There are instances when GIS and Geo-analytics can be augmented with IoT (Internet of the things), leading to significant improvement in understanding of the data. Usage of Geo-analytics can reveal correlations, trends, patterns, opportunities and risks that are not so apparent with the same data presented in databases, files and spreadsheets. The technology can improve customer experience and help management team to make informed business decisions.
GIS is not just about the production of maps and display of coordinates. The variety and combinations of data that can be displayed and analyzed is very extensive.
It can include:
1. The location and status of individuals
2. Assets and network components;
3. Population distributions;
4. Demographics of particular areas;
5. Transport links;
6. Climate, weather and environmental events and trends;
7. Health indices;
8. Geology; and
9. Land Use,
just to name a few.
Although it has often been used for descriptive, reactive applications, geo-spatial analysis can be a powerful tool in predictive and proactive applications also.
Utility Service providers can use GIS internally to publish outage information across the entire organization, from engineering, to customer care, maintenance, marketing and the executive team. e.g. telecom, mobile, Internet service provider companies can use heat maps to identify and locate service faults and outages, to display critical wireless and Wi-Fi network performance parameters, and to flag congestion and capacity utilization.
Geo-analytics can be used to monitor mobile network signal quality in spatial terms which will allow operators to offer differentiated service quality based on location and on the historic value of a particular customer’s business.
Health agencies, utilities and urban planners are using GIS technology in eHealth, smart grid and smart city initiatives. The health sector can utilize geo-analytics for disease prediction, notification and control, and to discover geographies where the environment and/or demographics and lifestyle can have an adverse impact on health. Healthcare agencies can then use the information to target high-risk areas with the appropriate preventative information and countermeasures.
Some of the most promising applications for GIS and geo-analytics in digital health include:
> Ability to conduct non-invasive, continuous monitoring of patients either at home or in hospitals to supplement intermittent or periodic physical monitoring by clinical staff;
> Use of in-building location capabilities to enable new services such as pinpointing patients and tracking assets;
> Monitoring of diet and exercise through wearable devices to improve health;better management of mobile medical staff and emergency first responders;
> Improved ability to collect and analyze large samples of patient data to detect trends and patterns, which could be examined for correlations and/or used as early warning systems;
> Better tracking of tele-medicine in remote areas;increased use of electronic health records;
> Improved ability to monitor the impact of the environment on health and well-being;
> Development of comprehensive ‘ambient-assisted’ living systems for the elderly.
“Geospatial technology has advanced from what was a desktop-oriented environment some years ago to a web-based one,” says Eddie Oldfield, Chief Executive Officer, Spatial Quest Solutions, and Member, Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). “It is calling on many types of data from sensors, from databases, from human input and from mobiles, and is bringing these together for analysis, for map-making and a variety of other applications.”
Contact Agilytics at bd@agilytics.in for comprehensive understanding of usage of GIS and Geo-analytics for your business growth