Let's look forward to 2021, even if the view of the new year is different this time. New challenges await us, but they are not exclusively pandemic-related.
Our society is ageing, a fact that is here to stay and cannot be stopped. Almost every generation now relies on digital services and solutions for many everyday tasks. Be it voice for human-to-machine communication or convenient online services such as click and collect. Analog systems are slowly but surely disappearing.
Getting in touch with our fellow human beings is not just a challenge for technology. Design and content in the digital space have a major influence on interaction, purchasing decisions and work processes. This brings new convenient services onto the scene that (have to) make handling and the experience in front of the screen more attractive.
What does this have to do with location intelligence?
Trends that are no longer just "online kills offline" or hybrid commerce "stationary retail on the way to online business" are shaping the industry as they affect entire cities and communities. Not only the last mile, but also the "last meters" before the sale are becoming (even) more important: how and where products are offered has changed. Who picks them up where and how has also changed. Sustainability in delivery, such as CO2-free delivery in city centers, is under the spotlight, especially in online retail.
Many companies are being asked to adapt their structures and rethink their supply chains and infrastructure. Let's take the example of the newly born neighborhood help "Support your Locals". Customer expectations and attitudes are changing or have already changed. The POS is mutating more into a "point of delight", i.e. the immediate pleasure of the point of purchase itself. But solidarity and loyalty are also playing a more important role for consumers again.
Companies are being urged to equip their organizations with agility and resilience so that they can withstand the new circumstances - with or without a mask. Of course, it is primarily brick-and-mortar retailers that need to act to stop their downward spiral. But whether B2C or B2B, the transitions between private and business are becoming more fluid, at least in some areas.
Industry trends 2021
We have summarized the four most important trends from our point of view.
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GIS in real time
Faster response times to dynamically developing markets with temporal, spatial and environmental factors are particularly important. The pandemic has shown us this.
Creating spatial analyses with digitally fed data from all over the world using GIS systems offers limitless insights into world events. Live data from mobile devices (smartphones) and interactions on social media channels provide valuable insights for companies, such as mobile tracking.
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Big Data Analytics
Speed and efficiency as the basis for direct insights to make decisions immediately - without a doubt a permanent endeavor in the world of data. After all, the ability to move faster and be agile gives companies a decisive competitive edge with customers.
Geodata and market data support the implementation of spatial analyses on demand via web-based platforms (e.g. ArcGIS Marketplace). Tailor-made GIS systems with individual functions for analyzing and processing this data are the necessary tools for this.
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SaaS solutions
The popularity and use of web-like and user-friendly interfaces as well as the increase in mobile working give employees the opportunity to network with each other wherever they are. More and more users are therefore welcoming web-based working environments, as they are familiar with their functionality and operation and appreciate the uncomplicated handling.
SaaS as cloud solutions for location intelligence applications such as geocoding, enrichment, visualization or geo-analysis are becoming increasingly popular, as it makes working from "anywhere" even more attractive.
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AI in the area of data generation
Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly influential in the generation and interpretation of data. The creation of predictive models in various areas such as machine vision, robotics, automotive development and language processing has long been part of everyday life. This includes recognizing complex patterns, synthesizing information, drawing conclusions and making predictions.
This is usually done on the basis of historical data. You could say that the future is largely determined by the past, which is a certain factor of uncertainty. This makes it all the more important to rely on valid and up-to-date data for precise forecasts (frequencies at a location).
All of these trends are not only the "drivers" of the industry in 2021 and will therefore continue in the coming years. The rapid developments in the IT industry will also have a further impact on the GIS industry and the presentation of spatial intelligence.