What is GIS?

GIS is a collection of computer hardware, software, and geographic data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information.

How does GIS work?

GIS can integrate and relate any data with a spatial component, regardless of the source of the data. For example, you can combine the location of mobile workers, located in real-time by GPS devices, in relation to customers' homes, located by address and derived from your customer database. GIS maps this data, giving dispatchers a visual tool to plan the best routes for mobile staff or send the closest worker to a customer. This saves tremendous time and money.

What is unique about GIS?

Rather than you working hard to understand your data, GIS puts your data to work for you. GIS can provide you with powerful information—not just how things are, but how they will be in the future based on changes you apply.

What are the applications of GIS?

Map Where Things Are: Mapping where things are lets you find places that have the features you're looking for, and to see where to take action. Find a feature—People use maps to see where or what an individual feature is. Finding patterns—Looking at the distribution of features on the map instead of just an individual feature, you can see patterns emerge. Map Quantities: People map quantities, like where the most and least are, to find places that meet their criteria and take action, or to see the relationships between places. This gives an additional level of information beyond simply mapping the locations of features. Map Densities While you can see concentrations by simply mapping the locations of features, in areas with many features it may be difficult to see which areas have a higher concentration than others. A density map lets you measure the number of features using a uniform areal unit, such as acres or square miles, so you can clearly see the distribution. Map Change: Map the change in an area to anticipate future conditions, decide on a course of action, or to evaluate the results of an action or policy. By mapping where and how things move over a period of time, you can gain insight into how they behave. Map change to anticipate future needs Map conditions before and after an action or event to see the impact.