We often mention being at the forefront of GIS – but what do we mean by that, exactly? And why is it important? The most recent Geospatial Commission report on building better decision making through the use of geospatial data throws some very helpful light on this.
Working in the industry we clearly understand the value of comprehensive, accessible location data. The tricky part is connecting the technical side with the end user, bringing multiple geospatial datasets into a single place and making them available via an easy to use, intuitive platform. Replacing lengthy, sometimes disconnected desktop studies, users are now able to build queries based on numerous risk and suitability rules.
This is why we talk about being at the forefront of GIS. It’s not just about access to data – it’s about easy, ready access to the data needed, simultaneously and at scale. We pride ourselves on empowering businesses and organisations to make informed, smart decisions through our user-friendly software combined with our powerful processing capabilities and weighted algorithms.
The UK Government also clearly recognises the same potential, with its most recent Geospatial Commission report identifying opportunities to unlock greater value across the property ecosystem through location data, technologies and services.
Here’s what it says at a glance:
- The new report identifies a significant opportunity for the property industry to embrace emerging technologies and digital tools enabled by location data.
- The report can be a catalyst for enabling change, supporting greater growth of the PropTech sector and promoting further innovation in the public sector.
- There is a technological revolution underway in the property industry, with data enabled opportunities to change further and faster.
The report highlights some key initiatives already underway across the property sector and identifies further opportunities where location data, services and applications can drive innovation across the property life cycle, including:
- Further digitisation of the property buying and selling process and ensuring data interoperability underpins the end-to-end process.
- Growing deployment of green technologies, like solar panels, heat pumps, insulation and energy efficiency solutions, into our homes by supporting better understanding of where they could have the greatest impact.
- Improving productivity in the industry through greater re-use of location data collected and created during design and construction to reduce costs, and support better targeting and design of retrofitting interventions.
Here’s an extract from the accompanying press release:
The UK property sector is undergoing a technological revolution, rapidly adopting new data-driven digital tools. Location data, services and applications are central to this revolution and essential for a well-functioning property sector, from town planning and site identification to property management and retrofitting.
The UK property sector contributes an estimated £100 billion to the UK economy each year. Applying a spatial lens is crucial to achieve the sector’s economic, social and environmental ambitions, boosting productivity and innovation, improving our residential areas and achieving net zero commitments.
It is encouraging to see the Government championing the sector. With emphasis placed on the digital transformation of location data, there are substantial opportunities for the housing, development, planning and renewable energy sectors (to name just a few) to operate more efficiently and to set an example for others to follow.
Renewables is one area we’re particularly excited about. Our technology has the potential to transform the renewable energy market by providing easy access to site data, allowing developers to make informed decisions on suitable sites.
Industry expert Dan Hughes from the Alpha Property Insight and Real Estate Data Foundation said, “The property sector is at the heart of a thriving economy, our impact on the planet and a healthy society, and the effective use of data is becoming increasingly important in ensuring that it operates effectively. The world is changing rapidly and so the depth and breadth of data used by property is growing equally fast and at the heart of this is high quality and trusted location data.
“As the world evolves, it is important that the approach to data does too and so the Geospatial Commission report, and the actions identified, are very welcome to enable the property sector to meet the needs of society, the planet and the UK economy.”
As the UK looks to embrace the future of location data we’re proud to be playing our part, working with our customers to ensure that our technology can help them work faster, smarter and better.
