
www.euroconsult-ec.com/shop/home/87-satellite-based-earth-observation-market-prospects-to-2025.html
6
www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/commercial-drones.asp
7
www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/3d-scanner-market-119952472.html
8
www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/indoor-positioning-navigation-ipin-market-989.html?
9
www.europeandataportal.eu/en/using-data/benefits-of-open-data
10
www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/digital-mckinsey/our-insights/big-data-the-next-frontier-for-innovation
11
www.accenture.com/in-en/insight-artificial-intelligence-future-growth
12
www.cisco.com/c/dam/en_us/about/ac79/docs/innov/IoT_IBSG_0411FINAL.pdf
13
www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2636073
14
www.atkearney.com
15
www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf
16
www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda
17
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/futurewewant.html

3. LANDSCAPE OF GEOSPATIAL INDUSTRY
In the last decade, core geospatial technologies have not

only evolved exponentially, they have rallied with a potpourri
of information technology disciplines to complete the digital
puzzle. The discrete, arcane quests known to the world as GIS,
earth observation, GPS, location-based services and naviga-
tion systems are no longer obscure. Fast becoming routine,
spatial technologies today interact freely through a network
of enablers like the Internet, wearables, sensors, and wireless
and portable computers. Geo-information today underpins the
digital world, and has wide-ranging implications on both, the
emerging technologies and our society.
Driving
technologies have The constant transformation in the geospatial landscape and
been disrupting business environment is simultaneously giving birth to exciting
the geospatial opportunities and formidable challenges. Information, commu-
nication, and other driving technologies have been steadily
industry fabric
disrupting the industry’s fabric and adding new dimensions
and adding new to the value and utility of geo-information and practices. In
dimensions to a way, all this developments have created a geographical
the value of language of communication between policies, processes and
geoinformation practices. This, in turn, has enabled, reorganized and redefined
creating a the composition, character and the business models of the
industry.
geographical
language of When seeking to extend the use of information about our
communication changing earth to over a billion people, we need to understand
between policies, and map the dynamics, behavior and the trends prevailing
processes and in the geospatial industry. This will help us to understand
the direction of the industry as a whole. Geospatial Media &
practices
Communications recently dived deep into some of the key
forces influencing the geospatial community and put them into
a comprehensive framework to make sense of them all. More
than 500 companies were surveyed to gauge the landscape of
the industry and understand where it is heading.
Product Services Solutions

Companies Companies Companies
System
Consultants
Integrators

LANDSCAPE OF GEOSPATIAL INDUSTRY
Geospatial Technology geospatial industry shown in Graph 3.1

Providers Footprint clearly indicates this. Moving forward,
Even though the transformation is and adding a regional dimension to the
evident, the largest representation picture, the graph clearly indicates the
comes from the services sector. This is, distribution in different regions, namely,
in fact, expected to continue in the near North America, Latin America, Europe,
future. A representation of the global Africa and Asia Pacific.
8% 11% 14% 14% 53% DATA

5%
2% 9% 13% 27% 49% SY
INTE STEM
GRA
TION 7%
6% 7% 23% 29% 35% SOLU
TION
S 12%
4% 6% 19% 32% 39% SOFT

WAR
E 16%
4% 5% 20% 32% 39% HAR

DWA
RE 18%
7% 14% 12% 34% 33% SERV

ICES 42%
LATIN AFRICA EUROPE APAC NORTH AMERICA

AMERICA
Graph 3.1 Percentage Share of the Technology Providers in the Geospatial Industry Ecosystem and their Regional Distribution

We are at the `` It is observed that more than 40% of With a major presence of the data
threshold of a the global industry players are oriented companies in North America, the
to offer services in the geospatial region stands out as the largest
new era in earth
market. Next in the line are product economy covering almost 50% of the
science analytics, companies which include the hard- global system integrator companies.
where everything ware and software providers, followed
is about how by data products and solutions, and Technology Landscape
we gather lastly the system integrators. From a technological perspective, the
and process `` North America dominates the market industry can broadly be divided into
with a formidable presence in all the four categories, wherein companies
information from major segments. working in the earth observation space
satellites, aerial `` Asia Pacific is the region with are leading. The earth observation
devices, UAVs and the largest percentage of service segment comprises of satellite, aerial
video data providers, followed by North America. devices, and in-situ systems which are
While Africa is also striving to make well-recognized as critical for moni-
its presence felt with several compa- toring the planet (Graph 3.2). This
nies offering services to the geospa- indicates that we are at the threshold
tial industry, Latin America shares a of a new era in earth science analytics,
small percentage of the global service where everything is about how we
market. gather and process information from
`` North America takes over the satellites, aerial devices, UAVs and
market with the largest percentage full-motion video data. This segment
of hardware, software and solution of the industry has seen a proliferation
providers, followed closely by Europe. of new players in the past few years,
GIS /
SPATIAL ANALYTICS
17%
EARTH
OBSERVATION
13% 37%
SCANNING Geospatial
Technology
33%
GNSS &
POSITIONING
Graph 3.2 Percentage Share of the Components of Geospatial Technology

such as, small satellites and swarms of 40% of the players of this ecosystem are Industry is
nanosatellites. working in the GNSS space. witnessing
a fusion of
Meanwhile, there is a buzz in the air. And We are at a technological tipping point
it is being created by unmanned aircraft in geospatial analysis. As the tools
hardware,
systems (UAS)! The industry is excited of the profession continue to evolve, software and
about the endless data collection and more surveyors are venturing into 3D data to create,
analysis possibilities all these platforms technology. Not so long ago, scanning manage and
enable. This is what is making earth technology like LiDAR was considered deliver seamless
observation companies dominate the specialized and quite niche. Recently,
ecosystem. it made a dominant place for itself in
solutions.
the entire ecosystem. And today, it has
When it comes to surveying, GNSS is become completely democratized. We
ubiquitous. Followed by the advance- are even talking about putting LiDAR on
ment in real-time network capability phones. From a technology’s standpoint,
and permanent base stations to modern LiDAR is all set to become a ‘commodity’.
communication methods of radio or
cellular transmission, GNSS instruments Product Companies
have become one of the most valuable Landscape
tools in the professional surveyor’s kitty. The trend is toward diversification and
Moreover, an enhanced role for GNSS in branching out into multiple lines of
both consumer and professional markets businesses that may include hardware,
is evident from the fact that more than software and data. This is in order to
Hardware
37%
14% 3%
1%
Software Data
33% 3% 9%
Graph 3.3 Percentage Share of the Product Companies in the Geospatial Industry

Geospatial meet the customer’s requirements, intersection of hardware, software and

technologies which is no longer one-dimensional. product. Today, 1% of the companies are
The industry is witnessing a fusion in this zone. Data automation is also the
are taking quick
of hardware, software and data to raison d'être for this.
strides into create, manage and deliver seam-
various sectors less solutions. Instead of proprietary Industry Segments and
across the world hardware and software packages, Geospatial Technology
the industry today is doling out soft- Providers
ware-ready hardware. So much so, 14% Geospatial technologies are taking quick
of hardware companies today make strides into various sectors globally.
software as well (Graph 3.3). Though not in very advanced stages
in most of the sectors, their applica-
All this leads us to the solution-centric tions have surely found new avenues of
approach the industry has adopted. implementation in the last few years.
The realization of the value of content
and up-to-date location information is Transport infrastructure is a major focus
compelling companies to move to the segment for the technology providers.
80
70
60
50
Percent
40
30
20
10
Transportation Urban Land Defence and

Utilities Agriculture
Infrastructure Development Administraation Security
Graph 3.4 Industry Segments where Geospatial Technology Provider are Focusing
30
25
20
Percent
15
10
0
Defence and Transportation Land Urban
LBS Agriculture
Security Infrastructure Administration Development
and Smart cities
Graph 3.5 Industry Segments Contributing to Business Volume of Geospatial
Technology Providers

Nearly 69% of them are focusing on and improve the customer service.
providing technology solutions in this `` For long, businesses have viewed
sector (Graph 3.4). Other segments the improvement in productivity
on the priority list include urban devel- that comes from implementing
opment, land administration, defense geospatial technology as a way to
security, utilities and agriculture. beat the competition and increase
bottom line. Governments have also
Looking at the aggregate volume of adopted geospatial technologies in
business coming from industry segment, projects that require accountability.
defense and security contribute the most Both public and private sector see
with a massive 21% share in the total improved productivity as a factor
business of different technology providers. critical to the management of time,
This is followed by transport infrastructure labor and cost (Graph 3.6).
(17%), land administration (16%), urban `` Geospatial’s ability to integrate
development and smart cities (12%), utili- databases and visualize the spatial
ties (7%) and agriculture (16%) (Graph 3.5). relationships between various
components encourages partner-
It can be seen that, overall, 80% of the ships and data sharing. Users find
business comes from these sectors. the technology helpful in identifying
potential problems early in the plan-
Benefits of Geospatial ning process.
Technology
`` Nearly 70% of the users feel that Challenges in Implemention
increase in efficiency is one of the of Geospatial Technologies
most critical benefits. These are Adoption of any new technology comes
associated either with carrying out with several challenges attached to it. It
the project or improvements in the has been observed that geospatial tech-
project efficiency itself. Geospatial nologies have also be constrained by
technologies considerably reduce the certain factors during the various stages
time it takes to complete the project of implementation.
80
70
60
50
Percent
40
30
20
10
0
Increased Improved Improved Better Improved
Efficiency Productivity Planning Monitoring Transparency
Graph 3.6 Benefits Derived by Adoption of Geospatial Technologies

Adoption of Of these, the most worrisome factor is the nology, and a major factor that hinders
technology comes lack of skilled manpower. Non-availability the use of said technology (Graph 3.7 B).
of the skilled and trained professionals
with several
has an adverse effect on the quality of the Geospatial technology requires special-
challenges project. Hence, it is imperative to increaseized knowledge. About 40% of the users
attached to awareness, training and mentoring to consulted, identified the lack of knowl-
it. It has been develop the requisite skillsets in the edge about the technology or low-level
observed that professional community (Graph 3.7 A). of knowledge as a hindrance to its use.
geospatial Contrary to the users, the technology
Higher technology cost and lack of providers see this as the biggest chal-
adoption is also budget are among other major challenge. The other major challenge from
constrained by lenges. Cost of technology (i.e. hardware, the perspective of technology providers
certain factors software, training, etc.) was identified by is the frequently changing project
during the practitioners as both the biggest chal- requirements and bureaucracy in the
various stages of lenge for the use of geospatial tech- procurement process.
implementation 80
70
60
50
Percent
40
30
20
10
0
Lack of Frequently Diverse legal Lack of trained Bureaucracy in
awareness changing project and financal geospatial procurement
amongst clients requirements system manpower process
(A) From the Perspective of Users
60
50
40
Percent
30
20
10
Lack of skilled Higher Lack of System Lack of Lack of

manpower technology cost budget interoperability understanding awareness
(B) Perspective of Technology Providers
Graph 3.7 Challenges of Implementing Geospatial Technologies

4. EVER-EVOLVING GEOSPATIAL PRODUCTS
Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple and a model of innovation,

once said, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a
follower.” Like in several other domains, things are moving
pretty fast in the geospatial sector as well. To sustain in
this field, businesses constantly need to come up with a
‘creation’, not a ‘reaction’.
Ever-increasing data sources, analytics and processing

capabilities are revolutionizing the geospatial community’s
ability to map and monitor our changing planet. The cutting-
edge competition in the geospatial technology and services
is not only resulting in the rapid growth of the industry; it is
The industry also shaping our future.
is coming up
The quest for the industry to offer complete solutions in
with products
the market is resulting in more acquisitions, collaborations
having enhanced and partnerships between the hardware, software, data
capabilities, producers and service providers for different products. The
multiple innovations happening in the segment are making products
applications, ready for integrated solutions.
and improved
Unsurprisingly, the industry is coming up with products with
features, enhanced capabilities, multiple applications, and improved
resulting features, resulting in easy and efficient work. Some of the
in making key trends observed are:
products ready
for integrated Earth Observation
Nanosatellites and Small Satellites for
solutions High-Definition Imaging and Videography
Microsatellites have invaded space with developmental and
commercial intents, offering high-definition pictures and
videos. This trend has been driven by a number of important
converging factors, of which the most significant is ultrafast
space-qualifiable micro-electronics that help in reducing the
cost of this satellites. Smallsats have democratized EO data,
with a huge impact upon areas as diverse as deforestation,
disaster relief, agriculture, desertification, security, water
management, and more. It is safe to say that nanosatellites
are changing the economics of space (Figure 4.1).
Light-Weight Sensors and Satellites

The continuing trend toward miniature imaging sensors has
resulted in creating a new generation of light-weight airborne
remote-sensing platforms, offering very high spatial resolution

EVER-EVOLVING GEOSPATIAL PRODUCTS
Nanosatellites and Small Satellites
High-Definition Maps, Imaging and Videography
Higher Resolution
Increased Modularity
Development in Mobile Power Technology
Figure 4.1 Current Trends in Products Pertaining to Earth Observation
and an unparalleled operational flexibility. depend on aerial platforms, which often

The advancement of small satellites in proved to be costly and even impossible
the 1–500 kg range is being supported in to access in many parts of the world.
the satellite space as well in technology Today, the new 30 cm imagery products
spheres. Both commercial and space are a rapid and affordable alternative for
industries are enabled by advances in low all. New imagery orders can be deliv-
power, highly-integrated, miniaturized ered on timescales of weeks or even a
(low volume), light-weight, and reliable few days in many cases, as opposed
real time embedded systems. to months earlier. Customers can also
leverage from a rapidly-growing volume
Higher Resolution of available 30 cm archive imagery.
Many users who previously relied on
aerial imagery now benefit from the Increased Modularity
improved economics, global avail- In the space of aerial photography,
ability, and faster refresh rate of satellite advancements have happened in terms
imagery, which is available at a resolu- of more modularity, increased processing
tion as high as 30 cm. Previously, to get power and real-time air-to-ground
imagery of this resolution, one had to transfer capabilities, as well as increasing

proliferation of engine, aircraft system accuracy. This has been possible not Microsatellites
and airframe component sensors. only as a result of reduced pricing, but have invaded
also because of higher accuracy in
space with
Mobile Power Technology correction services. This trend is quickly
It has revolutionized the unmanned gaining importance because businesses
developmental
vehicle segment. Thin and light-weight want to reach their customers on and commercial
solar panels, that do not significantly time, and at the right place by using intents, offering
impact the weight or aerodynamics contextually relevant, personalized, and high-definition
of the aircraft, are ideal for unmanned multi-dimensional products (Figure 4.2). pictures and
systems. This is especially true in the
case of aerial vehicles that require power Compactness and Light-Weight
videos
for long endurance missions without Light and compact products are top
returning to ground. trends for new-generation surveying
instruments.
GNSS and Positioning
Increased Accuracy Multi-sensor System
The trend in the last decade has been The development of multi-sensors has
toward decimeter- to centimeter-level greatly accelerated in the recent years.
Increased Accuracy
Compactness and Light-Weight
Multi-Sensor System
Robotic Total Stations
Total Stations with Integrated Video Technology
Figure 4.2 Current Trends in Products Pertaining to GNSS and Positioning

Technology One of the latest application trends is to stations with integrated video tech-
development deploy such systems in indoor environ- nology that enables surveyors to see
ments. If mapping systems are used exactly what the instrument sees and
driving a
in buildings, GNSS measurements will to capture geo-referenced images for
paradigm shift no longer be required. This platform use in photogrammetry and ‘in-office
in surveying. We serves not only as a means to explore surveys’.
are seeing the new sensors for indoor applications, but
emergence of also to ensure that a system is suitable GIS/Spatial Analyics
total stations with for outdoor use — which is the current From Cloud to Mobile
state of affairs. Today's mobile devices provide far
integrated video more than communications on-the-go.
technology Robotic Total Stations Mobile apps are also revolutionizing the
Over time, and keeping pace with the potential for rapid information dissemi-
microelectronics revolution, the primal nation and access. With this, the trend is
design of the total station has been moving from webification to appification
extended with features that have made for the consumers of location. This trend
surveying faster and more conve- has democratized the location compo-
nient. A piece of technology that has nent in every sphere (Figure 4.3).
changed the profession is robotic total
stations. These remote control devices Software Integrated in Hardware
allow surveyors to measure angles, Hardware and software sub-systems
distances, and more without trav- have joined forces in the current
eling to each point themselves. This environment. This integration is one
can save time and money, and also of the most rapidly growing trends in
cuts down on the amount of workers the geospatial domain. The complexity
needed and the manual labor that the of today's systems, especially the
job typically requires. embedded ones, has increased the
demand for the know-how in hardware
Total Stations with Integrated issues as well as advanced software
Video Technology with real-time operating and processing
New technologies and changing systems. We see an integrated way
demands are driving a paradigm shift at system level, as well as the use of
in modern surveying. Rapid technolog- unified tools and techniques for system
ical development now extends beyond design enhancing the entire workflow.
measurement to include computing,
communications and geospatial data Platform for Comprehensive
mapping. The integration of surveying Delivery
technologies will continue. Integrated There has been an increasing attention
survey rovers, which combine GNSS toward designing a dynamic experience
and total station target on a single that provides an ongoing information
pole, are already available. Now, we service. This has been effective in moving
are seeing the emergence of total beyond maps to fuse the art of design

Integrating
From Cloud to Mobile
the latest
laser-scanner
hardware and
software makes
Reality Modeling Getting Quicker and Better
it possible to
speed up the
documentation
Platform for Comprehensive Delivery
process
Software Integrated in Hardware
Integrated SDK and Developers Platform
Figure 4.3 Current Trends in Products Pertaining to GIS/Spatial Analytics
and communication with mapping. The is known to us all as mesh reality,

technology is moving toward empow- helps make the matrix quicker and
ering experts to build Cloud-based less tedious. This trend highlights the
applications that harness fresh content, benefit of having a single platform
and analytics to provide a dynamic infor- through which a vast array of applica-
mation experience. This trend not only tions can access common data-types.
empowers spatial experts, it also encour- It is actually an incredibly powerful
ages non-geospatial business experts to hybrid environment, as models may
tap into the power of geospatial content be derived from data sourced from a
to answer their own, focused, specific wide variety of inputs and can benefit a
business questions and problems. range of existing vertical applications.
Reality Modeling Getting Quicker Integrated SDK and Developers

and Better Platform
Geospatial professionals today have SDK support (developers’ platform)
an end-to-end solution for converting with sensors, drone applications, soft-
reality captured with photos or scans ware, etc. helps developers to create
into high-definition 3D meshes. What customized applications and expand

the use of sensors to suit any need in required robustness, but makes it
the field. Embedded analytics is a result possible to speed up the documentation
of this accelerated business process. process as well.
Scanning Multi-Sensor Vehicle-Borne Laser

Portability Mapping System
From a system that was known to be We are witnessing a rise in multi-sensor
bulky and expensive, to a handheld integration that intelligently integrates
system that is not only affordable, but data from multiple sources to derive
also easy to operate and highly accu- synthesized information to facilitate
rate, laser scanners have come a long decision-making. Fusing data from
way. The latest models are portable, multiple sensors involves a formal
highly intuitive to their surroundings, framework that expresses the necessary
and can be used in a variety of environ- means and tools for fusing the data, and
ments (Figure 4.4). exploiting the synergy of this fusion to
generate information. Bundled to this is
Increased Effectiveness in the software integrated in the system.
Documentation Process This multi-sensor integration applies
Integrating the latest laser-scanner detection, pre-processing, fusion, and
hardware and software not only data interpretation to derive the precise,
provides the said effectiveness and sought-after information.
Portability
Increased Effectiveness in
Documentation Process
Multi-sensor Vehicle-borne
Laser Mapping System
Figure 4.4 Current Trends Pertaining to Scanning

5. TECHNOLOGIES DRIVING GEOSPATIAL INDUSTRY
Technology never stands still. Never. business models. These advances Convergence

And this fact has become more evident in convergence have, in turn, made of Geospatial
as we enter deeper and deeper into the geospatial more user-friendly, syner-
technologies
information age. The many advances gistic and compelling.
that have burst onto the scene in the with
geospatial industry during the last few Though geospatial technologies has mainstream IT
years herald that innovation makes never been standoffish, it has come and Engineering
the world go round. Innovations, like a long way from the time when the has resulted
increasingly sophisticated systems and process of geospatial analyzes and
in more
web-enabled devices embedded with processing was considered highly
location technology have catapulted the complex. A part of our daily existence user-friendly,
industry to the forefront of business and today, geospatial technologies are asso- synergistic and
application development. ciated with several IT and other enabling compelling
elements. And geospatial drives these technologies
One of the reasons why geospatial is technologies just as these drive geospa-
always on the forefront of the things tial. Let’s have a look at some of these
is because the industry readily adapts upcoming and enabling technologies
to new technologies, applications and (Figure 5.1):
CLOUD INTERNET OF THINGS

Infinite power of Everything that can be connected,
computation! will be connected!
TECHNOLOGIES DRIVING GEOSPATIAL INDUSTRY
BIG DATA AUTOMATION AND

Insight about every ROBOTICS
aspect of our lives! Improve productivity,
reliability, yield, and safety
Figure 5.1 Technologies Driving Geospatial Industry

NEW BUSINESS MODELS
It will help companies create new value streams for
customers, speed time to market, and respond more
rapidly to customer needs.
REAL-TIME INFORMATION ON
MISSION-CRITICAL SYSTEMS
Enterprise can capture more data about processes and
products more quickly and radically improve market agility
5 WAYS CLOUD, DIVERSIFICATION OF REVENUE STREAMS

IOT AND BIG DATA Help companies monetize additional services on top of
WILL CREATE NEW traditional lines of business
OPPORTUNITIES
GLOBAL VISIBILITY
It will make easier for enterprises to see inside the
business which will lower the cost of doing bisiness in
far-flung locales
EFFICIENT, INTELLIGENT OPERATIONS

Access to information from autonomous endpoint will allow
organizations to make on the fly decisions.
Figure 5.2 Geospatial Industry Trends : A Function of other Driving Technologies
As technologies like Cloud, Internet of analytical models, identifying the current

Things (IoT), Big Data and automation state of the world.
flourish, the audience for geospatial
technology is also growing as they also Augmented reality (AR) and virtual
create new opportunities (Figure 5.2). reality (VR) are two technologies that
Big Data, Cloud and IoT are all parts of have popped out of sci-fi books and
a continuum. It is hard to think about movies to become a part of the real
the Internet of Things without thinking world. Countless possibilities wait in
about the Cloud, and it is hard to think both the enterprise and the consumer
about the Cloud without factoring in the domains as AR and VR power auto-
analytics. It goes without saying that if mation and robotics. Now, it might
you are going to have lots and lots of take some time for dominant players
devices creating data, the said data is to emerge in the consumer space, but
going to exist in the Cloud. And because enterprises can become early adopters
you have got large volumes of data, to fundamentally metamorphose how
the only way to analyze that is to use they get their work done.

