I am glad to learn that the Department of Business Economics has taken initiative in association with Centre for Spatial Database Management and Solutions in organizing the National Workshop on Corporate GIS on February 24, 1999. I am sure that deliberations in the workshop would churn out new ideas and suggestions for the improvement of performance of the Corporate Sector and consolidate its present status.

Geographic Information System popularly called GIS is fast becoming a tool for the integration of the data generated and analysing it effectively. Information and its effective use to any organisation today and GIS in data management and decision making has a very crucial role to play. Many business problems relate to data that is by nature geographic. Location issues, management of spatial data and dissemination of information are fundamental to sound business plans, and Geographic Information System have capabilities that bring together these type of issues for unified organisation of data and novel ways for using data profitably. A business GIS for example provides excellent resources that help you decide things like where to locate a new store, to target a new customer base, realign sales territories, monitor the revenue of retail nodes and more.

I convey my heartiest greetings to the delegates, orgnisers and others associated with the workshop and hope that it will be a success.