2021 Geospatial Predictions from the President
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“For the first time since World War II, we see a force other than technological advances spur innovation.”
For the first time since World War II, we see a force other than technological advances spur innovation. We began to feel the change in early March 2020 at the Esri Partner Conference and Developer Summit, key annual events for the GIS community. These events still took place in person, but the attendance was a small fraction of the normal, as the fear of the unknown virus began to escalate. Within another week, we were all working at home, growing beards, and learning to be teachers. Video calls replaced what would normally be in-person meetings. Now, after nearly a year of COVID-19 and its effects, 2021 is upon us, and here is what I see coming down the road.
Innovation Unbound
There will be no speed limit on innovation. If you do not have a group, process, or method to support innovation in your organization, you will need to create one. COVID-19 has shown a bright light on why investing in innovation is essential to business and organizational success.
Our Collaboration Research and Innovation Center (CRIC) has been in existence since 2007, but 2021 will be a banner year for investing in innovative technologies and processes. The mission of CRIC is to aggressively promote, facilitate, and encourage innovation within Gannett Fleming, GeoDecisions’ parent company. CRIC fosters the development of potentially valuable products and services for the firm’s diverse markets.
Geospatial Consulting Industry Consolidation
Industry consolidation in the geospatial data acquisition market started several years ago and is reaching its peak, but geospatial consulting firms' consolidation is just beginning. Our community is small business based. Even the larger geospatial consulting firms are considered small businesses. Many of these businesses were started in the late 1980's and 90's. The owners of those businesses are now looking to retire, turning to private equity-backed firms as buyers. This trend will accelerate in 2021 and beyond.
Location Analytics Unbridled
John's Hopkins University and government COVID-19 dashboards put location analytics in the hands of the average person. People have come to rely on the information provided. Location analytics has moved from a novelty for the forward-thinking business to the foundation of a society's most basic needs – survival. Decisions are made daily with these analytics to determine what businesses can remain open and which ones need to shut down, where people must distance more from society and where they can get a little closer, and where vaccines need to be distributed and how to distribute.
Many people might not know what location analytics is or even have heard the term, but they are benefitting from it, and it will only grow in importance in other areas of our lives. As familiarity with the technology increases, government entities will use location analytics in more areas of their organizations and to solve more challenges. We have seen innovative thinking around what is possible, like combining geospatial data with other data such as traffic counts to show COVID-19's effect on fuel tax revenue.
With the increasing focus on resilience, location analytics is proving to unlock sustainability initiatives such as sourcing products. In 2021, the continuing trend of geospatial data and analytics democratization, along with global computing, will make geospatial capabilities much more mainstream.
Supply Chain Logistics Accelerated
In 2021, an organization's ability to fuse geospatial data with other data and collaborate across their business globally will prove to be a key differentiator. Supply chain logistic experts have found this global visualization of the supply chain essential to their business and are accelerating the adoption of geospatial analytics at an intense pace. Supply chain visibility became instrumental in managing the considerable demand shift for items such as paper products during the pandemic and the broader demand disruption around the globe.
Through the use of data from tracking sensors, satellites, drones, and through tabular data with geolocation attributes, supply chain logistics can better understand the location of raw materials, products, or assets. Understanding where demand is located helps organizations optimize limited resources and grow market reach cost-effectively. The visualization of information and analytics provides the ability to predict better global logistic disruptions critical for business resilience.
The year 2020 will have an unprecedented effect on every industry in 2021, including geospatial. Innovation, consolidation of the industry, the spread of location analytics, and the acceleration of supply chain logistics will be the most important for the geospatial professional to keep an eye on.
As President of GeoDecisions, Brendan Wesdock is responsible for 12 offices and more than 130 employees. He works with the company's leadership, supporting clients across the nation, and applying strategies for growth and innovation. Brendan previously served as senior vice president and operations manager, responsible for the firm's day-to-day operation and program manager for the patented IRRIS® geospatial decision support system. Brendan currently operates out of GeoDecisions' Newport News, Virginia, office.