80
Cloud
70
60 IoT
50
Percent
ta
40 da
Big
s
30 otic
Rob
&
n
20 atio
m
to
Au
10
0
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2020
Graph 5.1 Trends in Driving Technology Influencing Geospatial Industry (2012 - 2020)
Unlocking the potential of such tech- change. Cloud gives them the freedom Cloud allows
nology is not a process confined to to change. Meanwhile, for small to smaller
‘today’. It goes straight to the heart of mid-size businesses, the Cloud proves
business to act
the business strategy, spawning the cost-efficient and secure — at least
need to understand the trend it will adopt as secure as possible with the current
faster than big,
in the coming future. commercial encryption technologies. established
Moving to the Cloud allows smaller busi- competitors,
Cloud computing is increasingly nesses to act faster than big, established and gives them
becoming the preferred platform for competitors, and gives them the power the power to
product delivery. It allows users to to disrupt the market. All these capabil-
avoid the expense of technology and ities have given a boost to the adoption
disrupt the
focus more on its ability to manage of this technology in the geospatial market
and process data into actionable infor- arena and will dominate in the future for
mation. Being able to manipulate and product delivery.
process data in a high-performance
computing environment allows a user to The ability of Big Data Analytics to
access data from any location, whenever utilize the exponentially increasing
necessary. streams of data with the goal of bringing
enterprise-wide visibility and insights to
It is often seen that when a large orga- make critical decisions rapidly has been
nization has made a huge investment widely acknowledged by the industry
in a platform, they become reluctant to (Graph 5.1) .

Given the massive amounts of data avail- automation and robotics — which will
able to an enterprise today, high speed finally become a reality thanks to better
analytics leveraging advanced Cloud sensors and critical advancements in
services will gradually become the norm. processing power and bandwidth.
This Big Data as a Service, or BDaaS,
scenario will soon become a trend the Are these the only game-changing
industry will not be able to ignore. technology-driven trends you need to
know? Of course, not! Like we said, the
With machine-to-machine communica- technological landscape is ever-evolving,
tions plumbing the growing network of creating new trends and new products
the Internet of Things with the capabili- every day. That is why smart organiza-
ties of sharing real-time data and making tions stay ahead of the curve by antici-
decisions based on artificial intelligence, pating trends, rather than adapting them.
companies are focusing their energies So, watch out for the following technolo-
on formulating new opportunities in gies as well (Figure 5.3):
Health Bits/ Wearables Hologram/Virtual Reality

Surface Computing Digital Mesh
Self-driving Enterprise
Cars Mobility
Nano-technology/ Gamification
Microsatellite
Context Rich
System
3D Printing
OTHER INNOVATIVE
TECHNOLOGIES TO
WATCH OUT FOR
Figure 5.3 Other Innovative Technologies to Watch Out For

6. GEOSPATIAL IN BUSINESS PROCESSES
In 2010, Google added a function called ‘Map This’ to

its webmail client. The tool automatically produced a
hyperlink when the Gmail application recognized an
address or a package shipping number. This is just
one example of how Google embedded geospatial
technology into its mainstream application several
years ago. Today, spatial information has become an
integral part of businesses as diverse as automobiles,
utilities, telecommunications, construction, engineering,
defence and security in both public and private sector.
The applications for which geoinformation is being

As businesses used are just as disparate. From infrastructure
readily embrace management and vehicle routing to site selection and
research and analysis, the value of location as contex-
geographic data,
tual information is one of the most effective filters for
the geospatial the huge amounts of data available to any organization
industry is around the globe. With location awareness becoming a
also actively key component for many businesses, it is also well-
realized that spatial analysis is an important factor to
responding make effective decisions within any business process.
with cutting-
edge tools, As businesses readily embrace geographic data, the
applications geospatial industry is also actively responding with
cutting-edge tools, applications and solutions that allow
and solutions the integration of spatial data into enterprise systems.
that allow the This has enabled better optimization of resources,
integration of effective planning of operations and a more efficient
spatial data and streamlined business processes for enterprises,
allowing them to respond better to customer require-
into enterprise ments and market forces.
systems
In order to understand the current trend in geospatial
industry with respect to business process embedment,
we need to delve into the various popular business
processes.1 These processes span industries, both
vertical and horizontal and can include any type of
business operations.
1 http://www.pnmsoft.com/resources/bpm-tutorial/business-process/

GEOSPATIAL IN BUSINESS PROCESS
BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING (BIM):

A COLLABORATION PROCESS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
BIM enables organizations to improve the quality of building design, reduce costs and achieve the
collaborative workflows required to drive true innovation. It is more of a business process than
a technology and is firmly inter-linked to geospatial ecosystem. Advancement of BIM relies on
integrating geospatial skills and technologies into BIM solutions.
 Converged solutions using existing BIM, geospatial and 3D visualization technology are being
applied to intelligently model urban infrastructure and entire urban environments.
 Current applications include planning, emergency management, sustainability analysis, and
facilities management, but it is not hard to imagine many other areas where these digital urban
models will play an important role in the future.
SUPERVISORY CONTROL AND DATA ACQUISITION (SCADA):

MANAGING FACILITIES BETTER IN THE UTILITIES SECTOR
Traditional SCADA functionality has evolved dramatically over the years enabling it to be tightly
integrated to the domain of business processes, creating an improved value proposition for its
usage. SCADA systems bring improved performance to geographically dispersed assets and
provide a framework for real-time performance management on a global basis.
 In the utilities sector, embedment or integration of geospatial with SCADA, enables, real-time
data management from distribution systems on a geographical view of the electrical network.
 SCADA and geospatial are key operational tools in electricity distribution, and integration
between the two results in increased efficiency.
C4ISR: COMMAND, CONTROL, COMMUNICATIONS, COMPUTERS,

INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE AND RECONNAISSANCE
C4ISR in the military arena combines all the systems that allow military commanders to
understand their operational environment, identify mission critical factors, and control their
assets. C4ISR systems make extensive use of geospatial technologies. C4ISR relies upon a
distributed set of spatial data resources, spread across multiple agencies, services, commands
and theatres. C4ISR solutions, leveraging the latest in geospatial technologies, promise and
deliver significant improvements in the operational environment of the defense forces.
 The past decade has seen the convergence of imaging and geospatial communities within
defence organizations around the world.
 C4ISR and geospatial intelligence inherently require spatial data infrastructures that are
interoperable, distributed, secure, temporally-enabled and enterprise-class. It is expected that
in the future, geospatial intelligence and C4ISR will be more ubiquitous.

ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING (ERP) AND CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP

MANAGEMENT (CRM): INCREASED BUSINESS PROFITABILITY
CRM is used to organize, automate and synchronize sales, marketing and customer service,
and has developed to include all areas of the customer experience. Where CRM manages the
customer, ERP is used to manage the business. ERP is a system for improving the efficiency
of business processes and provides a method for streamlining business processes across the
board.
 ERP/CRM and geospatial applications can be connected together to take advantage of the key
strengths of each other and yield a stronger, integrated result for the user. Spatial analysis
assists customers as part of CRM by modeling optimal siting of business facilities,
 The geospatial industry is moving toward providing solutions, which integrates extensive spatial
capabilities into the existing workflow and logics to deliver perceptible process improvements
and real value gained from this spatial capacity.
ANALYTICS: LIFELINE OF BUSINESSES
Business process analytics enables organizations to gain real-time, end-to-end visibility into

complex business processes. Analyzing large volumes of data from disparate systems in
real-time is arduous. Business analytics exists to bridge this gap between the glut of unusable
data and the unsatisfied appetite for insights that can inform decisions.
 Today, it is possible for organizations to add the context of timing and location to traditional
data, creating maps that show changes over a period of time. Maps make it easier for the eye
to recognize patterns that were previously buried in spreadsheets, such as, distance proximity,
contiguity, and affiliation.
 Geospatial analysis uses this data to build maps, graphs, statistics, and cartograms to make
complex relationships clear. Representations like these can reveal historical shifts, as well as
those underway today. They can even point to those that are likely to occur in the future.
REALITY MESH: AMALGAMATION OF REAL AND VIRTUAL WORLDS
Reality Mesh or Mixed reality (MR), also referred to as hybrid reality, is the amalgamation of

real and virtual worlds to produce new environments and visualizations where physical and
digital objects co-exist and interact in real-time. This is fast becoming an integral part of digital
engineering as well. In today’s practice, the interpretation of digital content and its translation to
real world objects is heavily dependent on the user’s spatial understanding, even if advanced 3D
modelling tools are used.
 When used to classify the larger scope of reality technologies, it refers to the coverage of all
possible variations and compositions of real and virtual objects.
 Together with holographic technology, it brings the models out of the screen and helps people
efficiently interpret physical and digital information, and the spatial relations between them.

Prevailing business process embed- Over the past year, reality mesh/digital
ment trends in the geospatial industry engineering has come up as an emerging
have been mapped. As is evident from business process in the construction
Graph 6.1, over the years (2012-2016) industry. Though the adoption level is yet
integration of geospatial with popular to catch up with other business processes,
mainstream business processes has it is expected to see a sharp boost in the
witnessed a gradual increment. It indi- next 5 years. One of driving factors behind
cates that the industry is continuing to this is that every construction project
invest in a more efficient and produc- has a decisive process in which design is
tive future by embracing technologies transformed into reality and abstract ideas
and processes of BIM. The study also translated into physical objects.
establishes the fact that BIM and
geospatial are firmly inter-linked, with Mixed reality is an emerging technology
the advancement of BIM relying, in part, which is taking BIM a step further. Amal-
on the integration of geospatial tools gamating the real and digital worlds to
and technologies into BIM solutions. provide the user with an immersive virtual
The industry is moving exactly in this experience, this hybrid reality can very
direction. well be conceded as the future of BIM.
60
50
s
tic
aly
An R
RM C4IS
40 P/
C
ER
Percent
BIM DA
30 SCA
sh
Me
ty
ali
20 Re
10
0
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2020
Graph 6.1 Trends in Business Process Embedment of Geospatial Technology (2012 - 2020)

This indicates that the industry is future will flourish on. Analytics is essen- A precipitous
moving toward integrating workflows tial not only for decision makers, but also
and improving communications wherein for customers. A precipitous increase
increase in
a disruptive technology like mixed reality in its adoption in the years to come is adoption of
has the potential to make a lasting inevitable. analytics is
change, predominantly in the construc- inevitable and
tion industry. Also, a very interesting prophecy could
be that the ever-growing ERP/CRM is
ERP/CRM is
Similarly, when we plot the trend of ERP/ moving towards being subsumed into moving towards
CRM embedment, the study indicates analytics, with geospatial integration being subsumed
that it is one of the most popular busi- going to increase the value proposition into analytics
ness processes in terms of integra- manifold.
tion with geospatial technologies. The
reason may be accounted to the fact C4ISR, despite being exclusive to
that when ERP/CRM and geospatial the defence and security sector, has
applications are connected together, always been prevalent in geospatial
they leverage each other’s key strengths technology integration. It has also
to yield a stronger, integrated result for shown a gradual increase in embed-
the user. The ERP/CRM is enriched by ment over the last few years. The
map displays and spatial analysis, while current study indicates a particularly
geospatial benefits by access to deeper high phase around 2013 to 2015, when
and broader attribute data. This integra- several geospatial companies seem to
tion is already well-established and is have offered solutions pertaining to this
expected to see a steep rise in the near sector. Of late, the geospatial industry’s
future. engagement in this has increased and
a lot of companies are offering geospa-
Analytics has been a part of the geospatial solutions on C4ISR framework. It is
tial industry for long, but it has never expected that in the future, geospatial
been as relevant as it is today. Analytics intelligence and C4ISR will be more
is no longer only about helping organi- ubiquitous as the industry is moving
zations make better decisions; it is the towards customized solutions for the
foundation on which businesses of the defense sector.

7. TRANSFORMATION THROUGH COLLABORATION
The technology industry is always in flux. Frequent new

products and category innovation define and redefine
the sector’s constantly shifting landscape, affecting
the makeup of hardware, software and data companies
themselves. This volatility is manifested by massive
shifts in relationships and sudden clash of cultures
courtesy mergers, acquisitions, partnerships and
divestitures.
Acquisitions and partnerships are two pillars of the

growth strategy of a business. These two important
organizational activities give a company access to
Acquisition and external resources. But, the two strategies differ in
partnership are many ways. Acquisition deals are competitive, based
on market prices but are risky. Partnership and alli-
two pillars of
ances are cooperative, negotiated and not so risky.
growth strategy Companies habitually deploy acquisitions to increase
for businesses. scale or cut costs, and use partnerships to enter new
The landscape markets, customer segments and regions.
of geospatial That the value of the geospatial business is growing is

industry is clearly evidenced by the flurry of mergers and acqui-
evolving through sitions happening in the domain. Year 2013 was the
the flurry of peak year for partnerships and acquisitions. This can be
viewed as the after-effect of Hexagon-Intergraph deal
partnerships and which is considered as the most significant acquisition
acquisitions ever in the geospatial domain. This event had tremen-
dous impact on the existing alignment and the prevailing
partnership networks of the industry. Everybody in the
geospatial technology business was affected in one
way or another. Eventually, many of the geospatial
players aligned with other large players, amalgamating
their distinct spheres of influence and expanding their
product portfolio.
Also, around this time, the companies started talking

in a big way about comprehensive and integrated
solutions for end users. Year 2013 was when
‘one-stop-shop solution’ was the driver. Many compa-
nies were actively either partnering with or acquiring
another to move toward that goal. Meanwhile, large
enterprise users were also motivating geospatial and IT
companies to get together and integrate their offerings

TRANSFORMATION THROUGH COLLABORATION
from data acquisition and data manage- of creating those capabilities in-house Equity
ment to IT integration and, finally, or increasing business risks by carrying Partnership,
delivering valuable solutions. All these extra costs/assets on the balance sheet.
factors coalesced to gear the industry Companies, therefore, perform more effi-
a new trend,
for various inward and outward acquisi- ciently and adapt more quickly than they started off-late,
tions and partnerships. could have on their own. is going to
see the north
Post 2013, the partnership strategy took A new trend that has started of late
a lead over acquisitions (Graph 7.1). in the partnership arena is what can
direction in the
This happened because acquisitions be termed as equity partnership that coming years
were a costly affair and only a few can reflects partners’ ownership interest in
sustain it for long. A bulk of companies the business. The deal between Siemens
started working toward strategic part- and Bentley Systems, wherein the former
nerships. The trend in partnerships also acquired secondary shares of the latter
increased because it delivers access common stock to advance infrastructure
to new markets or customers, acceler- project delivery is a case in point. Simi-
ates new product development cycles, larly, Flipkart acquired a stake in MapMy-
and improves a company’s competitive India to sharpen its logistics capabilities.
positioning in cost-effective manner. These kinds of partnerships are going
Partnerships help companies expand to see the north direction in the coming
their capabilities without the added step years.
40
35 s
rship
r tne
30 Pa
25 Acq
uisi
Percent
tion
20
15
10 hip
ers
artn
i ty P
Equ
5
0
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2020
Graph 7.1 Trends in Acquisitions and Partnerships in the Geospatial Industry (2012 - 2020)

MAJOR ACQUISITIONS AND
SIEMENS AND BENTLEY SYSTEMS’

STRATEGIC ALLIANCE
Conglomerate Company & Software Company
 To realize new growth opportunities in industry and
infrastructure through integration of complementary digital
engineering models.
TOPCON-SOKKIA MERGER
Surveying Company to Surveying Company
 The market environment for the two companies is highly competitive. The merger of two
companies is to maintain an edge in the increasingly competitive worldwide surveying
instruments market.
 Together they are to compete on an equal basis into the future with the two leading US and
European manufacturers, as well as with emerging Asian manufacturers that can produce on
a low-cost basis.
DIEMOS IMAGING ACQUIRED BY URTHECAST

Satellite Imaging Company to ‘A New Kind' of Earth Observation Company
 A growth opportunity that will help to accelerate UrtheCast Constellation plans, while
populating the platform with powerful content
 Expected to significantly accelerate UrtheCast’s strategies related to distribution, web
platform development, and the building out of the UrtheCast Constellation
GEOEYE MERGER WITH DIGITALGLOBE

Satellite Imagery Company to Satellite Imagery Company
 Both companies capture photos and other imagery from satellites that orbit the Earth, then
sell them to government and enterprises.
 The merger increases the flexibility by reducing risk and optimizing capital expenditures.
The companies are positioned better to meet the customer needs and create value for share
owners.

PARTNERSHIPS THROUGH 2012
UBER AND TOMTOM PARTNERSHIP

Ride Hailing Company with Navigation Company
 Teamed up with TomTom to provide navigation map on the
driver’s side.
 Though Uber isn’t cutting ties with current providers like
Apple and Google Maps, this latest move does suggest a more
concerted effort from the ridesharing app to develop native
navigation, mapping, and location services.
GOOGLE ACQUIRES WAZE

Mapping Service to Information Company
 Waze has created a culture of user engagement. Google to spread this culture of user engagement
to its other services and competitors would not have access to this technology and users.
 Google Maps lacks key features that are useful to Waze users. Waze has options to report
accidents, police presence, speed cameras and blocked roads, all things that Google does not have.
HERE ACQUIRED BY AUDI, BMW AND DAIMLER CONSORTIUM

Digital Mapping and Location Business by Consortium of Car Makers
 The acquisition is intended to secure the long-term availability of HERE’s products and
services as an open, independent and value creating platform for Cloud-based maps and other
mobility services accessible to all customers from the automotive industry and other sectors.
 Real-time maps and location-based services will be the basis for the mobility of tomorrow.
HERE is laying the foundations for the next generation of mobility and location based services.
For the automotive industry this is the basis for new assistance systems and ultimately fully
autonomous driving.
FINANCIAL TIMES ACQUIRED GIS PLANNING, A FAST GROWING

SILICON VALLEY COMPANY
GIS Company to Media Company
 The acquisition is for location analytics for business Intelligence and marketing opportunities
 While this is likely to disrupt many industries in the future - including the geospatial industry
itself - it should also serve as a wakeup call to the vast potential for innovation which GIS
presents.

