I can hear you muttering under your breath; "Surely that is a trick question. What does Sheehan mean 'Am I a Geospatial or GIS Expert'"?

It's a serious question, and one I believe in need of deeper discussion. Let's dive in.

Once Upon a Time ..

We very likely have something in common: you and I. A joy in discovering and applying technology to solve geo-based problems. Would you agree?

I started out as a passionate, UK based, Physical Geographer (London University). At that time geographers were perceived as either endless travellers or teachers. In short we were chronically undervalued. GIS I discovered when I moved to the US in the 90's. I was taught GIS (University of Utah) through the lens of a proprietary GIS software stack. ArcObjects IMS (for those who remember) became a particularly good friend. When I left college, just like my peers, I toddled off to a new and exciting public sector job to apply my new found skills. And became a glorified map maker!

Yes, a map maker. And its you, I and the GIS industries fault. We were guilty of underplaying our value. Let me ask this: How did/do you answer the question; "What do you do for a living"?

"I MAKE MAPS"!??

Shame on us. That has led many of us today to be either members of the mapping department ... or the mapping department with a fancy name (GIS)!

GIS has both liberated and trapped us.

No longer alone ..

GIS was a break-through technology. It provided geo-experts new tools to answer spatial questions, often through a map-driven interface.

GIS remains with us. And does what it does very well. Its value and strength lies in 3 key areas:

Collection and maintenance of static geo-data.

Map publishing.

Expert, spatial analytical tools.

But times have changed. GIS is now but one technology within our widening geospatial world.





The next wave ..

Let's go back to school for a moment. Geo is a Greek root word meaning earth. Geospatial is data which is associated with location(s) on the earth. Everything happens somewhere. Geo- is foundational to human activity and life. The combination of geo-data and geo-technology helps us recreate the real world digitally. And that world is complex, connected and dynamic.

GIS is now but one tool in our geo-toolbox. A new wave of geospatial solutions are now available. Two important solution groups have emerged:

Location (business) intelligence dashboards

Digital Reality - 2D/3D analytical and visualization tools which consume geo-data from any source and of any type: static or dynamic.

I will expand on these two areas in future articles.

In summary, as geo-centric professionals our role is to help make sense of this complex, connected world. That means applying (or providing) the right tools and data for the right job.

Back to the question. And over to you: So are you a geospatial or GIS expert?