The Increasing Demand for Spatial Data & Intelligence in 2021

Alex Evert, Marketing & Communications Manager, East View Geospatial

While 2020 was unlike any year we have experienced, East View Geospatial (EVG) has an optimistic outlook on the future of the geospatial industry in 2021. In the past twelve months, the geospatial world was a heavy contributor to two of the world’s largest conversations, Covid-19 and the United States Presidential Election. Through innovations like the Covid-19 dashboard from Johns Hopkins University to the vast amount of election maps circulating the web, the general public has never interacted so intimately with maps and GIS.

In 2021, we foresee an increasing demand for geospatial data of all forms. Everyday laymen are seeking visually appealing and consumable content for education or travel, while the government and corporations seek to harness the value of geospatial data to solve their most difficult challenges. In preparation for this influx, EVG is prepared to launch two new initiatives in the new year to bring cartographic expertise and real-time geospatial intelligence to market.

For over 25 years, EVG has been the leading knowledge center for the world’s authoritative maps and geospatial data, with expertise in cartographic production and Esri Defense Mapping & Production Mapping toolsets. EVG’s unrivaled commitment to furthering the mapping community will continue in 2021 with the launch of EVG’s Cartographic Capacity Building (CCB) Initiative - a new training program aimed at developing worldwide cartographic expertise.

The program is an ideal fit for national mapping agencies, foreign governments, and private organizations seeking to build their in-house geospatial and cartographic production capacity.

The CCB Initiative is a highly customized program that consists of extensive hands-on training, immersive production exercises with expedient feedback, coupled with proprietary documentation. The training focuses on Data Sourcing, Feature Data Collection, Cartographic Finishing, and Data Visualization workflows in a comprehensible way. The aim is to assist organizations in becoming self-sufficient and well-equipped with the skills, knowledge, and tools to create and publish new mapping products at peak efficiency. As the demand for updated and highly accurate mapping continues to rise, EVG is committed to bringing cartographic expertise to organizations around the world in 2021 and beyond.

Moreover, the value of spatial data science is becoming a consensus across all industries - but in many cases, governments and organizations are not well-equipped to consume large amounts of spatial data and, more importantly, only need the insights and analysis that can be derived from such data. In 2021, EVG foresees a significant demand for spatial data analytics from Governments, NGOs, and industries far and wide like insurance and energy.

To that end, EVG is excited to grow our Finished Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) services. These services combine our data sourcing capabilities with satellite imagery interpretation and spatial data analytics expertise to provide meaningful insights to a variety of markets.

East View Geospatial will expand its offerings to include a full suite of new finished geospatial intelligence solutions including, but not limited to, descriptive and predictive imagery analysis, GEOINT/IMINT reports, country or regional-based foundational inventory of key assets and locations, and automated validation and support. From conducting change detection analysis to rapid imagery classification, we are continually developing advanced techniques to automate the extraction and delivery of derivative datasets to keep our clients informed. Finished Geospatial Intelligence has numerous applications and EVG is well-equipped to support the market with the latest in spatial data solutions. In this new era, East View Geospatial understands that solutions are not “one size fits all” and are committed to providing detailed GEOINT products results rapidly, expertly, and cost-efficiently.

If 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic have taught us anything, it is that there is a clear and growing demand for spatial data expertise and services to better understand and respond to global phenomena, and likewise, better prepare for that which we cannot predict.