Reasons for Partnerships and Acquisitions

Partnerships and acquisitions are common today is perhaps the drive to
significant aspects of a modern deliver a complete solution.
business strategy. From deriving
competitive advantages, economies of Over time, we can see acquisitions and
scale, economies of scope, international partnerships moving through a number
expansion, vertical integration and of ‘waves’ from a strategy point of view
access to unique assets, the reasons in order to pursue ‘system integration
behind partnerships and acquisitions and solutions’ (Figure 7.1).
could be many. Of these, the most
DOMINANT
PARTNERSHIP AND PURPOSE CHARACTERISTICS
ACQUISITIONS
Between firms that operate in

FIRST Horizontal partnerships For technology
the same space producing ideal
WAVE and mergers portfolio
products by coming together
Where separate stages of the

Vertical partnerships
SECOND For content production process are aligned
and mergers
WAVE for a specific finished product
Between firms that are involved

in totally or partially unrelated
THIRD Concentric partnership For market
business activities. Here, firms are
and mergers consolidation
WAVE looking for product extensions or
market extensions
Two companies are in the same

or related industries, but do
FOURTH Co-generic Direct engagement not offer the same products.
WAVE partnerships & mergers and outreach In a congeneric merger, the
companies may share similar
channels for outreach
Cross-sector For solutions Where two different sets of

FIFTH
partnerships and system companies come together to
WAVE and mergers integration provide a particular solution
Figure 7.1 Waves in Value-Added Collaborative Business

60
n
tio
50 For Solution
a
gr
te
In
em
st
40
Sy
ach
tre
Ou
Percent
t
rke
30 Ma
20 For Product & Technology
For Content
10
0
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2020
Graph 7.2 Determinants of Partnerships in Geospatial Industry (2012-2020)
Content is the king in the geospatial These kinds of partnerships are

space. Various partnerships and acqui- expected to stabilize as most of the
sitions have taken place for delivering product companies have now started
applications and solutions with usable creating their own content, i.e., they now
insights and information. All these own the content. Product and content
require content (Graph 7.2, 7.3). are converging because the software
and hardware today are coming content-
Hexagon Geospatial partnered with ready. This trend has also enabled
content providers like Airbus Defence companies to make use of the same
and Space and HERE. This enabled the content n-number of times, depending
company to find and access geospatial upon the requirement.
content that drives the applications on
Cloud-based M.App exchange platform. The emerging trends of the solu-
Esri’s partnership with MapmyIndia gave tion-centric approach and enterprise
its users an interface for collaboration orientation have triggered a change in
and sharing with a complete geospa- the existing business practices and poli-
tial content management experience. cies of geospatial companies.
DigitalGlobe’s partnership with Trimble
provided users the power of mapping The industry has realized that the
and location intelligence even in the required degree of integration/
most remote location. convergence for integrating systems

60
t
en
50 e m
ag
ng
ctE
Dire
40
o
ortfoli
Percent
o logy P
Techn
30 Solutions
System Integration
20
Market Consolidation
10
0
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2020
Graph 7.3 Driving Factors of Acquisition in Geospatial Industry (2012-2020)
and developing a solution-centric for extending integrating systems

Direct workflow environment was an option and providing solutions to the users,
engagement has to sail through by partnerships and rather than amalgamating the entire
been one of the collaborations. It requires acquisition of new technology portfolio in their
reasons behind technologies, integration of processes, systems. This system integration
and embedding of workflows, which was and solution-oriented collaboration
acquisitions. possible with a structural re-organiza- is driven by an established geospatial
By buying out tion of the existing ecosystem. player who wants to venture into a
its distributors, specific market, but doesn’t have the
a business Acquiring Telog enabled Trimble to domain knowledge. And finally, there
expand its portfolio for extending moni- are partnerships between equals for
eliminates toring solutions. Bentley’s partnership competitive advantage.
certain level of with Microsoft played a strategic role
expenses in the advancement of infrastructure Direct engagement has been one of
project delivery and asset performance. the chief reasons behind acquisitions.
By buying out one of its suppliers or
Partnerships for system integration distributors, a business can eliminate
or solutions are growing, though at a a certain level of cost. When Topcon
differential rate compared to acqui- acquired one of its significant European
sitions, wherein they are almost dealers GEOTOP, the move not only
stabilizing. Companies are finding enabled Topcon to save on margins that
it more cost competitive to partner the supplier was previously adding to

its costs, but also enabled the parent opportunities, or from acquiring a Across the
company to have direct engagements unique technology platform rather than commercial
with the market. In the software space, trying to build it from scratch. Market
emergence of the Cloud has enabled outreach has been an influencing factor
world, the idea
companies to reach directly to the for partnerships. The company planning of location
customer. This has affected the revenue to expand into different markets joins intelligence
model of distributors, who now need to hand with the company already oper- gains currency
move up the value chain to survive. ating in that segment. The network gives
both companies a wider customer base
in leading
The acquisition of GeoEye by practically overnight. business
DigitalGlobe or that of Sokkia by Topcon management
was for market consolidation, wherein Spatial Enablement: circles, resulting
the acquirer aimed to eliminate future Beyond Moor’s Law
competition and gain a larger market Objects that know where they are can
in spatial
share in its products market. The down- capitalize on their locational knowl- enablement in
side of this is that a large premium is edge. Spatially-enabled entities have their offerings,
usually required to convince the target the potential for financial and func-
and enhancing
company’s shareholders to accept the tional utility. Spatial enablement has
offer. These kinds of acquisitions will see a deep influence on further disruption competitiveness
a downside in the future (Figure 7.2). to the disruptive agents. Over the past
decade, there has been a phenomenal
Increased capabilities may come from expansion of applications and enter-
expanded research and development prises that have been labeled disruptive
COMPANIES MAPPED FOR SPATIAL ENABLEMENT
Figure 7.2 Companies Mapped for Spatial Enablement

40
35 tion
uisi
Acq
30
ip
nersh
25 Part
Percent
20
15
10
0
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2020
Graph 7.4 Trends in Acquisitions & Partnerships for Spatial Enablement (2012-2020)
(Graph 7.4). Uber and Airbnb are classic and aggregate customer profiles for
examples. Myriad other examples are increased sales efficiencies through big
evident across the commercial world data analytics.
as the idea of business intelligence and
locational intelligence gains currency in Location-driven trends have given way
leading business management circles. to new businesses and use cases,
Empowering clients with purchasing creating even more demand. This has
knowledge at the front door of commer- been the driving factor for companies
cial shops and sharing price compari- who are embedding spatial component
sons on customers’ smartphones is also in their offerings, thus complementing
feeding the retail industry’s individual and enhancing the current services.

8. EVOLVING BUSINESS MODELS
The technology industry is being remodeled in several ways.

Disruption is evident in delivery, business models, entrepreneur-
ialism and constant innovation. In such a scenario, companies can
no longer rely on one-note value strategies. Immediate path holds
the maximum chance for short-term success, but, over time, both
improving margins and finding new revenue streams are critical for
success.
With the maturity of the user community, business models are

moving toward a new paradigm. The key to stand out in a crowded
marketplace lies in delivering a complete suite with innovation.
The direction is to provide a true business solution versus plat-
form solutions. Technology providers are moving toward providing
end-to-end solutions to clients and staying connected to deliver
a greater impact. These factors have given rise to the system
integrator business model, which will not only create an ongoing
recurring revenue stream, but drive the future as well (Graph 8.1).
The turnkey
model has The revenue model from Cloud-based delivery, known as XaaS,
the potential is expected to grow at a compound rate throughout this decade.
to positively Outpacing traditional license delivery, XaaS is not only driven by
competition; but also triggered in part by customers’ increasing
diversify and demand for flexibility that will allow them to take advantage of new
significantly technologies. With an XaaS model, customers are not burdened
alter the existing by significant upgrade costs and can more accurately estimate
business and the total cost of ownership of product, content and infrastructure.
As a result, corporate and individual attitudes about the Cloud are
revenue model beginning to change. Rather than licensing software or services,
by 2020 XaaS options have become much more acceptable.
As a revenue growth strategy, XaaS can be extremely beneficial

for the companies that provide it, but they will need to adjust
their financial expectations. For example, in the traditional soft-
ware model, five years or more could pass after a sale before the
customer agrees to buy another version of the program. As a
result, after the initial bulk up-front payment, all that a technology
provider can count on was an annual service fee, usually about 20%
of the purchase price. In contrast, XaaS is a slow-flowing revenue
stream. Which is why, legacy license software companies that shift
even a small portion of their business to XaaS, must be prepared
for a sharp loss in item sales revenue. Nonetheless, in view of
the increasing allure of XaaS for many customers, a good deal of
licensing revenue is going to disappear organically. So, adopting
XaaS in the product portfolio will become a necessity, not a choice.

EVOLVING BUSINESS MODELS
70
el
od
60 iceM
erv
-S n
As tio
ra
Integ
50 m
te
Sys
Percent
40 ode
l
M
key
Turn
30
Sharing Economy & Infrastructure

20
Distrib
utor M
10 odel
0
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2020
Graph 8.1: Trends in Revenue Models of Geospatial Industry
One of the special modes of carrying out is most visible in as-a-service model or a
international business is a turnkey project. Cloud model which is enabling companies
The turnkey model has the potential to directly reaching out to the customers. All
positively diversify and significantly alter the this, along with the company’s strategy to
existing business and revenue models. In this have direct engagement with the market, is
model, a firm agrees to fully design, construct pulling down the distributor model of revenue
and equip a manufacturing/business/service generation. Distributors have to review their
facility, and turn over the project to the buyer strategy and move up the value chain for
when it is ready for operations and reve- sustained existence.
nue-generation. This revenue model will head
north as most of the big fish are looking for We started the decade in the midst of a
one-stop-solution approach for customers. seismic shift in business models, fuelled by
It will be an effective way to increase sales the Internet and a generation of connected
revenue and ensure prolonged success users. Market upstarts were displacing
through more diverse product offerings. market leaders faster than ever before as
entire industries transformed toward shared
With these models coming up strongly and infrastructure and content. But to succeed in
the ‘end user’ outsourcing contracts to this model, reliable, timely content in the right
solution providers and systems integrators, format and the right price was a prerequisite.
buying through distributors is not obligatory. This model is expected to stabilize as shared
Another significant factor is the relentless economy and infrastructure are chiefly
adoption of annuity sales models. This trend created through integration with partners.

COUNTRIES'
GEOSPATIAL
READINESS INDEX
In a first-ever study of the geospatial readiness of nations, 50 coun-
tries have been ranked for their geospatial readiness. The countries
index is an initiative to integrate several new approaches to assess
the geospatial readiness of a country for evaluation. The Geospa-
tial Readiness Index is, therefore, a comprehensive framework
for analyzing the preparedness of 50 selected countries — their
strengths and weakness in the geospatial domain. The index has
been calculated on the basis of the following defined pillars:
 Geospatial Infrastructure and Policy Framework

 Institutional Capacity
 User Adoption Level
 Industry Fabric
A detailed analysis of the four pillars along with their

sub-determinants is presented for each of the selected 50 countries
in the following pages
9. GEOSPATIAL INFRASTRUCTURE & POLICY FRAMEWORK
Geospatial infrastructure and an enabling policy frame-

work are fundamental to determine the geospatial read-
iness of any economy. Geospatial data plays a crucial
role in the decision making process and planning efforts
across a broad range of industry segments, ultimately
leading to the growth of the economy. Ease of accessing,
sharing and using the data form the core of geospa-
tial infrastructure. This is dependent on the available
datasets, thematic layers, data dissemination channels,
platforms and portals.
Similarly, a progressive policy framework for the industry

Geospatial data not only facilitates easy adoption and use of geospatial
plays a crucial technologies, it also supports the development of an
efficient geospatial data infrastructure. A dynamic policy
role in the
framework, through the establishment of common
decision-making protocols, policies, standards, etc., serves as a driving
process and force for geospatial infrastructure.
planning efforts
Naturally, these two factors have been considered as the
across a broad
first of the four pillars of the Geospatial Readiness Index.
range of industry The research methodology undertaken to identify the
segments, readiness of 50 countries with respect to this pillar is as
ultimately follows:
leading to the
`` One-to-one interaction with the representatives of
growth of the national mapping agencies, space agencies (earth
economy observation) and other stakeholders on the basis of
a specially designed questionnaire
`` Validation and supplementation of data through
secondary research
`` Secondary study of policy documents for 50 countries
to identify the geospatial policy framework and its
specifics
To evaluate the readiness of the 50 countries, it is

important to scale them on the determinants (data
infrastructure, positioning infrastructure, platforms and
portals, open and linked data and standards and policy
framework) in Figure 9.1 that encompass the entire
geospatial infrastructure and policy framework.

GEOSPATIAL INFRASTRUCTURE & POLICY FRAMEWORK
Data Infrastructure Earth observation data of a country

(Topographic & Earth presents unprecedented levels of infor-
Observation) mation and a holistic view of the envi-
Geospatial data infrastructure is an ronment and resources. Satellite-derived
important institution which enhances the data is becoming critical in economies
integration of the geographic informa- worldwide, and satellite ownership is
tion/data to provide easy access, sharing, taken as an important factor for analysis
and use of spatial data. An enabling because it affects economic growth
geospatial data infrastructure consists of and national security. Also crucial is
two important factors: topographic and the spatial resolution available in each
earth observation. country because a high spatial reso-
lution means increased image detail,
Topographic data, mostly managed by which in turn, positively affects the
country's national mapping agency, is of geospatial readiness of a country.
great importance to any country. It is avail-
able in different scales and different layers The data infrastructure pillar is there-
specific to each country. Topographic fore scored on the basis of weights
datasets are imperative for geographical assigned to each of these characteristic
and geological engineers for planning, of topographic and earth observation
evaluating and identifying trends with data, namely thematic layers, character-
respect to cadastre, utilities, infrastructure, istics (consistency, timeliness, accuracy,
agriculture, soil cover, hydrology, defence interoperability, etc.), spatial data type,
and security, forests and environment, etc. spatial resolution, etc. The scores of the
UM SCORE OF EACH
M AXIM SU
TH E B-P
ILL
E IS AR
FIV
Platforms
and Portals
Positioning Open and Linked
Infrastructure Data and Standards
PILLARS
SU B
Data Policy
Infrastructure Pillar - I Framework
Geospatial Infrastructure
& Policy Framework
Figure 9.1 Determinants of Pillar I: Geospatial Infrastructure & Policy Framework

SCORE
4-5
3-4
2-3
1-2
0-1
Figure 9.2 Frequency Score Representation of Data Infrastructure of 50 Countries
said characteristics are then summed to erable, consistent and timely, thereby
achieve the score of the sub-pillar. making the geospatial infrastructure
effective and efficient.
In Figure 9.2, the world map shows a
frequency score for the selected 50 Countries that rank the lowest and are
countries based on the weights assigned at the beginner’s level of setting up their
to the topographic and earth observation geospatial infrastructure are mostly
infrastructure which have been further emerging economies. The reason
normalized and scaled from 0-5. As can these countries rank low is because
be inferred from the graph, the United the national data infrastructure in these
States, the Netherlands, Germany, Swit- countries is still at the initial stage of
zerland and Russia (developed coun- planning. Even though the datasets in
tries) are the top 5 leading countries with these countries are available through the
respect to geospatial data infrastructure. national mapping agencies, the scales
These countries have a well-established, at which they are available are quite low.
operational national spatial data infra- Their maps cater to only the very basic
structure and all the major thematic level of thematic layers, thereby affecting
layers — cadastre, infrastructure, utilities, their rank in the overall data infrastructure
defence and security, water resources, sub-pillar.
forest and environment, geomorphology,
etc. — available at very high scales. Most of the developing countries, like
Similarly, most of these countries have India, Thailand, South Africa, etc., are
their own satellites that provide high in the middle rank as the data infra-
spatial resolution data, directly contrib- structure of these countries is either
uting to the economic growth. The data at the implementation stage or at the
in these countries is accurate, interop- initial stage of being operational. The

scale of map available for the thematic The second determinant is the augmen-
layers is mid-scale when compared to tation of global navigation satellite
the underdeveloped nations, and low system (GNSS), which improves the
when compared to the scales offered by navigation system’s attributes, such
the developed nations. Some of these as, accuracy, reliability and availability.
countries also have their own earth For example, Wide Area Augmentation
observation capacity (like India) which System (WAAS) of the United States
highlights that the data infrastructure in follows a precision approach, addressing
the developing countries is expanding at all navigation problems to provide easy
a fast pace. to use, highly-accurate positioning. The
benefits of WAAS are not limited to only
Positioning Infrastructure causing convenience, but also to gener-
To understand the geospatial infrastruc- ating significant cost savings. Similarly,
ture it is essential to study the posi- EGNOS (European Geostationary Navi-
tioning infrastructure, which is depen- gation Overlay Service) and the Euro-
dent on the following determinants or pean Operational SBAS, and MTSAT
sub-pillars: Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS)
exist for Europe and Japan respectively.
`` Positioning Systems India too has a satellite based augmen-
`` Augmentation Systems tation system called GAGAN under
`` Geodetic Infrastructure implementation
A powerful tool, a positioning system The third determinant, the geodetic

provides real-time positioning on or infrastructure, provides accurate infor-
near the earth surface, to provide mation about fundamental properties
crucial capabilities to military, civil of the earth as they change over time
and commercial users globally. For leading to many scientific, civil, mili-
instance, Navstar (Navigation Satel- tary and commercial applications. The
lite Timing and Ranging System) is a geodetic infrastructure comprises of
network of United States satellites that the Ground Control Points (GCPs) and
provides GPS services. Similarly, the the RTK Base Stations. Ground control
Russian Global Navigation Satellite points are important to understand the
System aka GLONASS was developed geodetic infrastructure because they
alongside GPS and has been providing are used to geo-reference data used in
global coverage since 2002. The other conjunction with GPS to increase the
positioning systems are the European accuracy of the area being surveyed.
Union’s Galileo, China’s BeiDou, the The more the number of the ground
Japanese Quasi Zenith Satellite System control points in a country, the more
and India’s Indian Regional Navigation precise and accurate will be the maps
Satellite system (IRNSS). Countries with so derived. Similarly RTK base stations,
their own positioning systems are given i.e., real-time kinematic stations
a score on the basis of their precision enhance the precision and accuracy of
accuracy, positioning accuracy and location data that is derived from the
timing velocity. satellite based positioning systems,

SCORE
4-5
3-4
2-3
1-2
0-1
Figure 9.3 Frequency Score Representation of Positioning Infrastructure of 50 Countries
The geodetic such as, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and In contrast, it can be seen, that the
BeiDou. The larger the number of RTK countries lagging behind are the
infrastructure,
base stations, greater the surety of emerging economies because they do
provides correct geo-positioning. not have augmentation systems of their
accurate own. The number of ground control
information In Figure 9.3, the world map shows points is also not as high as compared
the frequency score for the selected to those of the developing and devel-
about
50 countries based on the weights oped nations. Also, the establishment of
fundamental assigned to the three determinants of the RTK networks is still not adequate
properties of the positioning infrastructure, which and is at the planning stage in most of
the earth as they have been further normalized and these countries
scaled from 0-5. It can be inferred that
change over
the leading countries in terms of posi- Platforms & Portals
time leading to tioning infrastructure are the United The third sub-pillar of the geospatial
many scientific, States, Russia, Japan, Singapore, infrastructure and policy framework
civil, military Denmark, China, Canada and the Neth- is an understanding of the platforms
erlands. As discussed, these countries and portals. Geoportals and other data
and commercial are rich in positioning infrastructure with dissemination platforms play a crucial
applications their own positioning systems, augmen- role in the sharing of geographic infor-
tation systems and a high number of mation. They provide a direct access to
ground control points and a widely raw data in various formats, metadata,
established RTK network for higher online visualization tools, datasets,
precision and accuracy. maps, etc. Their key benefits include:

