What is Geospatial and what has it got to do with Developers?
It is really an exciting time as we see main stream IT guys/ developers adopting the concepts and offerings prevailing in the GIS domain. GIS mostly popular when elaborated is termed as Geographic Information system. As wiki quotes GIS as “any information system that integrates, stores, edits, analyzes, shares, and displays geographic information”. In one way today’s popular Google Maps/ Earth, Microsoft Live Search/ Virtual earth can be categorised under GIS.

Since the 1960s, Geospatial Information or Geospatial Technology has undergone a sea change, that is, from a specialized tool of analyses to a multi-purpose tool capable of not just analysis but also storage, management and visualization of data. Increasingly mainstream IT components are being utilised in tandem with core geospatial technologies. The integration of geographic information with a powerful medium like Internet has not only changed the way we analyse geographical information but also the way we live and function.

Today, GIS has spread its wings far and wide. Its applications range from defence, management of natural resources, utilities and infrastructure management, to emergency planning and relief operations, governance, urban development etc. GIS is becoming a popular avenue, due to the growing awareness, about its applicability in the concepts like environment protection, sustainable development, optimum resource management etc. And as we talk more and more about such intricate concepts that are linked to earth, we more and more move towards adopting GIS or Geospatial technologies. Recent reports on upcoming technologies in the next decade place Geospatial besides technologies such as Biotechnology, Nanotechnology etc.