Geospatial Systems on Steroids

Utilities and other companies are no strangers to geographic information system technology as it is part of their resource management, asset management, environmental impact assessment and emergency planning and response operations. Utilities have been using geospatial systems for years and one of the first industries to adopt the technology.

As we look around at global utility industry trends we see many companies combining traditional utility GIS systems with new web based solutions that offer high-resolution satellite and aerial imagery, dramatically faster response times, and easy integration with data sets. In some cases we are seeing very sophisticated “mashing up” of information from many different sources into new ways that leverage data visualization and location intelligence, all around composite applications.

Probably the best example is some of the work that IDV solutions (https://www.idvsolutions.com/) is doing using Virtual Earth and SharePoint in utilities and oil and gas. I strongly recommend your gaining a stronger understanding of this revolutionary technology by checking out our BP case study at: https://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2007/mar07/03-07crisisresponse.mspx. Make sure you view the video. - Jon