`` Accuracy, timeliness, correctness level of functionality. So, the centralized

and consistency of data being used analytical platform is ranked highest
in planning and development, while because this platform not only allows
simultaneously eliminating the possi- access and viewing of spatial datasets,
bility of duplicity of data but also provides users with facilities to
`` Enhancing the utilization and aware- analyze the data on the platform itself
ness of geospatial data because to get the desired results. At present,
of easy consumption of data and the centralized analytical platform is at
services the development stage in most of the
`` Data transparency and consistent developed nations and will soon be a
supply of information for decision functioning platform in these countries.
makers
Meanwhile, an integrated data centre
As of today, there has been an explosion and a functional clearing house are the
of geoportals for sharing geographic two most commonly found technology
information based on region or theme. architecture platforms in almost all the
For example, INSPIRE (Infrastructure developed nations. An integrated data
for Spatial Information in the European centre provides a homogenous approach
Community), UNSDI (United Nations to national data infrastructure to improve
Spatial Data Infrastructure) and the workflow management, while a func-
NatCarb geoportal, which provides tional clearing house provides access
geographic information concerning to digital spatial data infrastructure and
carbon sequestration in the United related online services for data access,
States. Geoportals are being widely visualization, etc. Therefore, these
used for water and marine environment, technology platforms facilitate access to
transport, land use planning, biodiversity spatial metadata, data and services on
and nature protection, tourism, climate the internet, and are crucial to map the
change, etc. geospatial infrastructure of a country.
While portals are of utmost impor- While assessing the portal and plat-
tance, their optimal function depends forms of the countries (Figure 9.4), it
on the support of geospatial technology is found that developed countries like
architecture. In the study, we have taken the United Kingdom, the Netherlands,
into consideration five major technology United States, Canada, Germany, Singa-
architecture formats: pore and Russia are the leading coun-
tries to have an operational geoportal,
`` View-only Web Portals and an effective and efficient technology
`` Catalogue and Metadata architecture that facilitates the growth
`` Functional Clearing House of geospatial data access and sharing.
`` Integrated Data Centre In the United Kingdom, it is the location
`` Centralized Analytical Platform infrastructure portal that enables the
share and reuse of spatial data. With
The geospatial technology architecture respect to technology architecture,
has been weighted according to the the United Kingdom is much closer

SCORE
4-5
3-4
2-3
1-2
0-1
Figure 9.4 Frequency Score Representation of Platforms and Portals of 50 Countries
Technology than most countries in establishing countries is at a high; technology enthu-

platforms its centralized analytical platform to siasts, users and the geospatial industry,
provide analyzed data, and has an inte- with firm support from policy makers, are
facilitate access
grated data centre as well as a sound, pushing for the establishment of plat-
to spatial functioning clearing house. forms and portals on an urgent basis.
metadata, data
and services Similarly, the Netherlands ranks higher for Most of the underdeveloped or
the topographic and the earth observation emerging countries are at the beginner
on the internet, (or satellite) data portal, which provides stage for this determinant. At present,
and are crucial access to both raw and processed data on an average, the low-ranked coun-
to map the for free. The Netherlands also ranks tries do not have a proper platform and
geospatial higher because the country is one of the portal for spatial data yet. Countries
firsts to establish a Cloud-based Web like Ghana and Kyrgyz Republic have
infrastructure of portal for real-time satellite data access. already realized the need for platforms
a country and portals for geospatial use, and
The runner-up countries, such as India, have taken initiatives toward estab-
UAE, and Indonesia, etc., also have their lishing a comprehensive technology
own portals and platforms. It is observed architecture.
that new geospatial technology architec-
ture in these economies is being imple- Open and Linked Data and
mented, and the existing one being modi- Standards
fied constantly to match the advanced Freely available open data is important
architecture of the developed nations. At to build accountable and effective
present, technology innovation in these institutions. Majority of the countries in

the study have an open data initiative standards allow diverse data sources,
and a national data catalogue providing applications and systems to operate with
access to datasets available for reuse. each other. Harmonization of standards
It is a well-recognized fact that open is important for facilitating robust open
data enhances the ability of policy- transfer of spatial data, to encourage
makers, decision makers and geospatial innovation, improve efficiency and
engineers to find solutions to complex increase transparency. Standards, such as
development problems — even though ISO, CEN, OGC, data and metadata stan-
concerns with respect to privacy and dard, etc. are needed to be implemented
security are increasing. Seen as a driver for economic and strategic reasons, and
of innovation, free availability of spatial therefore, also need to be assessed for
data remains heavily concentrated in the readiness purpose.
developed countries.
As can be inferred from the world map
To assess the open and linked data pillar, in Figure 9.5, European countries like
inter-data and intra-data linkages are Denmark, France and Germany lead
also assessed. In many countries, data the linked and open data standards
is collected by the government depart- readiness sub-pillar. European coun-
ments of various industries separately. tries follow the INSPIRE directive, which
In such a scenario, data is shared within clearly defines the open data policies
the same department (inter-depart- and data standards.
ment), while simultaneously the data
is also shared within two departments These countries are followed closely by
to create an intra-department linkage. the United States, Canada, Japan, the
In some cases the data is shared Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden.
openly within and among the depart- It is again not surprising to note that the
ments, while in others, the datasets are developed nations lead the readiness
restricted. for this sub-pillar. In these countries,
the importance of spatial data and its
Data dissemination methods are openness is well understood. These
important to understand the ease with countries have flexible open data
which data is disseminated in any policies, with no inter-department or
country. Traditional data dissemina- intra-department restriction on the use
tion methods include CD/DVD and FTP, of spatial data.
though now the movement is toward
Web portals and Cloud. As such, the Spatial data sharing in emerging econ-
countries moving toward Cloud- and omies is conservative and restricted.
Web-portal based dissemination have Thus, inter- and intra-data linkages
been given higher weightages. are not encouraged. The use of spatial
data is still at an embryonic stage.
In the field of geographic information, Data dissemination is limited to mostly
standardization began 25 years ago, traditional methods, and the impor-
thereby establishing the importance tance of data standards is yet to be
of data standards. Geospatial data realized.

SCORE
4-5
3-4
2-3
1-2
0-1
Figure 9.5 Frequency Score Representation of Open and Linked Data and Standards of 50 Countries
Policy makers Policy Framework `` National Geospatial Policy

have begun to A well-regulated policy framework acts `` Surveying and Mapping Policy
show a deep as a binding and a guiding force for the `` Remote Sensing and Earth Observa-
adoption of geospatial technologies in tion Related Policies
interest in a country. Today, geospatial policies are `` Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAVs) and
connecting space seen as a national priority, essential to Drone Policies
and location eliminate barriers and to promote data `` Data Policies (open data, data
exchange and integration. In various standards, data acquisition, data
technologies to
countries, a broad range of guidelines, dissemination, data security, etc.)
match up to the rules and regulations, law and legisla-
paradigm shift tions and directives have been issued to Decision makers all over the world have
happening in facilitate the development, sharing and realized the value of flexible policies for
use of geospatial data. It is vital that a the adoption and use of geospatial tech-
the geospatial
policy framework exists to govern the nology in various projects. Policy makers
industry lifecycle of geospatial information, i.e., have begun to show a deep interest in
data acquisition, data dissemination, connecting space and location technol-
data management, data use, etc. ogies to match up to the paradigm shift
happening in the geospatial industry. The
To assess the policy framework of 50 value of spatial technologies is being
countries, apart from primary research, increasingly recognized and, therefore,
extensive secondary study has been a national geospatial policy/law plays
done of the policy documents for a crucial role in defining the mandate
geospatial related policies for the chosen of use. Moreover, a national geospatial
countries. The policies that have been policy is needed to regulate the acquisi-
taken into detailed consideration are: tion, dissemination, publication, sharing

and distribution of geospatial information adoption and use of remote sensing and
so as to not compromise on national earth observation data.
security, but simultaneously develop a
level-playing field to mature the various The use of unmanned aerial vehicles
spheres of geospatial domain in an (UAVs) or drones has become much more
economy. In our study, a country that has commonplace in the past few years for
a viable national geospatial policy has academic, commercial and recreational
been given a higher weightage than its purposes. Therefore, UAV/drone laws are
contemporaries. crucial for every economy so that these
vehicles do not toy with the national
The surveying and mapping policy security and privacy of the citizens. Many
plays a pivotal role in defining the European countries and American states
geospatial readiness of a country. have already implemented drone laws
Invariably, every country has a basic and legislations and are actively seeking
surveying and mapping policy in place. to issue further guidelines to restrict UAV/
Maps form the core of geospatial drone use in sensitive areas.
domain, and policies are needed to
define a set of rules that determine In Figure 9.6, the world map represents
the regions that can be mapped, the scores for the 50 countries
accessibility of survey maps and the normalized in the scale 0-5. It can
usage of these maps. Land surveying be seen that most of the developed
and mapping activities need to be countries, such as, the United States,
regulated by legal and administrative Canada, the Netherlands, Singapore,
framework to provide spatial data and Denmark, Japan, Australia and
information to a broad spectrum of China have a well-formulated policy
users to establish a proper decision framework for the use and adoption
support system. In our study, a detailed of geospatial technologies. It is to be
evaluation has been done of policy noted that all these countries have
documents of 50 countries with adopted a national geospatial policy
respect to their surveying and mapping and have flexible regulations with
policy, and weights have been assigned respect to open data, data standards,
accordingly. data acquisition, data dissemination,
etc. Governments in these countries
Progressive remote sensing and earth have an explicit commitment toward
observation (EO) policies are a must the geospatial industry.
for a healthy and thriving geospatial
industry. The data acquired from EO A fascinating fact here is that Indonesia
satellites has a large number of users — was the first country to pass and
both within a country and outside. While implement the Geospatial Information
not every country has an EO satellite of Act in 2011. However, the reason that
its own, high-resolution EO imagery is the country ranks lower in the policy
being used widely by all. Therefore, it is framework is because of low adaptability
imperative to have policy guidelines and and knowledge of the Act among the
framework to establish the rules for the users and the industry.

SCORE
4-5
3-4
2-3
1-2
0-1
Figure 9.6 Frequency Score Representation of the Policy Framework of 50 Countries
Emerging Developing countries like India, Lastly, the emerging economies are
countries are at Malaysia, Colombia and Brazil feature in learning from their counterparts in the
the middle range of the policy readiness developed world and are formulating
an initial stage
sub-index. Countries at this level have policies for each level. It should be noted
of planning for formulated geospatial policies and are that these are the countries that are
the national at the implementation stage of the poli- at the initial stage of planning for the
infrastructure cies. Existing policies in these countries national infrastructure, and therefore,
are enabling and encouraging as the policies supporting geospatial need
and policies
policy makers and decision makers to be developed in parallel. At present,
supporting have begun to adapt and understand these countries do not have their own
geospatial the need for extensive use of geospatial remote sensing capabilities, so they
technologies in their respective countries. However, do not have any remote sensing/earth
it is important to note that while the observation and UAV/drone policies
need to be existing policies promote and encourage also. Surveying and mapping policies do
developed in geospatial, there is a lag in the imple- exist in these countries, but no proper
parallel mentation of specific laws/legislations legislations are defined with respect to
and rules and regulations. The absence data. Policy makers and decision makers
of clear processes, timeliness, resources in these countries have only recently
and delegated responsibilities creates begun to understand the benefits and
a problem with respect to the actual advantages derived from geospatial use,
implementation. Also most of the poli- investments have just started pouring in
cies formulated in developing nations and, therefore, the development of policy
are not legally binding, which further framework in these countries is at an
creates problem during implementation. initial, but promising stage

Final Ranking Similarly, the European countries that Harmonization

It can be inferred from the analysis feature in the top — Denmark, the
of standards
that the United States, the Netherlands, Netherlands, Germany, France — rank
Denmark, Canada, Russia, Germany, so because the EU follows the INSPIRE is important
Singapore, France, United Kingdom and Directive that aims to establish a for facilitating
Japan are the top 10 countries with common platform for spatial informa- robust open
efficient geospatial data infrastructure tion in Europe since 2007. Even though
transfer of
and an enabling policy framework. From most of these countries have their own
the detailed analysis conducted for each geospatial data infrastructure, they spatial data,
sub-pillar, it is not a surprise that the top are governed by the guidelines issued to encourage
10 leading countries and even the ones in the INSPIRE Directive, and there- innovation,
that closely follow these countries are fore, an enabling policy framework is
all developed nations that rank highly followed. Copernicus, previously known
improve
in the sub-pillar indices as well. Almost as GMES (Global Monitoring for Envi- efficiency
all of these countries are pioneers in ronment and Security), is the European and increase
the use of geospatial technology, are program for the establishment of transparency
self-sufficient with respect to their own European capacity for EO, of which all
satellite capabilities, and have their own European countries are members. Also,
augmentation systems, access to an Europe has the European Geostationary
efficient geoportal and a strong policy Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS)
framework. which covers the whole of Europe and,
thus, showcases a strong positioning
For instance, the United States ranks infrastructure.
number one in this pillar because the
country is rich in both topographic data It is no surprise that the emerging
sets (with respect to scale and thematic nations rank the lowest in infra-
layers available) and has its own earth structure and policy readiness. As
observation capabilities (satellites) discussed, these nations are still
making imagery available in high reso- setting up their own spatial data
lutions. The United States also has a infrastructure and have no satellite
wide RTK network and its own augmen- capabilities of their own. With respect
tation system (WAAS) that enhances its to policy framework and standards,
positioning infrastructure capabilities. these countries lack in an adequate
Even with respect to policy framework legal framework at present and would
and standards, the country has a clearly need considerable time to develop and
defined framework for the growth of implement relevant policies. However,
the geospatial industry and geospatial these economies are quite proactive in
standards such as the Open Geospatial establishing the geospatial infrastruc-
Consortium (OGC) and International Orga- ture and policy framework in parallel to
nization for Standardization (ISO). Overall, each other, which is a promising start.
the country ranks at number one because
it leads in all attributes of the geospatial
infrastructure and policy framework pillar.

PILLAR I: GEOSPATIAL INFRASTRUCTURE
METHODOLOGY
& POLICY FRAMEWORK
OVERVIEW
This pillar showcases the
geospatial readiness with regards
to g eospatial infrastructure and
policy framework of the selected
50 countries.
DETERMINANTS
U M SCORE OF EAC
AXIM HS
H EM UB
-PI
ST LL
V EI Platforms AR
and Portals
Open and
FI
Positioning Linked Data

Infrastructure and Standards
PILLARS
SU B
Pillar - I
Data Policy
Geospatial Framework
Infrastructure Infrastructure
& Policy Framework
0-5 5-10 10-15 15-20 20-25
Highly
Beginners Basic Intermediate Advanced Advanced
Countries at this level Countries at this Countries who have Advanced nations Highly advanced
are at the beginners level are focusing an operational but having a competent countries having
stage i.e. at the on implementation expanding geospatial geospatial a highly efficient
planning stage of of the geospatial infrastructure with infrastructure and geospatial
creating a geospatial Infrastructure and a supporting policy an adequate policy infrastructure and
infrastructure and policy framework framework framework in place an enabling policy
policy framework framework
50 Countries Indexed as per Geospatial Infrastructure & Policy Framework

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
The Netherlands
United Kingdom
United States
New Zealand
South Korea
Switzerland
Singapore
Denmark
Germany
Australia
Portugal
Belgium
Sweden
Norway
Canada
Austria
Poland
Greece
France
Russia
Japan
China
Spain
Italy
UAE

METHODOLOGY
Sub-Pillar Leaders
DATA INFRASTRUCTURE AND

POLICY FRAMEWORK
1 United States
2 Netherlands
3 Germany
4 Switzerland
5 Singapore
PLATFORM AND PORTALS
1 Denmark
2 The Netherlands
3 United States
4 Switzerland
5 South Korea
LINKED DATA AND STANDARDS
1 United States
2 China
3 Singapore
4 Denmark
5 Switzerland
POLICY FRAMEWORK
1 United States
Overall Takeaway 2 Denmark
3 China
4 The Netherlands
5 Singapore
LEADERS BEGINNERS
GEODETIC INFRASTRUCTURE
1 United States 46 Vietnam 1 United States

2 The Netherlands 47 Kenya 2 Singapore
3 Denmark 48 Zimbabwe 3 China
4 Canada 49 Krygyz Republic 4 Australia
5 Russia 50 El Salvador 5 United Kingdom
26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Kyrgyz Republic
South Africa
Bangladesh
El Salvador
Philippines
Costa Rica
Zimbabwe
Indonesia
Argentina
Colombia
Malaysia
Thailand
Uruguay
Vietnam
Ethiopia
Finland
Mexico
Nigeria
Ghana
Kenya
Oman
Brazil
Egypt
Chile
India

10. INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY
Capacity can be defined as, ‘the ability to perform functions,

solve problems and set and achieve objectives1. Capacity
building is central to the development of an industry and the
same holds true for the geospatial industry. The geospatial
industry needs a ‘geo-intelligent’ workforce, who are well-
versed with the geospatial domain, and related concepts
like crowdsourcing, human geography, visual analytics and
forecasting. These requisite skills are computationally-ori-
ented and supported by degree programs and academic
institutions and infrastructure.
It is, therefore, essential for each country to have a sustain-

The geospatial able supporting institutional platform for the geospatial
industry needs a industry to encourage technology innovation and incubation
in the country. There is an increasing realization, especially
‘geo-intelligent’
in the developed countries, of the benefits and advantages
workforce, of a thriving geospatial industry and, therefore, a country
who are well- must have strong institutions that can enhance the geospa-
versed with tial knowledge base in the country.
the geospatial Institutional capacity is systematic. Increasing the number

domain, of institutions that provide geospatial knowledge (courses),
and related and promoting geospatial specific incubation centers is
concepts like relevant to the overall level of institutional capacity. At
present, the need to develop human capabilities to harness
crowdsourcing, geospatial knowledge is being recognized globally. The
human drivers of geospatial institutional capacity are:
geography, visual
analytics and `` Increase in active geospatial projects and investment:
There has been a huge push in investment to enhance
forecasting geospatial projects for economic growth. The enormous
growth in investments for geospatial projects requires
human capacity with a strong geospatial knowledge base.
`` Embedment of geospatial in overall business processes:
There is a growing requirement of embedding geospatial
in the everyday processes of various industry verticals.
The use of geospatial technology in inter-disciplinary
platforms has created a ‘pull effect’ for inter-department
skilled workforce in the current education system.
1 Fukuda-Parr & al., 2002

INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY
Institutional capacity ranking of the Business Incubation

selected 50 countries based on the set Entrepreneurship and incubation, a
determinants (Business Incubation, recent trend in the technology land-
Fundamental Sciences, Professional scape is predominant in countries with
Education, Interdisciplinary Applica- an inherent quest for innovation. An
tion and Vocational Training) as seen incubation centre aims to encourage
in Figure 10.1; follows a statistical students with entrepreneurial mindsets
approach to understand the level of to innovate and channelize their efforts
advancement and comparative stand to develop new geospatial ventures.
of each country. Various statistical Incubation centers bring together the
indexing studies have proved that a academia and the industry with global
nation’s human skill and capacity put partners to empower technology entre-
to productivity is an important determi- preneurship. Incubation in geospatial
nant of the country’s economic growth. industry has started growing consis-
The World Bank’s Human-Develop- tently in the last decade.
ment Index — which maps correlation
between educational capabilities to the At present, there are a large number of
overall development of the country — is research labs and incubation centres
one of the most recognizable examples. that are giving rise to geospatial entre-
This chapter maps and showcases preneur ventures across the globe.
the geospatial institutional capacity Incubators are also crucial for creating
of selected 50 countries in terms of synergies. Thus, they are considered
geospatial courses provided in each as an important factor for studying the
country. geospatial institutional capacity and get
AX IMUM SCORE OF EACH S

H EM UB-
E IS T PIL
LA
FIV R
Professional
Education
Fundamental Interdisciplinary
Sciences Application
Courses
PILLARS
SU B
Business Vocational
Incubation Pillar - II Training
Institutional Capacity
Figure 10.1 Determinants of Pillar II: Institutional Capacity

SCORE
4-5
3-4
2-3
1-2
0-1
Figure 10.2 Frequency Score Representation of Business Incubation in 50 Countries
a clear picture of the overall geospatial ventures that apply space technology
readiness index. to non-space industry fields. This way,
the ESA helps to create viable spatial
In Figure10.2, the world map gives businesses and new employment
frequency score of the number of opportunities.
incubator programs in the selected
50 countries which have then been In the United States, the University of
weighted and scaled from 0-5. The California for example, has a geospatial
United States, Germany, Sweden, the innovation facility. Similarly, University of
Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Singa- Illinois, University of Akron and Boston
pore and the United Kingdom are the University also have incubation centers
countries that are at advanced levels for that support entrepreneurship for
the incubation capability and entrepre- geospatial advancement.
neurship. In these developed countries,
both government and the private sector Countries such as India, Portugal,
encourage incubation in the geospatial Switzerland, New Zealand and
industry for increasing technological Denmark have received a low score
advancement. for incubation and entrepreneur-
ship. However, these countries have
For instance, in Europe, the European recognized the strategic importance of
Space Agency (ESA) has set up its own geospatial innovation for competitive-
incubation centers in the Netherlands, ness and economic development, and
Germany, Belgium, Austria, Spain, are expected to increase their incuba-
Sweden and France to support technical tion capacity in the years to come.

