Abstract

The Value of Location Intelligence to Business

C. J. Clarke
Director Business Development - EMD
MapInfo Limited
Berkshire, UK
Email: Chris_Clarke@mapinfo.com


Abstract
The value of GIS or location intelligence to business has always been fairly intuitive. If you show a telco analyst where his radio masts are and where the population is on a map he will see much more with a map than when faced with a mere Excel spreadsheet. The same applies to a bank manager with his ATMs or a town planner looking at the routes of his garbage trucks. However what is the real value of location intelligence? At MapInfo we have tried to take this to the next level by creating Business Value Propositions for different sectors and industries to demonstrate a real ROI (return on investment) for the customer by the use of location intelligence offerings. This ROI needs to be demonstrable in terms of saving time, saving money, being more efficient or being more profitable. The method of creating the value may be fairly basic in terms of GIS. For instance it may just involve locating customers or points on the map. Building on this, by utilising and comparing multiple datasets one can then visualise geographic distributions. One can then go on to analyse the spatial characteristics and dimensions of these distributions plus the spatial relationships between objects to see location patterns (which can assist in, say, the reduction of crime when these patterns relate to crime statistics). Then one can develop models by using geostatistics and quantitative analysis to develop "what if" scenarios such as modelling the impact of your biggest competitor opening up in a specific trade area. To demonstrate how we can take specific business problems and utilise location intelligence to generate solutions returning real roi to the customer we will take a couple of specific problems from the insurance industry (in underwriting/risk management and claims processing), analyse them and propose solutions that will, hopefully, solve the problems and generate a return for the customer.