GeoWorld

Geotechnology Helps Comprehend Complex Business Issues POSITION B BY TODD DANIELSON usiness can be a scary word (and world) for some. All the complex interactions, especially at macro scales, leave many of the world's best minds grasping at straws. Experts make guesses on what they think will happen, but they're wrong so often that it's hard to believe they were crowned experts in the first place. That's why forecasting business markets is just as unreliable (and potentially dangerous) as forecasting weather. Both are nearly impossible, especially beyond the immediate future, yet they're so important that countless people try. Mapping the Economic Future Todd Danielson is editor of GeoWorld magazine, PO Box 773498, Steamboat Springs, CO 80477; e-mail: tdanielson@geoplace.com. 4 G E O W O R L D / J U N E 2 O 1 3 One such organization that continually tries to map the economic future is the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a collection of 188 countries "working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world." I started to read IMF's latest economic forecasts for 2013, which were largely downgraded worldwide, but the central document was 204 pages long. Scary. Fortunately, mapping came to the rescue and did what it always does: simplify a bunch of data to make them understandable for general audiences. A color-coded IMF map instantly showed the expected growth for almost every nation in the world, ranging from negative growth (bad) to more than 6 percent growth (good). Most developed nations fell in the "slight growth" category, with some European countries in the negative and China still booming. It should be noted that most developing nations were in the growth categories, and many in the high-growth zones—surely a good sign for worldwide progress. And there you have it, 204 pages of tables, charts and text boiled down to one simple map. (And yes, I know it's not nearly that simple.) Creating Business Value This GeoWorld issue, in case you haven't guessed, focuses on "business geographics," a term that's been around for a long time but seems to constantly evolve. But the concept remains basically the same: using geotechnology to create the best business environment to develop successful products or services. Mainstays of business geographics include site selection, which helps decide where to locate the first or next business, and asset management, which tracks whatever is valuable to that particular entity. But now there are many additional ways to create business value from geographic insight. For example, Ryan Hughes' article on page 22 describes how cloud-based geotechnology can save governments time and money so they can "do more with less," as they often have to. This certainly wasn't a possibility just a few years ago, as cloud technology wasn't properly developed and utilized. Another excellent cost-savings article, on page 14, was written by Kris Majury. Although specifically about how counties in Indiana united to share and use geospatial information in a much more economical manner, the concepts used can be universally adopted by a wide variety of public- and private-sector entities if they can move past the old, proprietary models. An article by Greg Ferrara and Burke Foley examines a larger technology that encompasses business geographics. Turn to page 18 and read how "business intelligence" can be best used for reaping economic returns. And Catherine Palmer's feature, on page 26, describes how to make infrastructure a more costeffective proposition worldwide. Business can be scary, for sure, but geotechnology is here to help. We just need to let it.

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