The incubation capacity of Latin Geospatial applied science courses

America, South Africa and most of the harness the existing geospatial
southern nations is also low because technical knowledge to develop more
these countries are still at the begin- practical applications and bring in
ners’ stage for the use and adoption of innovations. Countries that provide
geospatial technologies. a large number of applied science
courses tend to progress faster and
Fundamental Sciences register more patents than others.
For a country to have sound geospatial The human capital from this segment
human resource, strong institutions for mostly caters to the upper middle level
fundamental studies in geodesy and of the pyramid.
geomatics is a must. These studies
strengthen the core knowledge needed In Figure 10.3, the world map show-
in the geospatial domain and give rise cases the frequency scores of the
to a number of research and devel- selected 50 countries based on the
opment (R&D) projects. For the scope number of fundamental courses
of this study, fundamental studies are available in each country, which has
defined as the advanced applied science been further scaled from 0-5. It is again
courses and postgraduate research no surprise that the United States,
degrees (Ph.D.) in core geospatial tech- Canada, Australia, Germany, Japan,
nologies. These include post-doctorate Russia and France rank higher in the
degrees in geomatics and geographic pyramid for providing fundamental
information science (GIS), M. Phil., etc. courses.
SCORE
4-5
3-4
2-3
1-2
0-1
Figure 10.3 Frequency Score Representation of Fundamental Science in 50 Countries

Most of the emerging economies have a project leaders with the necessary
beginner’s level score due to the very low understanding of project management
focus of geospatial fundamental studies and geospatial technical skills.
in their universities. These countries
currently are not adequately equipped Professional courses are a significant
for geospatial fundamental research determinant to evaluate a country’s
and applied science courses, but they do capacity for harnessing talent that can
have exchange programs to develop the cater to the geospatial industry. The
human capacity in these domains. professional degrees considered in this
study are provided at graduation and
Professional Education post-graduation level, depending on the
Professional geospatial courses are a profession concerned and are classified
precondition to equip human capacity as bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
for meeting the growing demand for
expertise in spatial analytics, spatial The world map, in Figure 10.4 gives
data management, cartography, posi- frequency score of the number of
tioning and remote sensing, both professional courses in the 50 countries
nationally and internationally. Students weighted and further ranked from 0-5.
or executives who undertake these The United States leads in providing the
professional courses rigorously learn highest number of geospatial profes-
the fundamental theories, concepts, sional courses, and that too in a large
quantitative tools and analytical number of universities. It is closely
research methods. Geospatial profes- followed by Germany, Russia, United
sionals trained in such a manner are Kingdom and China.
SCORE
4-5
3-4
2-3
1-2
0-1
Figure 10.4 Frequency Score Representation of Professional Education in 50 Countries

SCORE
4-5
3-4
2-3
1-2
0-1
Figure 10.5 Frequency Score Representation of Interdisciplinary Applications in 50 Countries
Not surprisingly, emerging economies computer science business, architec-

like Oman, Costa Rica, Zimbabwe, ture, urban planning, infrastructure,
and Bangladesh do not have as many forest and environment, etc. In such a
institutions that provide geospatial scenario, the students get a chance to
professional courses, when compared to understand the application of geospa-
those provided by developed countries. tial technologies in their disciplines.
The number of professional courses These programs are much more widely
provided in the emerging economies found across the globe to have cross
fails in comparison to those of devel- border discipline experiences. The study,
oped countries. Therefore, these coun- therefore evaluates the number of cross
tries have scored low as compared to disciplinary programs in the selected 50
their developed counterparts. countries as a factor to evaluate institu-
tional capacity.
Interdisciplinary Applications
Courses In Figure 10.5, the world map shows
Interdisciplinary courses are defined as the frequency score of the 50 countries
education programs that are combined based on the number of interdisci-
with a specific industry vertical for plinary courses which was weighted
accurate application knowledge, etc. A and normalized on scaled from 0 to
geospatial interdisciplinary course can 5. It is observed that the number of
be defined as an academic program interdisciplinary programs are more in
that provides specialized knowl- the United States, Russia, Belgium, the
edge in key areas that complement United Kingdom, Germany, Australia,
geospatial science for environmental the Netherlands, France and Canada.
science, natural resource management, Some of the courses provided in these

countries include degrees in Civil Engi- This study has considered short-term
neering with GIS/Cartography concen- diploma courses, certifications and
tration, geography major with a track other training courses under vocational
in geospatial science, building engi- courses and has mapped this factor to
neering, remote sensing and security or evaluate the concentration of vocational
a masters degree in industry ecology courses in the universities.
with environmental informatics, etc.
The world map in Figure 10.6 gives
Emerging economies have less number frequency score for the number of voca-
of geospatial inter-disciplinary courses tional courses in the selected 50 coun-
available in their universities and, there- tries weighted and normalized on scale
fore, these countries rank lower in this from 0 to 5. The United States has the
sub-pillar. maximum number of vocational courses
in its universities, followed closely by
Vocational Training Canada, India, Australia and United
Vocational courses are short-term certi- Kingdom. India, for instance, has a lot of
fication courses pertinent to a certain government and private universities that
field of study. Geospatial vocational offer certification and diploma courses
courses provide students with prac- in the geospatial domain.
tical skills, as well as an understanding
of how to use these skills. Vocational From certificate courses on surveying
courses can be seen as a stepping stone and mapping to remote sensing,
for a student to professional courses geomatics and GIS, there is no dearth
for continued personal development. of vocational courses in these coun-
SCORE
4-5
3-4
2-3
1-2
0-1
Figure 10.6 Frequency Score Representation of Vocational Training in 50 Countries

tries. Which is why, these countries The reason why the geospatial industry
rank higher in the sub-pillar. Also these is growing predominantly in the devel-
countries are pioneers in offering a large oped countries is because it is being
number of geospatial certificate and supported by the strong institutional
diploma courses through online educa- capacity in these regions. These coun-
tion for which there is a growing demand tries also prove to be a fertile ground for
nowadays. start-ups and, therefore, business incu-
bation is also high in a number in these
Very few regions underperform in this countries, leading to their high score for
sub-pillar because almost all universities institutional capacity.
globally have a huge number of geospa-
tial certificate courses and programs. Further, the study finds that the
Emerging economies also have a good institutional capacity in the emerging
Geospatial
number of such courses, though that economies is at a developing stage. The
number pales in comparison to devel- courses offered for the geospatial domain industry
oped nations. are few, and as such, it is difficult to find is growing
skilled manpower in these countries. predominantly
Final Ranking in the developed
The final ranking for Pillar II: Institu- The contrast, however, is interesting.
tional Capacity has been calculated While in developed nations, the number countries
for the 50 countries. This has been of fundamental science courses, profes- because it is
done on the cumulative number of sional courses and incubation centers are backed by strong
different types of courses available on the rise, it is the vocational training/
institutional
at universities of each country. This certificate courses that are predominant
has been further weighted based on in the developing countries. Most of the capacity in these
the availability of skilled manpower at emerging economies also offer geospa- regions
various stakeholder organizations, such tial vocational courses in abundance.
as, national mapping agencies, earth This is because these economies have
observation agencies, etc. begun to adopt geospatial technology
only recently, and their universities are
From the detailed analysis of the more focussed on providing courses that
sub-pillars and their cumulative scores, make individuals job-ready quickly. So,
it can be inferred that the United States even though these countries rank lower
leads in the overall institutional capacity, in the overall geospatial readiness of the
followed closely by the United Kingdom, institutional capacity, we cannot ignore
Germany, Canada, Russia, Australia and the fact that these countries are willing
the Netherlands. and eager to grow.

PILLAR -II:
OVERVIEW
geospatial institutional capacity
of the 50 countries in terms of
their geospatial courses and
available skilled manpower.
DETERMINANTS
UM SCORE OF EACH
M AXIM SUB
HE -PI
LL
ST AR
EI Professional
Education
FIV
Fundamental Interdisciplinary
Sciences Application
Courses
PILLARS
SU B
Business Vocational
Incubation Pillar - II Training
0-5 5-10 10-15 15-20 20-25
Beginners Basic Intermediate Proficient Advanced

Countries have low Countries have Countries having Proficient in Highly advanced
geospatial institutional high focus on moderate focus in geospatial institutional countries in geospatial
capacity with presence improving vocational fundamental and capacity with moderate institutional capacity
of only vocational & interdisciplinary professional studies focus on incubation that are providing
& interdisciplinary courses; but are but have abundant and fundamental professional,
courses. lagging at incubation interdisciplinary and studies and fundamental and
and fundamental vocational courses. abundant professional incubation studies in
studies. studies. abundance.
50 Countries Indexed as per Geospatial Institutional Capacity

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
The Netherlands
United Kingdom
United States
New Zealand
South Korea
Switzerland
Singapore
Denmark
Germany
Australia
Portugal
Belgium
Sweden
Norway
Canada
Finland
Austria
Poland
France
Russia
Japan
China
Spain
India
Italy

Sub-Pillar Leaders
BUSINESS INCUBATION
1 United States
2 Germany
3 Sweden
4 The Netherlands
5 Russia
FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCES
1 United States
2 Canada
3 United Kingdom
4 Australia
5 Germany
PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
1 United States
2 Germany
3 Russia
4 United Kingdom
5 China
INTERDISCIPLINARY
APPLICATION
1 United States
Overall Takeaway 2 Russia
3 Belgium
4 United Kingdom
5 Germany
LEADERS BEGINNERS
VOCATIONAL TRAINING
1 United States 46 El Salvador 1 United States

2 United Kingdom 47 Bangladesh 2 Canada
3 Germany 48 Vietnam 3 Australia
4 Canada 49 Kyrgyz Republic 4 United Kingdom
5 Russia 50 Zimbabwe 5 The Netherlands
26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Kyrgyz Republic
South Africa
Bangladesh
El Salvador
Philippines
Costa Rica
Zimbabwe
Indonesia
Argentina
Colombia
Malaysia
Thailand
Uruguay
Vietnam
Ethiopia
Mexico
Nigeria
Greece
Ghana
Kenya
Oman
Brazil
Egypt
Chile
UAE

11. USER ADOPTION LEVEL
The adoption level of any technology is dependent

on how the user base responds to that innovation.
A successful industry ecosystem cannot flourish
without a thriving user base. The users are at the
forefront of the geospatial ecosystem as well. If
the users benefit from geospatial technologies, and
are able to channelize those gains into the revenue
stream, the user adoption level will continue to rise
When users at an increasing pace. The user level adoption of
geospatial pertains to:
adopt geospatial
as a part of `` Automating the process of spatial data collection
their workflow `` Carrying real-time observations and measurements
management, `` Enhancing innovation, etc.
`` Integration geospatial into the entire enterprise
they enrich
system
a country’s
technology, Geospatial data is used to add value to businesses
economic and and quicken the decision-making process. When users
adopt geospatial as a part of their workflow manage-
cultural growth ment, they enrich a country’s technology, economic
and cultural growth.
AX IMUM SCORE OF EACH S

H EM UB-
E IS T PIL
LA
FIV R
Analytics and
Workflow Level
Business Process System
Modelling Integration Level
PILLARS
SU B
Mapping or Enterprise
Service Level Pillar - III Level
USER ADOPTION LEVEL
Figure 11.1 Determinants of Pillar III: User Adoption Level

USER ADOPTION LEVEL
To assess the level of user adoption in drawn from geo-referenced maps —

the selected 50 countries, 500+ users finding patterns and assessing trends
have been mapped and surveyed. This to make decisions. An important aspect
has been done on the basis of the deter- of GIS is its ability to assemble a range
minants for this sub-pillar (Mapping of geospatial data into a layered set of
or Service Level, Business Process maps that allow complex themes to be
Modelling, Analytics and Workflow Level, analyzed.
System Integration Level and Enterprise
Level) as shown in Figure 11.1. At the mapping level as seen in the
Figure 11.2, the user adoption is
Mapping or Service Level highest in the United States, the United
Adoption of geospatial at the mapping Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Japan,
level is the most basic, yet important the Netherlands, Austria, Canada,
level of adoption. Geospatial technolo- Australia and Singapore. Users of
gies, such as, satellite remote sensing, maps are finding, querying, reading and
sensors, UAVs, etc., are all being used applying maps in different ways. Maps
for mapping and monitoring. The users are digital and interactive in these
that deploy geospatial technologies nations, which helps in effective visu-
for mapping have been growing at a alization and communication of results
rapid pace in sectors like industrial in an engaging way. Geospatial is being
engineering, construction, infrastruc- used at the mapping level for making
ture, defence and security, agriculture, better decisions about location with
forestry and environment, etc. This level respect to real estate site selection,
of adoption entails that intelligence is agriculture site selection, evacuation
SCORE
4-5
3-4
2-3
1-2
0-1
Figure 11.2 Frequency Score Representation of Mapping or Service Level User Adoption in 50 Countries

USER ADOPTION LEVEL
planning, natural resource extraction, management is pivotal to the growth

etc. This has contributed extensively to of any economy because it enables
the development of these economies. the government to increase informa-
tion accessibility and use, make more
The gap between the developed econ- effective investments and improve
omies and the emerging economies infrastructure quality.
persists. The importance of using
geospatial at the mapping level is being Fundamental to asset management
recognized in the emerging economies, is the ability to easily and accurately
but it will take time before it reaches report work activities to locate assets.
the progressive levels of the developed Users need to determine the geograph-
economies. ical context of an asset and find other
assets location close by. Geospatial
Asset Management/ technologies efficiently manage
Business Process inspections and inventory of critical
Modelling assets both above and under the ground
Asset management is a systematic level, such as, roads, sewers, hydrants,
process of maintaining, upgrading and sidewalks, etc. This timely evaluation
operating physical assets effectively helps in reducing inefficiencies, errors
and efficiently. Asset management and risks.
systems combine powerful mapping
and spatial analysis with a compre- The user adoption at this level is
hensive system for organizing infor- increasing at a rapid pace in both
mation on strategic assets like utilities, developed and developing economies.
infrastructure, energy, water, etc. Asset This could be because governments
SCORE
4-5
3-4
2-3
1-2
0-1
Figure 11.3 Frequency Score Representation of Business Process Modelling Level User Adoption in 50 Countries

USER ADOPTION LEVEL
across the globe encourage asset economies but falls when compared to
management, for it provides them the advanced level of adoption in the
with the ability to visualize geographic developed and developing economies.
information, improve the longevity and
efficient execution of public works, and Analytics and Workflow
enables efficient decision-making. From marketing to disaster manage-
ment, geospatial analytics is finding
As can be inferred from the world map, its way into day-to-day activities. It is
shown in Figure 11.3; the United States, being used to add geographic context
Singapore, the United Kingdom, the to data and uncovering patterns that
Netherlands and Canada are the top 5 are otherwise invisible. The geospatial
countries that are leading the user level component in analytics allows the user
adoption of geospatial asset manage- to overlay business data on maps for
ment. Most of the European countries convergence and integration to generate
follow closely. And the same scenario insights.
exists in developing economies as well.
Workflows connect various components
For instance, India ranks high in the and initiate processes to enable smooth
readiness index for the adoption of data from source to delivery of the final
geospatial at the asset management actionable information. Integrating
level because it uses it for applications geoinformation or spatial data for
like disaster management, utilities workflow management to deal with all
or at the enterprise level. Compara- aspects of planning, management and
tively, geospatial adoption for asset monitoring helps them to achieve higher
management is higher in the emerging levels of productivity and efficiency.
SCORE
4-5
3-4
2-3
1-2
0-1
Figure 11.4 Frequency Score Representation of Analytics and Workflow Level User Adoption in 50 Countries

USER ADOPTION LEVEL
An integrated Organizations adopt and continue to complex relationships understandable

geospatial use geospatial components in their to reveal historical shifts as well as to
workflow management to produce a predict the future.
solution enables
better product or to perform a service
the user to quickly and economically. These work- The scenario, however, is different in the
derive enormous flows include business intelligence, emerging economies where the adoption
value from the supply chain management, customer level of geospatial is low for analytics
relationship management, customer and workflow management. These
application of
applications, etc. economies are at the beginner’s level for
these robust the adoption of the geospatial compo-
solutions In Figure 11.4, the world map shows nent in workflow management.
Singapore leading in the adoption level
of geospatial for analytics and workflow. System Integration Level
The study reveals that there are more Extracting maximum value from spatial
users in Singapore who use geospatial datasets requires more than just
technology for high quality analytics map layers. The maximum value can
and productive workflow management. only be derived when the geographic
Singapore is closely followed by the information available is integrated
United States, the Netherlands, Austria, with the data and applications from
Norway, Canada, Belgium and Germany a completely different ecosystem.
in the user adoption at the analytics System integration means assimilation
and workflow level. These countries of two different ecosystems to provide
are using geospatial analytics to build a unique solution for the purpose of
maps, graphs and statistics, and making solving a problem. In such a case,
SCORE
4-5
3-4
2-3
1-2
0-1
Figure 11.5 Frequency Score Representation of System Integration Level User Adoption in 50 Countries

USER ADOPTION LEVEL
geoinformation integration can happen project. Adopting the

with customer information systems, geospatial
work management systems, mobile While the developed economies are at
ecosystem at the
systems, compliance systems and a very advanced level with respect to
asset management systems to provide the adoption of geospatial at system enterprise level
solutions to various industry verti- integration level, the developing econo- is a disruptive
cals. System Integration brings about mies are at the basic level of adoption. process that
solutions that are further used by the And the emerging economies are at
users to bring the fabricated geospatial the beginner’s level for the adoption of
requires
ecosystem together. geospatial at system integration. seamless
integration
System integrators utilize a wide range Enterprise Level of businesses
of software and hardware to develop Given their many benefits, geospatial
customized solutions for the users. An technologies are fast graduating to the
and technology
integrated geospatial solution enables enterprise level in most of the countries systems
the user to derive enormous value from surveyed. Enterprise-level adoption to deliver
the application of these robust solutions. means that geospatial is inculcated at innovative
Since system integration engineers all levels of the organization for better
need a broad range of skills with gener- or more informed decision-making to
solutions
ally high level of problem solving skills, increase the return on investment from efficiently
its user adoption is high in developed planning, implementation, delivery or
countries like the United States and the monitoring. Successful adoption of
European Union. geospatial component at the enter-
prise level requires scaling, innova-
As can be concluded from Figure 11.5, tion, increased efficiency, structural
the United States, the United Kingdom, changes, etc.
the Netherlands, Canada, Austria,
Germany, Singapore, Denmark, Japan As can be inferred from the world map
and France are deriving maximum in Figure 11.6, developed countries like
value from spatial information through the United States, the United Kingdom
system integration. Given that all these and the Netherlands, the adoption level of
countries are developed economies, geospatial component at the enterprise
integration of two different ecosys- level is much higher. This is because
tems is quite prevalent there to provide the users in these economies put great
reliable and affordable geospatial emphasis on becoming lean and meeting
solutions to governments and citizens. customer expectations adequately.
For instance, the integration with BIM Adopting the geospatial ecosystem at the
workflows to support the important enterprise level is a disruptive process
aspects of construction, transpor- that requires seamless integration of
tation, urban planning, etc., happens businesses and technology systems to
actively in the developed nations. deliver innovative solutions efficiently. It
Similarly, these countries are proficient can only be undertaken by countries that
in seamlessly integrating spatial data are at the top of the frequency score.
with mobile and Web technologies for

