Consumer, Business & Societal Benefits of Geospatial Technology

A recent blog post, from the official Google Maps Blog, highlights the benefits of geospatial services which gave some of the team pause to reflect on how fortunate ReportAll has been to play a part in this growing geospatial technology industry. In “The economic impact of geospatial services,” Jenn Fitzpatrick, VP of Google Maps, introduces AlphaBeta, a research firm commissioned by Google Maps, to document the positive impact geospatial technology has had on consumers, businesses and society at large. For more information read the full 92 page report here.

Consumers Benefit from Digital Maps & Geospatial Technology

The AlphaBeta research found that digital maps:

  • reduced travel time by 12%
  • save people over 21 million hours each year
  • help 63% of users to plan safe routes

When we reflect on ReportAll’s part in providing consumer benefit with GIS data and geospatial technology, we think of LandGlide. LandGlide is a mobile application used by consumers including home buyers, hunters and outdoor enthusiasts (i.e. motocross, snowmobile, ATV, etc.) to identify property boundaries while on-site. The app, found in Apple’s app store and on Google Play, can be used to identify a property owner to seek permission for land use or to ensure your recreational activities are not trespassing when comparing your location to the online property boundaries you see on the app. House hunters view property boundaries on-site along with available property attributes like land use, transfer date, sale price, acreage, school district and link to assessor’s data where available. The data and technology allows potential buyers to make more informed decisions while on their house hunt.

Businesses Benefit from Digital Maps & Geospatial Technology 

According to the AlphaBeta research:

  • digital maps have supported over $1 trillion in sales
  • geospatial services have helped companies raise revenue and reduce costs by over 5%.

At ReportAll we have been fortunate enough to witness amazing business benefits, first-hand, of geospatial technology across a breadth of industries. Our GIS data and geospatial technology is used primarily in a business capacity, by over twenty industries and growing, in applications we could have never predicted. We work with real estate professionals, builders, the agricultural community, forestry industry, energy exploration, government, financial institutions, telecommunications and more by delivering parcel attributes and property lines covering over 97% of the U.S. population. Our accurate and updated parcel data – whether used as an API, parcel layer in Google Earth or downloaded as shapefiles, allow businesses across multiple industries to make better decisions. Examples of how these businesses use our data range from identifying areas for building wind farms to researching potential expenses and returns for a telecommunications company building their infrastructure.

Society Benefits from Digital Maps & Geospatial Technology

The AlphaBeta research found that:

  • geospatial services create 4 million jobs,
  • digital maps reduce CO2 emissions from vehicles by 1,686 million metric tons
  • geospatial technology can decrease emergency response time by up to 20%

At ReportAll we provide property line and parcel data to government, first responders and geospatial technology innovators for building their own applications for societal benefits. They can currently use our API or Parcel Data Downloads to see property lines online after a natural disaster has struck and to locate FEMA flood zones. We also look forward to continuous partnerships with geospatial technology developers to see how more applications with our GIS data of US parcels, property lines and property attributes may bring even more benefits to society.

The ReportAll team is excited to be an important piece of the growth and advancement of digital mapping, GIS and geospatial technology. From your desk, in the office, to your mobile application in the field, we’re happy to be delivering property lines and parcel data in ways we couldn’t predict.