USER ADOPTION LEVEL
SCORE
4-5
3-4
2-3
1-2
0-1
Figure 11.6 Frequency Score Representation of Enterprise Level User Adoption in 50 Countries
In the emerging economies, the Final Ranking

transformation and level of adoption is An analysis of the final pillar shows that
pretty slow. Challenges in the adoption top countries where geospatial use and
of the geospatial ecosystem at the adoption is high are the United States,
enterprise level have stemmed from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands,
the lack of knowledge, investment Singapore, Austria, Germany, Canada,
and clarity on how to proceed when it Switzerland, France and Japan. It is no
comes to imbibing geospatial at every surprise that the top 10 countries that
level of the enterprise. At present, the rank high on adoption of geospatial
emerging economies are struggling to use are developed countries. These
reach the advanced levels of adoption countries are frontrunners in the use of
similar to that of the developed nations. geospatial data, innovating new technol-
So, the divide that can be seen in ogies and driving geospatial application
Figure 11.6 is not a surprising scenario. and solutions in almost every industry
Countries like Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, vertical.
Costa Rica and Kyrgyz Republic score
the lowest with respect to enterprise For instance, the United States and
level adoption. These countries are at the United Kingdom rank number one
the initial stage of understanding the and number two, respectively, because
role that geospatial technology can the enterprise users in these countries
play in the growth of an industry or an have been using geospatial data for
economy. Which is why, they will take more than two decades now. Users of
time to adopt geospatial at the enter- these countries have imbibed geospatial
prise level. into their workflow management and

USER ADOPTION LEVEL
consider geoportals as an important not defined by the government alone, Integrating

catalyst in their growth story. but also by the private sector. Both geoinformation
sectors use geospatial as an important
The use of geospatial information component — be it in the form of maps,
or spatial data
in these countries is not limited to analytics, workflow management or for workflow
only defence and security or disaster business processes — to extend the management
management, as is the case in most capabilities of employed assets and to deal with
of the underdeveloped and a few services. Also, it is in these devel-
developing nations. Here, geospatial oped countries that the geospatial
all aspects of
encompasses all industry segments, ecosystem is being integrated with the planning and
such as, infrastructure, urban planning, other industry ecosystems, such as, management,
forest and environment, agriculture, digital, communications, wireless, etc., helps users
climate change management, marine or is being adopted for use in the entire
life conservation, transportation and enterprise.
to achieve
logistics, location applications, etc. higher levels of
Countries like the UAE, India and productivity and
The predominant use of maps, solu- Malaysia rank at the runners-up
efficiency
tions, business processes, system level, as can be seen from the
integrators, etc., has brought about pillar index. The use and adoption
revolutionary growth in these countries. of geospatial in these countries is
For example, at the Los Angeles Airport high, but is restricted to the govern-
in the United States, integrated solu- ment. The adoption of geospatial is
tions for indoor mapping have provided widely happening at the federal level.
significant savings in time and cost. However, when it comes to adop-
This has been achieved by combining tion in the private sector, it is still at
on-site data collection with GIS and a nascent stage. While the value of
CAD to deliver accurate, high-quality spatial data is realized in these coun-
information on airport assets. tries, achieving user adoption goals is
quite challenging. In these countries,
Similarly, in the United Kingdom, enterprise level of adoption is almost
Centre for Smart Infrastructure and in significant.
Construction (CSIC) uses geospatial
data to map the current condition of The countries that are lagging far
the roads which are derived using behind in the user level adoption of
highly accurate and cost-effective geospatial are Costa Rica, Kyrgyz
sensing technologies. This helps the Republic, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and El
engineers and asset managers to Salvador. These countries lack in skilled
formulate effective maintenance and manpower and financial resources, and
repair programs to maintain the trans- as such the user adoption there is at
port infrastructure. the beginner’s level.
The other important factor here is that

the user segment in these countries is

PILLAR - III
USER ADOPTION LEVEL
OVERVIEW
readiness with respect to the level
of user adoption of geospatial
technology in the selected 50
countries.
DETERMINANTS
UM SCORE OF EAC
M AXIM HS
UB
HE -P
IST Analytics IL L
V E and AR
Workflow
FI
Business System
Level Integration Level
Process
Modelling
PILLARS
SU B
Mapping or Enterprise
Service Level Pillar - III Level
USER ADOPTION LEVEL
0-5 5-10 10-15 15-20 20-25
Low Below Average Above High

Countries where the Average Countries where the Average Countries that are
user adoption of Countries where user adoption of Countries where the frontrunners in
geospatial technologies the user adoption geospatial technologies user adoption of the user adoption
is low and is at the of geospatial is at mid-scale with geospatial technologies level of geospatial
basic level of mapping technologies is high focus at the asset is above the moderate technologies, especially
or services focussed on mapping, management level level with focus on at the enterprise and
moving towards asset and in analytics and system integration and system integration level
management level workflow level analytics and workflow
level
50 Countries Indexed as per Geospatial User Adoption Level

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
The Netherlands
United Kingdom
United States
New Zealand
South Korea
Switzerland
Singapore
Denmark
Germany
Australia
Portugal
Belgium
Sweden
Norway
Canada
Finland
Austria
Poland
France
Russia
Japan
China
Spain
India
Italy
Sub-Pillar Leaders
MAPPING / SERVICES LEVEL
1 United States
2 United Kingdom
3 Germany
4 Switzerland
5 Japan
BUSINESS PROCESS MODELING
1 United States
2 Singapore
3 United Kingdom
4 The Netherlands
5 Canada
ANALYTICS AND
WORKFLOW
1 Singapore
2 United States
3 The Netherlands
4 Austria
5 Norway
SYSTEM INTEGRATION LEVEL
1 United States
Overall Takeaway 2 United Kingdom
3 The Netherlands
4 Canada
5 Austria
LEADERS BEGINNERS
ENTERPRISE LEVEL
1 United States 46 El Salvador 1 United States

2 United Kingdom 47 Bangladesh 2 United Kingdom
3 The Netherlands 48 Zimbabwe 3 The Netherlands
4 Singapore 49 Costa Rica 4 France
5 Austria 50 Kyrgyz Republic 5 Norway
26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Kyrgyz Republic
South Africa
Bangladesh
El Salvador
Philippines
Costa Rica
Zimbabwe
Indonesia
Argentina
Colombia
Malaysia
Thailand
Uruguay
Vietnam
Ethiopia
Mexico
Nigeria
Greece
Ghana
Kenya
Oman
Brazil
Egypt
Chile
UAE
12. INDUSTRIAL CAPACITY
Rapid changes in the technology landscape have

ensured that the global geospatial industry surges
toward innovation, convergence and integration, and
brings about a significant value proposition to several
vertical industries by offering diverse products (hard-
ware, software and data), services and solutions. As
the industry moves from position to precision, and
acquires a more solution-centric role, the need to have
a pulse on the user segment becomes all the more
important. This will translate into efficiency and an
increase in the adoption of geospatial technologies
across all sectors, leading to a more holistic growth of
The geospatial the entire industry.
industry is moving
The market drivers of the geospatial Industry are:
from position to
precision while `` Increasing geospatial awareness
acquiring a more `` Business process embedment
solution-centric role `` Enterprise level adoption
`` ROI orientation
`` Convergence of industry with the technology
ecosystem
OF EACH SUB
M SCORE -PIL
IMU L AR
AX IS 8
EM .33
TH
Service
Providers
P
SUB ILLAR
Product Solution
Providers Providers
Pillar - IV
Industry Fabric
Figure 12.1 Determinants of Pillar IV: Industry Fabric

INDUSTRIAL CAPACITY
Technology drivers of the geospatial Product Providers

Industry: (Hardware, Software
and Data)
`` Integrated processing visualization Any industry ecosystem is incom-
`` System integration and solution plete without the presence of product
Orientation companies. The geospatial industry is
`` Integrated sensors network no exception. From infrastructure to
`` Analytics and intelligence platform environment, the ability of geospatial
`` Multiple platform sensors products to provide valuable insights
to optimize the investments and plan-
As ‘geo’ gets embedded in a majority ning in an economy is of paramount
of applications and services today, the importance.
industry is in for an exciting time. This
chapter will map and showcase the The geospatial product portfolio
geospatial industry capability in each consists of three sub components,
of the 50 countries with respect to the namely, hardware, software and data.
chosen determinants (Product providers, Hardware provides include the compa-
service providers and the solution and nies that provide the hardware compo-
system integration providers) as shown nent needed for geospatial activities, like
in Figure 12.1. satellites, drones, sensors, etc.
SCORE
>6
4.5-6
3-4.5
1.5 -3
0-1.5
Figure 12.2 Frequency Score Representation of Product Providers in 50 Countries

INDUSTRIAL CAPACITY
The software providers offer the IT Compared to the developed countries,

expertise that encompasses a broad the emerging economies are at a
range of applications for various industry nascent stage of product development.
verticals. Geospatial software integrates The bottom 10 countries, including
digital maps and geo-referenced data to Oman, Kenya, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe
create business-to-business visualiza- and Vietnam still need to facilitate the
tion and analysis tools. development of product companies.
These countries are still developing
At the core of the products is content, their geospatial industry fabric, and
i.e., the data. The role of geospatial will take quite some time to reach the
data as a product is increasingly capabilities of the developed countries.
becoming critical to further the
economic development of a country. Service Providers
This also explains why the data Geospatial services involve collection,
providers are increasing in numbers, analysis, presentation and delivery
because the providers of data are also of information. Using the resources
Recent leaning towards becoming the users of available through the geospatial
innovations in the geospatial data. product segment, services includes a
wide range of technologies, such as,
the geospatial The key to the development of any analytical methodologies, data and
industry is product category is innovation. And the database management, spatial anal-
moving the innovations happening in geospatial in ysis, enterprise software application
the recent times are moving the industry development, etc. Services like Big
industry towards
towards an integration of all the product Data, for instance, create consider-
integration categories. able opportunities for users across the
of all product spectrum of the community. Navigation
categories The world map in Figure 12.2 highlights and location-based services also cater
the footprint of the product companies to geospatial and have started playing
(hardware,
in the geospatial domain in the selected an important role in the growth of the
software and 50 countries. It can be inferred that economy.
data) the United States, Germany, the United
Kingdom, the Netherlands, Canada, Over the years, the geospatial industry
Belgium and Japan are the economies has gradually been moving from
with the highest ranks in the product being a product-oriented industry
index. These countries have an enor- to a product-cum-services industry.
mous penetration in hardware, soft- The industry verticals love geospatial
ware and data, chiefly because geospa- services because their data-rich and
tial innovation is primarily happening detailed visual representations enable
in these countries. Also, let’s not forget quick decision-making. Geospatial
that the use of geospatial technologies services change the way an industry
and data is also higher in these coun- functions. The key services in this
tries. So, the demand for an efficient segment include geo-referencing, spatial
geospatial product industry is higher data creation, spatial modelling, network
there. analysis, satellite image analysis, photo-

INDUSTRIAL CAPACITY
SCORE
>6
4.5-6
3-4.5
1.5 -3
0-1.5
Figure 12.3 Frequency Score Representation of Service Providers in 50 Countries
grammetry services, data and image analysing), image processing services,

processing services, LiDAR services, etc., to adequately satiate the users in
Web GIS applications, etc. these countries.
The world map in Figure 12.3 represents An interesting observation in the above
the footprint of the geospatial service map is that both India and China — two
providers in the 50 selected coun- of the biggest Asian economies — score
tries. The study finds that the United high on the readiness pillar for geospa-
States and Spain are the leaders in this tial service providers. This could be
segment, followed closely by Austria, because both these markets have the
China, Switzerland, India, Belgium, human resource required to cater to the
Canada, Russia, Germany and Japan. As services industry.
can be seen from the graph, there is not
much difference in the impression of the Also, not surprisingly, the massive divide
developed and developing countries with between the developed and emerging
respect to geospatial service providers. economies is clearly visibly. While
many of the emerging economies may
Geospatial services are being used be using geospatial services for their
actively in all developed and developing day-to-day activities, they are mostly
countries and, therefore, the demand for outsourced from the developed coun-
geospatial service providers is also high. tries. An emerging economy’s industry
Geospatial professionals in these coun- fabric with respect to the geospatial
tries are actively providing 3D maps, services is quite limited, which is why
remote sensing services (capturing, these countries score poorly and are
storing, integrating, manipulating and ranked at the beginner’s level.

INDUSTRIAL CAPACITY
SCORE
>6
4.5-6
3-4.5
1.5 -3
0-1.5
Figure 12.4 Frequency Score Representation of Solution Providers and System Integrators in 50 Countries
Solution Provider and have a competitive edge over others.

System Integrators Seamless delivery of industry-specific
Till a few years ago, the geospatial solutions is the key to success in this
product industry used to offer stand- industry now.
alone products only. Slowly, that focus
shifted to providing services along Geospatial solutions provide high
with products. And now, with the user business value to an organization and
segment demanding unique fixes for its customers. There is a higher return
their quandaries, solutions have been on investment and a guarantee towards
added to the mix. Geospatial solutions efficient regulatory compliance as the
are information/data-rich and enable operational cost decreases. To facil-
real-time business decisions. Conse- itate high quality workflow and data
quently, through strategic alliances management which would drive effi-
and with an eye toward the future, the ciency, effectiveness and productivity,
geospatial ecosystem has widened a number of small geospatial solutions
and the industry has successively are being integrated together to offer
become solution-centric. Companies customized package to the industry
that have made a smooth transi- verticals. Today, comprehensive
tion from services to solutions and geospatial solutions are available for
system integration by integrating land administration, mapping and GIS,
geospatial with different ecosystems forestry, infrastructure, transportation,
to deliver content and information etc. Industries that offer geospatial

INDUSTRIAL CAPACITY
solutions operate at a very advanced Final Ranking

level because they integrate myriad In the final analysis of the Pillar IV:
technologies into one system. Industry Fabric, a complete picture
of 50 countries with respect to their
The world map in Figure 12.4 presents geosaptial industry footprint is estab-
a footprint of the solution providers lished. Again, the United States is
in the geospatial industry in the 50 leading the geospatial readiness for
countries. As expected, the developed the industry fabric because of its vast
nations of the United States, Canada, geospatial ecosystem that provides
the United Kingdom, Japan, the Nether- comprehensive products, services
lands, Russia, China and Germany have and solutions through continuous
quite a large number of companies innovation.
providing integrated and comprehen-
sive geospatial solutions. These coun- The United States is closely followed by Developed
tries are pioneers in technology innova- Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany
countries are
tion, convergence and integration, and and the Netherlands — countries that
have been able to create geo-informa- are rich in industry advancement as pioneers in
tion solutions that can be used by all well. Since these countries are quick technology
industries. to adapt to the fast-changing technol- innovation,
ogies, their industries also adopt the
convergence
In developed countries, the demand changing trends needed for growth just
for geospatial solutions is also on a as swiftly. and integration,
very large scale because these solu- and have been
tions need to be imbibed into business The trend of a visibly huge divide able to create
processes of various industry verticals between the developed countries and
like land administration, precision agri- the emerging economies continues
geoinformation
culture, climate change management, with the final pillar of geospatial solutions that
etc. readiness index. Zimbabwe, Costa can be used by
Rica, Bangladesh, and Kyrgyz Republic all industries
A careful study of the map also reveals are some of the countries that are
that solution providers are also domi- still exploring the opportunities in the
nant in some developing countries geospatial domain, and do not have
where innovation is high. But, in the a well-established industry fabric.
emerging economies, like Ghana, Oman, Lately, these countries have begun to
Philippines, Ethiopia and Bangladesh, use geospatial actively in their work-
solution providers are few and far flows, but, majorly they outsource
between. Most of these economies are the products (mostly data/content)
at the initial growth stage of the geospa- and services from developed nations.
tial industry. Their industry fabric with These economies are still struggling to
respect to solution providers has not yet establish a well-functioning geospatial
developed. industry ecosystem.

PILLAR - IV:
INDUSTRIAL CAPACITY
OVERVIEW
readiness with respect to the level
of geospatial industry penetration
DETERMINANTS
ORE OF EACH SUB-P

M SC IL L A
X IMU R IS
E MA 8.3
3
TH Service
Providers
P
SUB ILLAR
Product Solution
Providers Providers
Pillar - IV
Industry Fabric
0-5 5-10 10-15 15-20 20-25
Low Below Average Average Above Average High

Penetration Penetration Penetration Penetration Penetration
Countries that have Countries with a Countries having deep Above average industry Highly advanced
minimal geospatial basic level of industry geospatial industry penetration with countries in industry
industry penetration penetration with a penetration with a abundant number of penetration with
with presence of very high focus on services moderate focus on geospatial industries abundant industries in
few product and service industry and average services and product in services & products products (hardware,
companies. focus on only product industries and having and adequate number software, and data),
companies minimal number of in solutions and system services and solutions
solutions and system integration companies and system integration
integration companies comapnies
50 Countries Indexed as per Geospatial Industrial Capacity

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
The Netherlands
United Kingdom
United States
New Zealand
South Korea
Switzerland
Singapore
Denmark
Germany
Australia
Portugal
Belgium
Sweden
Norway
Canada
Finland
Austria
Greece
France
Russia
Japan
China
Spain
India
Italy
Sub-Pillar Leaders
PRODUCT PROVIDERS
1 United States
2 Germany
3 United Kingdom
4 The Netherlands
5 Canada
SERVICE PROVIDERS
1 United States
2 Spain
3 Austria
4 China
5 Switzerland
SOLUTION & SYSTEM

INTEGRATION PROVIDERS
1 United States
2 Canada
3 United Kingdom
Overall Takeaway 4 Japan
5 The Netherlands
LEADERS BEGINNERS
1 United States 46 Kyrgyz Republic

2 Canada 47 Costa Rica
3 United Kingdom 48 Vietnam
4 Germany 49 Zimbabwe
5 The Netherlands 50 Bangladesh
26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Kyrgyz Republic
South Africa
Bangladesh
El Salvador
Philippines
Costa Rica
Zimbabwe
Indonesia
Argentina
Colombia
Malaysia
Thailand
Uruguay
Vietnam
Ethiopia
Mexico
Nigeria
Poland
Ghana
Kenya
Oman
Brazil
Egypt
Chile
UAE
Index Score
METHODOLOGY
Index Score
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Industrial Capacity
Kyrgyz Republic
Bangladesh
Geospatial Readiness Index

Geospatial Infrastructure &
Zimbabwe
Vietnam
User Adoption Level

Policy Framework
El Salvador
Industry Fabric
Costa Rica
Ghana
Nigeria
Geospatial Readiness Index of Countries — Pillar Comparison
Ethiopia
Institutional Infrastructure
Philippines
Kenya
Oman
Thailand
Egypt
Indonesia
Argentina
Colombia
Chile
Uruguay
Geospatial Infrastructure and Policy Framework

Mexico
Malaysia
South Africa
Brazil
UAE
Greece
Poland
New Zealand
India
Portugal
South Korea
Italy
Finland
Norway
Spain
Denmark
Sweden
User Adoption
Australia
Belgium
Switzerland
Singapore
China
France
Austria
Geospatial Readiness Index
Japan
Russia
Germany
Canada
The Netherlands
United Kingdom
United States
World 50
5
0
25
20
15
10
Pilar Score
Pillar Score
INFERENCES
GEOSPATIAL INFRASTRUCTURE INSTITUTIONAL

AND POLICY FRAMEWORK CAPACITY
 United States of America, The Netherlands,  United States of America, Germany, Canada,
Denmark, Canada, Russia, Germany, Singapore, United Kingdom and Australia are the leading
France and United Kingdom are the leading countries in overall geospatial readiness of
countries the overall geospatial readiness the institutional capacity
of the Geospatial Infrastructure and Policy
 Enormous gaps is visible in geospatial
Framework.
human capacity of developed and developing
 The geospatial infrastructure in terms of countries
national geospatial infrastructure, geoportal and
 Russia and the Eastern European region
platforms and positioning infrastructure in the
have scored higher in incubation centers
developed countries are well established and
and fundamental research courses but rank
operational; underdeveloped countries are still
lower in vocational courses because these
at the planning stage.
countries are focussing more on higher level
 The legal framework is more open and of education and to produce highly capable
flexible in nature in the developed nations, the human resource for the geospatial industry.
developing countries and the underdeveloped
nations have conservative frameworks to
support the Geospatial industry.
USER INDUSTRY
ADOPTION LEVEL FABRIC
 United States of America, United Kingdom,  United States of America, Canada, United
the Netherlands, Singapore, Austria, Germany Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands are
are the leaders in the user level adoption of the top 5 countries with an adequate Industry
geospatial technology and thereby lead the fabric that caters to the product, service and
geospatial readiness index for the user adoption solutions segment.
among the 50 selected countries.
 The gap between the industry – ecosystem of
 There is an enormous gap in the usability of developed countries and under-developed or
geospatial technology between developed and emerging nations is visible.
emerging economies.
 India makes an entry into the top 10 countries
 Most emerging economies are at the beginner's for geospatial readiness for service providers
stage of use of geospatial adoption because of strong imprint of service
companies in the region.
 System integration level of adoption and
enterprise level of adoption, both are
significantly prominent in the developed
countries while the emerging economies catch
up to their advanced status.

Singapore has broadened its tech-
METHODOLOGY
COUNTRIES
nological capacities viz-à-viz the
geospatial area and has embarked
on several geospatial initiatives to
GEOSPATIAL
increase efficiency and produc-
tivity through seamless workflows
READINESS
INDEX The Indian geospatial industry is
witnessing tremendous opportunity
and is on the threshold of a major
transformation. The geospatial
industry is striding ahead with its
enterprising spirit
Rank Rank
1 2 Rank
Rank Rank
3 4 Rank Rank
5 6 Rank Rank
7 8 Rank Rank
9 10 11 Rank Rank Rank
12 13 Rank
14 15 Rank Rank
16 17 Rank Rank
18 Rank
19 20 Rank Rank
United Kingdom
The Netherlands
21 Rank
United States
22 23 Rank Rank
24 25
Germany
Canada
Russia
Switzerland
Singapore
Austria
Japan
France
China
Belgium
Australia
Denmark
Sweden
South Korea
Norway
New Zealand
Spain
Finland
Portugal
Italy
Poland
India
Geospatial Industry has been
part of the Chinese government
agenda in the current 12th
Year Plan (2011-2016), with an
average annual increase of 25%
in investment
Driven by the geospatial hardware

Canada is one of the most industry, strong institutional capacity,
United States of America holds sophisticated and geospatial consistent government policies and
the top position in the global innovative society riding on open investments and integration of geospatial
geospatial readiness index for the data policies, institutions to technologies to serve horizontal
country has it all – an efficient promote strong geospatial uptake applications in vertical industries; the
geospatial infrastructure, an at national, regional and local German geospatial industry has been
enabling policy framework, an levels growing continuously over the years –
excellent institutional capacity, the showing no signs of slow down.
strongest industry capacity and
an in-depth user adoption across
all industry verticals

METHODOLOGY
The Brazilian geospatial industry

is maturing as there is a growing South Africa has been progres-
realisation of the benefits of sive in the use of geospatial
using geospatial technology, need technology by adopting the latest
for an operational geospatial technologies and formulating legal
infrastructure and the growing framework and policies to enhance
demand for institutional capacity the uptake of spatial information In July 2016, Bangladesh
in the country initiated the process of setting
up a National Spatial Data
Infrastructure by developing a
national committee led by the
defense ministry to lay out strong
guidelines and formulate an action
strategy.
Rank
Rank
26 27
Rank
28 Rank Rank Rank
29 30 Rank Rank
31
32 33 Rank Rank Rank
34 35 Rank
36 37 Rank Rank
38 39 Rank Rank
42
45 46 Rank
47 48 Rank Rank
49
50
South Africa
Greece
Malaysia
Brazil
UAE
Uruguay
Mexico
Colombia
Argentina
Indonesia
Chile
Thailand
Philippines
Egypt
Oman
Kyrgyz Republic
Ethiopia
Kenya
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Nigeria
Bangladesh
Zimbabwe
Ghana
Vietnam
The Malaysian geospatial

industry is growing from
The geospatial industry is
strength to strength with respect
fairly mature in the UAE with The road to Indonesia’s NSDI
to use of geospatial data for
governments making significant is accredited to the historic
planning, infrastructure devel-
investments in geospatial move by the Indonesia Mapping
opment, asset management,
technology. The use of agency i.e. the establishment
disaster preparedness, etc.,
geospatial technology in the UAE of the Geospatial Information
but faces challenges related to
is spread across various industry Act on April 21, 2011.
policy framework and institu-
verticals including environment,
tional capacity.
oil and gas, constructions,
utilities, transport, etc.

PARTNERS
PROFILE
ABOUT US
AAM’s GeoSolutions enable the Digital Revolution
Smart Cities, Big Data, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, the Cloud. These
technologies are changing the way in which we live and interact with the world.
Driverless cars, augmented reality and on-demand-services powered by Smart Apps
are set to further transform our lives. The Digital Revolution is truly upon us.
AAM’s ‘GEOCIRRUS Cities’ 3D City Models provide the building blocks

for Smart City applications. No matter what the Smart City Application,
detailed 3D models provide a framework for, and give context to, all
manner of intelligent ‘apps’, from smart street lighting to green rooftops
and community engaged urban planning.
MARK FREEBURN
CEO
AAM’s Mobile Mapping technology underpins intelligent transport
systems, from monitoring road traffic flows through to planning new
road and rail corridors or enabling driverless vehicle precincts, rich
detailed models provide the base for informed analysis and decision
making.
START OF OPERATIONS
1952
AAM continue to provide world leading solutions in surveying, airborne
HEADQUARTERS mapping and remote sensing. Our tools range from our fleet of nimble
Australia drones, perfect for small areas, corridor and linear inspection, through
to traditional aircraft mounted LiDAR systems, capable of mapping
an entire continent. No matter what the application, from national
mapping, to agriculture, natural resource management or monitoring
EMPLOYEES
power transmission lines, AAM solutions underpin intelligent analysis,
500 applications and solutions.
OFFICE LOCATIONS GEOCIRRUS is AAM’s cloud based platform providing content,

infrastructure and geospatial applications as a service. GEOCIRRUS
enables data discovery, system integration along with a raft of web based
geospatial applications and analysis.
Singapore
New Zealand
India
Africa Australia
Malaysia
CONTACT
For decades, AAM’s Geo-Solutions have enabled our clients to measure,
Level 1 Leichhardt Court monitor and visualise the natural and built environment. Today, as the world
55 Little Edward Street changes at an ever increasing pace, AAM’s GeoSolutions are truly providing the
Spring Hill QLD 4000 framework to enable the digital and virtual revolution in which we are living.
Phone: +61 (0)7 3620 3111
Website: www.aamgroup.com
ABOUT US
Cyient is a global provider of engineering, manufacturing, geospatial, data analytics,
networks and operations solutions. With robust and automated systems that have evolved
over the past 25 years in data acquisition, processing, mapping, modelling and application
development, Cyient offers end-to-end geospatial and data solutions.
Designing Tomorrow Together Recognized as a trusted technology partner with global delivery models and processes,
Cyient can leverage the full potential of geospatial technology. Our services focus on
systems’ development for visualization and editing of geographic data, analysis of spatial
relationships, and efficient spatial data management. At Cyient, we can also help clients’
business needs by designing, building, implementing bespoke geospatial applications and
integrating them with their business processes.
We collaborate with our clients to help them achieve more and shape a better future
together. We call it “Designing Tomorrow Together”.
DESIGNING TOMORROW TOGETHER
Leveraging our design Our work is future facing, By doing more and
engineering and solving problems large working closely with
technology expertise and small that can make our associates, clients
BVR MOHAN REDDY we deliver practical a positive difference to and partners, we build
solutions that make everyone's tomorrow a virtuous circle of
Founder & Executive
things better, every day collaboration and trust
Chairman
SERVICES & SOLUTIONS PORTFOLIO

DATA ACQUISITION & MAPPING & SOFTWARE &
START OF OPERATIONS PROCESSING MODELING SOLUTIONS
 LiDAR capture &  2D feature extraction &  Application development
1991 processing
 Aerial imagery capture &
processing
mapping
 3D feature extraction &
mapping
 Automated data
classification & capture
 Enterprise GIS
 Oblique imagery capture &  3D modeling  3D web GIS
HEADQUARTERS
processing  Ground survey support  Analytics solutions
India  UAV data capture &

processing
 Mobile mapping
 Data management &
maintenance
 Mobile & cross platform
solutions
 Integration with business
processes
TURNOVER
$472 mn FOCUS INDUSTRIES

Aerospace & Defence I Rail Transportation I Communications I Utilities I Navigation I Oil &
Gas I Medical Technology I Power Generation I Semiconductor I Off-Highway & Industrial
EMPLOYEES
13,800 COLLABORATION AND PARTNERSHIPS

Cyient’s growth story has been an ambitious blend of organic investments, technology and business
acquisitions, and steady partnerships. The first phase of its 25-year journey saw the acquisition
of Dataview Solutions Ltd., Cartographic Sciences Ltd., Advanced Graphics Software Gmbh, and
Map Centric, which enabled it to move up the geospatial value chain. The recent acquisition of
OFFICE LOCATIONS Blom Aerofilms Ltd progressed Cyient into a truly complete data solutions provider. Strong long-
term partnerships with technology companies such as Esri, GE, Autodesk and Hexagon have
successfully enabled Cyient transform into a name to reckon with in the global geospatial industry.
VALUE TO USER
— Strong capabilities combined with a network of more than 13,800 associates across 38 global
locations enable us to deliver measurable and substantial benefits to organizations.
— Twenty-five years of global industry experience, domain expertise and innovation
— Investments in virtuous circle of value-creating and sustainable partnerships
— Strong expertise in working with all industry-standard data models across all phases including
design, development, customization, and implementation
— End-to-end GIS solutions
CONTACT — Proven in-house data migration, productivity, and quality tools for deploying validated solutions
rapidly
Cyient Limited — Focused technology practices with a flexible global delivery model and complete project life
cycle ownership
Software Units Layout
Infocity, Madhapur
Hyderabad - 500081, India AWARDS & ACCOLADES
Phone: +91 40 6764 1000 — Recipient of “Solutions Company of the Year 2016” awarded by
Fax: +91 40 2311 0352 Geospatial Media & Communications.
Email: [email protected] — Itron Ignite Innovation Challenge Winners 2016
Website: www.cyient.com — Asian Utility Week 2016 - Best Customer Value AMI
ABOUT US
DigitalGlobe is the world’s leading provider of high-resolution Earth imagery, data, and
analysis. With the most sophisticated commercial satellite constellation on orbit, we create
the world’s smartest images, to give customers confidence when making decisions that
matter most. Customers everywhere rely on our best-in-class technology, global coverage,
and 16-year time-lapse image library for the most exacting, mission-critical information
available about our changing planet. By helping customers solve their most difficult
challenges, DigitalGlobe has become the trusted partner for dozens of industries worldwide,
from environmental monitoring to mapmaking, from defense to public safety.
INDUSTRY LEADER HIGHEST QUALITY FLEXIBLE PLATFORMS
DigitalGlobe is With unsurpassed Our powerful

a trusted and native resolution and cloud-based platforms
experienced partner locational accuracy, enable information
to governments and DigitalGlobe images extraction and machine
businesses around the contain more information learning on a
globe. than resampled lower global scale.
resolution alternatives.
JEFFREY R. TARR
CEO
PRODUCT PORTFOLIO
DigitalGlobe offers Earth imagery from our constellation of high-resolution satellites, as well
as geospatial platforms and services that combine our Earth imagery, analytic expertise and
innovative technology to deliver integrated solutions. The result is a comprehensive product
suite that meets needs of advanced imagery users, developers, business professionals, and
START OF OPERATIONS more.
1992 CONTENT
For satellite imagery and
geospatial information
ACCESS
For all producers and
users of geospatial data
EXPERTISE
For decision makers
across a wide range of
HEADQUARTERS users across all industries. as well as app developers commercial, security and
Select the exact image, and programmers. Use humanitarian applications
USA elevation model or dataset

you need from anywhere
in the world. Download
our imagery and data
platforms to unlock critical
information about our
who can benefit from our
unsurpassed insight and
deep analytic capabilities.
it. Own it. Add it to your changing planet at any Leverage our experience to
TURNOVER workflow in the way that scale to create actionable, confidently solve your most
$700 mn works best. world-changing solutions. difficult challenges.
EMPLOYEES
FOCUS INDUSTRIES
2,000 Location-Based Services & Navigation | Civil Government | Oil & Gas| Defense & Intelligence
| Telecommunications | Global Development Organizations | Mining | Public Safety |
Insurance & Finance | Forestry & Environment
COLLABORATION AND PARTNERSHIPS

OFFICE LOCATIONS Our robust partner community is an important ingredient in solving our customers’
Westminster, CO geospatial challenges. DigitalGlobe certified resellers specialize in many types of geospatial
London industries and applications that help customers effectively meet business needs.
Herndon, VA
In 2014, DigitalGlobe acquired Spatial Energy and gained more robust, multi-source
geospatial solutions for energy companies. In 2016, DigitalGlobe acquired The Radiant Group
in an important step in deriving new insights for customers from our imagery and other
Singapore geospatial information sources.
Longmont, CO
Abu Dhabi
Tampa, FL Washington, D.C. VALUE TO USER
— Sharpest resolution - The first and only company to deliver true 30 cm resolution imagery.
CONTACT Clearer images empower better decisions.
— Unsurpassed haze penetration - Our technology can see through smoke and haze so you
1300 W. 120th Ave can clearly detect objects on the other side.
Westminster, CO, 80234 — Broadest spectral diversity - Our multispectral capabilities give you the most feature
identification opportunities.
Toll Free: 800.655.7929 — Frequent revisit rate - Our satellites revisit at a high rate, so you can detect changes over
Phone: 303.684.4000 extremely short periods of time.
Website: digitalglobe.com — Best locational accuracy - Industry-leading accuracy standards help create maps that
inspire confidence.
ABOUT US
Esri, the global market leader in geographic information systems (GIS) technology, offers
R the most powerful mapping and spatial analytics tools available. Since 1969, Esri has
helped customers unlock the full potential of data to improve operational and business
results. Today, Esri software is deployed in more than 350,000 organizations including the
world’s largest cities, most national governments, more than 75% of the Fortune 500, and
The Science of Where more than 7,000 colleges and universities. Esri designs and engineers the most advanced
solutions for today’s distributed computing platforms to create the maps that run the
world. Visit us at esri.com.
BUSINESS SENSE FOCUS ON USER EXPERIENCE FUTURE READY TECHNOLOGY
We help people Our direct work with GIS is capable of

efficiently manage, users helps us to evolve managing and
use, and serve and improve our software modeling big data to
geographic information to better meet the needs create accurate spatial
to make sense of the of every industry. predictions that will help
world around them. shape the future of our
JACK DANGERMOND planet.
President/Founder
PRODUCT PORTFOLIO
ArcGIS provides contextual tools for mapping and spatial reasoning so you can explore data
and share location-based insights. ArcGIS creates a deeper understanding, allowing you to
START OF OPERATIONS quickly see where things are happening and how information is connected.
1969 CONTENT MAPPING ANALYSIS

 Data Collection  B ase Maps  Contextual
HEADQUARTERS  Data Management  Data Layers  Patterns
 Authoritative Contributions  Web  Relationships
USA  Sensor

 Imagery
 2 and 3D
 Real Time
 Temporal
 Predictive
EMPLOYEES
3800 FOCUS INDUSTRIES

Government| Business| Utilities and Communications| Natural Resources| Defense and
Intelligence| Education and Training| Health and Human Services| Transportation| Public
Safety

More than 350,000 organization rely on Esri software. Esri's 2,200+ global partners provide
OFFICE LOCATIONS customer-focused, geographically-enabled solutions that span dozens of industries.
Products and services range from configured apps and custom-built solutions to complete
ArcGIS system implementations and content. Hundreds of organizations in Esri’s user
community contribute their authoritative content which Esri builds into its platform as part of
the user experience.
In more than 90 locations worldwide
VALUE TO USER
— Transform data into valuable information to drive decision making, design, and
collaboration.
— Improve business practices by applying location-based analysis.
CONTACT — Share insights and collaborate with others via apps, maps, and reports.
— Develop web products that increase efficiency, engagement, increase enterprise
intelligence.
Esri
380 New York St.
Redlands California AWARDS & ACCOLADES
Phone: (909) 793-2853 2016 TM Forum Live! Award for Internet of Things; 2016 Microsoft Azure
Website: www.esri.com Certified ISV Solution Partner of the Year Award; PwC Recognized Esri as
one of the 25 fastest growing cloud companies in 2016.
ABOUT US
FARO is the world’s most trusted source for 3D measurement, imaging, and realization
technology. The Company develops and markets computer-aided measurement and imaging
devices and software. Technology from FARO permits high-precision 3D measurement,
imaging and comparison of parts and complex structures within production and quality
assurance processes. The devices are used for inspecting components and assemblies,
rapid prototyping, documenting large volume spaces or structures in 3D, surveying and
construction, as well as for investigation and reconstruction of accident sites or crime scenes.
FARO’s business is mainly segmented into 5 vertically focused teams – namely, factory
metrology, product design, construction BIM-CIM, public safety forensics, and 3D solutions
and services applications. This purpose of this segmentation is to develop and deliver industry
and application specific solutions to our customers.
PRODUCT PORTFOLIO
FOCUSS FOCUS3D X HDR FREESTYLE3D X
Key Features Key Features Key Features
JOE AREZONE Accuracy ± 1mm Accuracy ± 2mm Accuracy of ± 1mm
Chief Commercial Officer Scanning range from 0.6m to 150m and Scanning range from 0.6m-130m & 330m Scanning range from 0.5m to 3m
350m, IP 54, Extended temperature range HDR delivers authentic color imagery Intuitive plug and play system
Focuss combines hallmark features of The Focus3D X HDR is a high-speed The FARO Freestyle3D X is a top-quality,
the FARO® Focus3D product line with 3D laser scanner with mid to long durable, industrial-grade and high-
significant technological innovations range options. Scan in varying lighting precision handheld scanner for AEC
such as Ingress Protection Rating (IP54), conditions to deliver realistic results. professionals. It quickly and reliably
increased scanning accuracy, internal With its integrated GPS receiver, the laser documents rooms, structures and objects
START OF OPERATIONS accessory bay & built-in compensation scanner correlates individual scans in in 3D and creates high-definition point
routine. post-processing. clouds.
1982 • Capture outdoors with the certified

industry standard Ingress Protection
• Scan precisely with authentic color
imagery even under challenging
• Scan around corners where visibility
and lighting conditions is limited
(IP) Rating, IP54 lighting conditions • Capture many surfaces in a wide
GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS • Scan with improved accuracy and • Conduct fast and high-precision range of environments with or without
distance via dual-axis compensator and scanning in direct sunlight artificial targets
USA angular measurement

• Conduct on-site compensation routines
for confident high data quality
• Use the GPS receiver to correlate
individual scans and simply workflows
during processing
• Calibrate on-site, ensuring consistent
and high quality data
• Combine results from Focus Laser
• Operate the scanner in temperatures • Survey with fewer scans with extended Scanners and the Freestyle3D X, even
EMPLOYEES as low as -4°F (-20°C) and upto in gray scale
ranges, thus resulting in faster project
1000+
131°F (55°C) completion
FOCUS INDUSTRIES
Manufacturing, Construction, Public Safety and Historical Preservation
OFFICE LOCATIONS
A HISTORY OF INNOVATION
Switzerland United Kingdom The Netherlands
Germany China 1994: Evolves from medical 3D component construction to manufacturing
Poland France
1995: Introduces FaroArm®
Canada Italy 1996: FARO Arm Platinum becomes world‘s best selling measurement arm
USA Japan
Spain
South Korea
2004: Introduces Xtreme ADM Technology
Mexico
Brazil
2009: Introduces world‘s most accurate laser tracker - ION® Laser Tracker
India
Australia
Thailand 2010: Introduces world‘s smallest and lightest 3D laser scanner Focus3D
Turkey
Malaysia 2014: Introduces new blue laser technology for high definition
CONTACT
AWARDS & ACCOLADES
FARO Singapore Pte Ltd
No. 3 Changi South Street 2 2012 FOCUS3D S 2014 FOCUS3D X 330
#01-01 Xilin Districentre Building B
– Red dot design award “Best of Best” – Geospatial Technology Innovation Award 2014
Singapore 486548
– IF Design Gold Award
Phone: +65.65111350 – “Hardware Product of the Year” Construction
2015 FREESTYLE3D
Fax: +65.65430111 Computing Award 2012 – Red dot design award 2015
Website: www.faro.com – Innovation Prize for Architecture and Construction – “Hardware Product of 2015 ” Construction Computing Award
Email: [email protected]
ABOUT US
IIC Technologies provides geospatial engineering solutions to organizations across
aerospace, defense, government, infrastructure, natural resources, transportation, and
utility sectors. Armed with state-of the-art geospatial technology, rich domain experience,
and system integration expertise we collaborate closely with our clients, to address their
unique challenges and opportunities. Operating from our offices across four continents, we
deliver on the entire geospatial value chain from surveys to end-user products and software
applications for decision makers.
SURVEYS AND DATA ACQUISITION
 Topographic, Hydrographic and Bathymetric, and Geotechnical

Geophysical Surveys Surveys
 Airborne, terrestrial, and marine  Cadastral mapping, Engineering
surveys and Geodetic surveys
 LiDAR, Photogrammetric,
RAJESH ALLA DATA CONVERSION AND MODELING SOLUTIONS

Chairman & Managing
Director  Marine and Aeronautical  Land information systems
Navigation Products  3D Modeling
 Geospatial database services  Heritage mapping
 Photogrammetric services
ENGINEERING AND CONSULTING SERVICES

START OF OPERATIONS
 Conceptual plans and feasibility  Detailed Project Reports (DPR)
1993 studies
 Detailed surveys and
 Pre-tender engineering
 BIM and digital engineering
investigations
HEADQUARTERS
India SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS AND SYSTEMS INTEGRATION
 Geoportals ERP applications

 e-Commerce extensions to  Embedded systems
EMPLOYEES geospatial applications  Systems integration
1000+  Integration of GIS solutions with
TRAINING
 Ensuring  Skill development

successful deployment and  Capacity building in industry
OFFICE LOCATIONS transfer of technology
Canada United Kingdom
USA
India FOCUS INDUSTRIES

UAE We deliver solutions to address unique opportunities and challenges for our client’s, across
Australia
many industries including:
| Aeronautics | Defense | Government | Heritage| Irrigation |Marine | Mining and Minerals |
CONTACT Railways | Roads & Highways | Water Resources
8-2-350/5/B-22, Road No 3, Banjara Hills

Hyderabad, Telangana, India 500 034 ASSOCIATIONS
We collaborate very closely with leading industry and government bodies to help define,
Phone: +91 (40) 3914 4444 develop and propagate standards in the geospatial arena. The International Hydrographic
Fax: +91 (40) 3914 4455 Organization (IHO), Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), Association of Geospatial Industries
Website: www.iictechnologies.com (AGI), International Airborne Geophysics Safety Association (IAGSA), various national
Email: [email protected] hydrographic agencies, etc., are some of our key partners in the industry.
ABOUT US
Luciad delivers geospatial software solutions that power the world’s mission critical
operations. Our APIs provide developers with advanced visual analytics that allow them to
unlock the potential of real time location intelligence and create the foundations for next
generation geospatial systems.
“Connect, visualize, analyze, act” is both our method and our motto.
PERFORMANCE AS FLUID GEOSPATIAL ANALYTICS CRUCIAL INSIGHTS IN

AS DATA FOR THE FUTURE REAL TIME
The human eye is a The volume of data we Luciad provides the

highly developed tool for produce is growing at foundations for truly
picking up movement, an exponential rate. interactive solutions
but works best with Luciad provides the capable of analyzing
seamless movement. building blocks which and visualizing real-
Systems enable time data. Whether in
built with Luciad users to develop 2D, the control room or
technology provide a 3D and 4D visualization the board room, our
MARC MELVIEZ performance at 60FPS solutions which can advanced geospatial
even when managing scale to meet future analytics enable
CEO complex and continuous challenges. split-second decision
moving data. making.
PRODUCT PORTFOLIO
Our software components empower users to unlock the power of advanced geospatial
START OF OPERATIONS analytics, providing real-time situational awareness that the modern world demands.
1999 LUCIADRIA
Key Features
LUCIADLIGHTSPEED
Key Features
LUCIADFUSION
Key Features
Full browser-based platform High performance and Powerful server solution
HEADQUARTERS Seamless 2D & 3D views precision Handle multi-layered &
HTML5, Java & WebGL Easy-to-use API multi-dimensional data
Belgium powered
No plug-ins
Modular, open architecture
Flexible deployment
Central management and
quick access to data
EMPLOYEES

Aviation, Defense, Homeland Security, Logistics, Maritime, Public Safety, Utilities

In addition to developing high performance geospatial software solutions, Luciad contributes
OFFICE LOCATIONS to open geospatial standards development as a long-term member of the Open Geospatial
Consortium (OGC). Luciad also works with many technology partners including AFCEA, Barco,
Leuven, Cloudalize, DigitalGlobe, exactEarth, Hortonworks, Open Design Alliance, Oracle and Nvidia.
Belgium Munich
VALUE TO USER
Paris
Washington, DC
Madrid Singapore From safeguarding critical assets to creating the digital infrastructure for smart cities, we
Mexico City help users implement intuitive command and control systems for leading organizations
Ankara
such as Airbus Defence and Space, Lufthansa Systems, NATO, Lockheed Martin and Thales.
Our customers depend on Luciad for high performance visualization that allows them to
implement scalable solutions. We provide users:
— Accurate, high performance visualization of their datasets
CONTACT — Advanced visual analytics to make sense of big data
— Powerful, flexible API to handle the most complex data
Luciad
Gaston Geenslaan 11
B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
AWARDS & ACCOLADES
2015 Geospatial Excellence Award: “LuciadRIA – 3D Situational Awareness in the Browser” (Geospatial World Awards)
Phone: +32 16 23 95 91
Best in Class Solution: “CAPS (Collaborative Airspace Provision Service)” (2014 SWIM Master Class,
Website: www.luciad.com
Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR))
Best in Class Runner-Up Solution: ”Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Systems Very Low Level Operation Coordination (RPAS
VLLOC)” (2014 SWIM Master Class, Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR))
ABOUT US
With almost 40 years experience in the research, development & production of laser
rangefinders, distance meters, scanners and scanning systems, RIEGL delivers proven
innovation in 3D.
The RIEGL headquarters are located in Austria, with international main offices in the USA,
China, and Japan. RIEGL employs roughly 200 highly skilled and motivated staff members in
research, development, production, marketing, sales, training and administration worldwide
who deliver highest quality LiDAR products and outstanding customer service to the
marketplace.
RIEGL is renowned for its constant efforts in LiDAR technology development and innovations
like echo digitization, online waveform processing, full waveform analysis, and multiple-time-
around processing which have left an significant imprint in the whole industry.
BUSINESS SENSE USER-FRIENDLINESS FOCUS ON TECHNOLOGY
Highest accuracy Providing devices Current R&D efforts are

and reliabilty to and systems that are the basis for providing
satisfy customers’ tailored for the special latest waveform LiDAR
expactations - that’s requirements of our technology resulting in
DR. JOHANNES RIEGL our ambition, not only customers result in user- the best possible value
CEO for our products but friendly solutions for for our customers and
also for partnership. every unique business. their business.
PRODUCT PORTFOLIO
START OF OPERATIONS The broad RIEGL portfolio comprises various laser scanners and laser scanning systems
1978
for terrestrial, industrial, mobile, bathymetric, airborne and UAS-based applications.
The sophisticated hardware is complemented by innovative software resulting in powerful
solutions for nearly all imaginable fields in surveying. Some of our current key products are:
HEADQUARTERS
RIEGL VZ-400i RIEGL VQ-1560i RiCOPTER
Austria Extremely Fast

3D Terrestrial Laser
Dual Channel
Waveform Processing
Remotely piloted
aircraft system for
Scanner System Airborne LiDAR UAV-based surveying
TURNOVER innovative new processing Scanning System with fully integrated
$50 mn architecture and latest

waveform processing
technology
for ultra wide area / high
altitude mapping
RIEGL VUX-SYS
LiDAR system
EMPLOYEES

Mining I Mapping I Monitoring I Civil Engineering I Archaeology & Cultural Heritage I City
Modeling I Agriculture & Forestry I Hydrography I Investigation I Emergency Management
OFFICE LOCATIONS
China
Austria Worldwide sales, training, support and services are delivered from RIEGL’s Austrian
headquarters and its offices in Vienna, Salzburg, and Styria, main offices in the USA, China,
and in Japan, and by a worldwide network of representatives covering Europe, North and
USA South America, Asia, Australia and Africa.
Japan Current cooperations with numerous universities and technical institutions worldwide as
provide a sound basis for developing and testing new technologies and equipments.
VALUE TO USER
CONTACT According to the slogan “Innovation in 3D” RIEGL provides:
— sophisticated state-of-the-art Waveform LiDAR processing technology
RIEGL Laser Measurement — highest performance, quality, reliability, and longevity of all products and services
Systems GmbH — strict adherence to applicable international standards
— perfect fullfilment of measurement requirements and customers’ expectations
Riedenburgstr. 48, 3580 Horn, Austria
Phone: +43 2982 4211
Fax: +43 2982 4210 AWARDS & ACCOLADES
Website: www.riegl.com among many others RIEGL was awarded with the Geospatial Innovation
Email: [email protected] Award in 2013 and 2014
ABOUT US
Rolta is a leading provider of innovative IP-led IT solutions for many vertical segments,
including Federal and State Governments, Utilities, Oil & Gas, Petrochemicals, Financial
Services, Manufacturing, Retail, and Healthcare. Rolta is recognized for its extensive portfolio
of solutions based on field-proven Rolta IP tailored for Indian Defence and Homeland
Security. By uniquely combining its expertise in the IT, Engineering and Geospatial domains,
Rolta develops State-of-the-Art Digital Solutions incorporating rich Rolta IP in the areas of
Cloud, Mobility, IoT, BI and Big Data Analytics.
PRODUCT PORTFOLIO
Rolta has consciously made efforts to remain at the forefront as a solutions provider with a
sharp focus on the Digital revolution. Rolta’s relentless focus on R & D has undoubtedly been
a strong differentiator in its global go to market initiatives as a result of its rich and growing
IP. Rolta has about 250 copyrights and several patents filed in the US.
BI & BIG DATA SMART AND SAFE DEFENCE

ANALYTICS CITIES Rolta has long been a
Organisations require Rolta is perhaps one of the prominent member of
effective Asset Lifecycle few companies globally Indian Defence & Security
KK SINGH Management for both capable of undertaking the industry by investing years in
Chairman & CEO strategic planning as well end-to-end requirements pioneering new technologies
as tactical maintenance of Smart City projects. The for providing state-of-the-art
where seamless integration company has built its own solutions. The combination
and access to asset design domain expertise which of Rolta IPs, track record of
data is vital for effective translate into 100+ proven 20+ years, has led to Rolta
START OF OPERATIONS Management of Change IP solutions that are rapidly gaining a dominant share of
processes. Rolta’s flagship deployable. A pioneer in the C2ISR market. Recently
1989 Rolta OneView™ Enterprise

Suite was therefore designed
from the grounds up
the fields of Geospatial,
Engineering and ICT, Rolta
has been working for more
the exclusive consortium
of Bharat Electronics
Limited (BEL) and Rolta
HEADQUARTERS with Rolta OT/IT Fusion™ than two decades with were selected as a Design
incorporating Rolta’s governments across the Agency for the prestigious
India patented Rolta iPerspective™

technology for secure real-
time ingestion of IoT and
globe to provide better
services to citizens. Rolta has
successfully implemented
and large value Battlefield
Management System.
TURNOVER OT data together with Rolta hundreds of sophisticated
$584 mn
Engineering and Geospatial solutions globally and now
Fusion to populate its rich has a formidable array of
industry specific Knowledge Smart City solutions.
Model.
EMPLOYEES
2500
FOCUS INDUSTRIES
OFFICE LOCATIONS Defence, Homeland and Maritime Security, Federal & State Governments, Oil & Gas,
Petrochemicals, Chemicals, Utilities, Manufacturing, Financial Services, Retail, and
Canada United Kingdom Healthcare

USA
Bahrain
Rolta has forged strategic partnerships with world leaders to exploit cutting-edge technology
UAE
and penetrate newer markets. Besides Rolta's own expertise and IP, the company
India appreciates the value of partnerships with industry technology leaders. Some of our strategic
Saudi Arabia
Oman
partnerships that have been a source of strength to the company are - Bharat Electronics
Ltd., Oracle, SAP, Microsoft, IBM, ESRI, HP, EMC, VMWare, Danphone, Ness Technologies,
Controp, Konsberg, Airbus Defence & Space amongst others.
CONTACT
VALUABLE FEATURES AND BENEFITS
Rolta Tower A Rolta combines the domains of IT, Business Intelligence & Big Data, Geospatial &
Rolta Technology Park Engineering and Defence & Security to provide unique and highly differentiated IP led
MIDC, Andheri (East) solutions to its customers. Rolta has developed some very powerful software suites capable
Mumbai 400 093, India of seamlessly integrating IT, OT, geospatial and engineering data from disparate sources in an
enterprise and present unified Business Analytics in real-time. This differentiated and unique
Phone: +91 (22) 2926 6666, 3087 combination has given Rolta a significant competitive edge and permitted the company to
Fax: +91 (22) 2836 5992 establish itself as a mature global IT provider. Rolta’s holistic approach, innovative IP and
Website: www.rolta.com domain expertise to help customers to traverse through their Digital Transformation.
ABOUT US
Trimble is transforming the way the world works.
Trimble is transforming the way the world works by delivering products and services
that connect the physical and digital worlds. Core technologies in positioning, modeling,
connectivity and data analytics enable customers to improve productivity, quality, safety,
and sustainability. from purpose built products to enterprise lifecycle solutions, Trimble
software, hardware and services are transforming a broad range of industries such as
agriculture, construction, geospatial and transportation and logistics.
OUR HISTORY
From Silicon Valley to a global presence. In a few short decades.
Every brand has history. Ours starts with Charlie Trimble and two others from
Hewlett-Packard. They didn’t know they were creating an entire industry when
they founded Trimble in 1978. But that’s just what they did.
OUR PURPOSE
STEVE W. BERGLUND Our place in the world. Our reason for being.
CEO At Trimble, we keep our feet on the ground and our eyes on the horizon. Because
we believe it isn’t enough just to keep pace. We’re intent on leading the way by
creating breakthrough solutions that solve customers’ problems so they can be more
productive and more profitable.
OUR FOCUS
START OF OPERATIONS Our focus revolves around building lasting relationships with each and every
1978
customer. By providing positioning solutions, we are able to help our customers
make intelligent decisions, solve complex problems, optimize productivity, improve
operating results and safety.
HEADQUARTERS
America PRODUCT PORTFOLIO

Trimble operates through four segments: Engineering and Construction, Field Solutions,
EMPLOYEES Mobile Solutions and Advanced Devices.
8600 Positioning
Wide range of positioning technologies
Automation
Products include equipment that
including GPS, laser, optical and inertial automates large industrial equipment,
technologies with application software, such as tractors and bulldozers;
integrated systems that track fleets
wireless communications, and services
of vehicles and workers and provide
to provide complete commercial
information and analytics to the
solutions. Its integrated solutions allow back-office; data collection systems
customers to collect, manage and that enable the management of geo-
OFFICE LOCATIONS analyze complex information faster and referenced information; software
easier, making them more productive, solutions that connect all aspects of a
United Kingdom Russia
efficient and profitable. construction site or a farm, and building
Germany information modeling (BIM) software that
France is used throughout the design, build and
operation of buildings.
Italy
USA
Spain China
Brazil FOCUS INDUSTRIES

Professionals worldwide across numerous diverse markets including Agriculture, Civil
Construction, Buildings, Land Information, and Transportation and Logistics use our intuitive
products, reliable data, advanced modeling, professional services and powerful visualization tools.
CONTACT
Trimble Inc.
VALUE TO USER
935 Stewart Drive, Sunnyvale For over 35 years, supported by a global employee base and distributor network, Trimble has
delivered accurate information that our customers in over 150 countries can act upon with the
CA 94085
confidence. Whether we are providing high accuracy technology, a unique answer to a business
Phone: 1-408-481-8000 challenge or a product that is simple and easy to use, our solutions transform the way our
Website: www.trimble.com customers work. Bringing together the right resources and technologies provide our customers
Email: [email protected] with the experience they deserve.
ABOUT GEOSPATIAL MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS
Geospatial Media and Communications, with its vision of Making a Difference through Geospatial Knowledge in
World Economy and Society, works to build the geospatial industry in all its facets. It is a catalyst organisation
pursuing business objectives towards promotion and facilitation of growth of Geospatial Industry through creating
awareness, policy advocacy, business development and by connecting stakeholders and communities worldwide.
Since 1997, Geospatial Media has invested its energies and resources in developing geospatial market globally and
has provided a leadership role in promoting geospatial tools to several stakeholders with a thrust on prospective
industries. Headquartered in India, it has regional offices in USA, UAE, Brazil, South Africa, Malaysia and The Neth-
erlands.
Geospatial Media achieves its objectives by publishing content on geospatial technologies, trends, policies and ap-
plications. It also undertakes policy advocacy, business consulting and produces industry reports on market behav-
iour, requirements, challenges and prospects of geospatial information and applications for society and economy.
In addition, it is one of the few professional organisations that organises many national, regional and international
conferences on the domain.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Our appreciations to the efforts put in by the Geospatial Media and Communications’ Research team:
Ananya Narain
Akshithha KP
Kuhelee Chandel
Anamika Das
Preetinder Singh Dhami
Jyotsana Chuchra
for preparing a comprehensive report
To the Editorial team:

Anusuya Datta
Ishveena Singh
for their valuable inputs and review
To our Graphic team:

Pradeep Singh
Subhash Kumar
Manoj Kumar
for creating visual concepts
Special acknowledgement and sincere gratitude to:

Karthik Ramamurthy
Aswani Akela
Manoj Misra
Saurabh Rai
for their guidance and supervision.

For additional information contact:
Anamika Das
Vice President - Market Intelligence & Business Counsultancy
Geospatial Media and Communications Pvt. Ltd.,
A - 145, Sector 63, NOIDA, INDIA
Tel: +91-120-4612500
Website: www.geospatialmedia.net

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2017 EDITION

©Geospatial Media and Communications

Global Geospatial Industry Trends and Business Models

Geospatial Readiness Index of Countries

In this progressively complex and interconnected world, issues

Figure 1.1 Stakeholders of the Geospatial Industry Ecosystem

Geo-application Research and

Spatial and Non

8 | ©Geospatial Media and Communications

Figure 1.2 Key Influencers of Geospatial Industry

vehicles, unmanned aerial systems, trends are leading to diminished inno-

Global Geospatial Industry Outlook | 9

The Global Geospatial Industry Outlook is presented in two parts:

Global Geospatial Industry Trends Geospatial Readiness Index of

10 | ©Geospatial Media and Communications

Global Geospatial Industry Outlook | 11

PRIMARY RESEARCH PRIMARY

12 | ©Geospatial Media and Communications

`` Company annual reports To create a Countries' Geospatial

Global Geospatial Industry Outlook | 13

50 economies Identifying 50 countries for Identifying the Pillars, Sub-Pillars

14 | ©Geospatial Media and Communications

PILLAR I PILLAR II PILLAR III PILLAR IV

Global Geospatial Industry Outlook | 15

Data Infrastructure Fundamental Mapping or Product Companies

Policy Framework Business Enterprise

16 | ©Geospatial Media and Communications

PILLAR I: Geospatial Infrastructure & Policy Framework 25%

PILLAR II: Institutional Capacity 25%

PILLAR III: User Adoption Level 25%

PILLAR IV: Industry Capacity 25%

Global Geospatial Industry Outlook | 17

Interactions importance of each dataset, parameters adoption of geospatial technologies and

18 | ©Geospatial Media and Communications

This part of the study is the global evaluation of geospatial industry.

A detailed analysis of these is presented in the following pages

It could be stunning satellite imagery from space, or detailed

Today, billions of people are aware of and use spatial tech-

What Does the Geospatial Industry

Geospatial technologies include Geographic Information

20 | ©Geospatial Media and Communications

Figure 2.1 Components of Geospatial Technology

GIS /Spatial Analytics `` Web/Cloud GIS: A desktop or

Global Geospatial Industry Outlook | 21

GNSS & Positioning raphy (manned as well as unmanned

22 | ©Geospatial Media and Communications

GEOSPATIAL FACILITATOR PROCESSES MEDIUM

WORLD ECONOMY AND SOCIETY

EARTH ICT DIGITAL

STANDARDS & DEEP LEARNING /

WIRELESS & INTERNET OF ROBOTICS &

Global Geospatial Industry Outlook | 23

clubbed together as Geo Users. Traditional geospatial data, which

includes remotely sensed data, is

EARTH ICT DIGITAL

structured and stored for analysis

STANDARDS & DEEP LEARNING /

WIRELESS & INTERNET OF ROBOTICS &

ranges from improved efficiency of useful geospatial content like photos,

OPEN & LINKED