The world is a massive place. This is common knowledge. What isn’t common knowledge is how we keep track of it all.
From changing industry trends to population decreases, it can seem like an almost impossible feat to keep an eye on how the world is changing. Thanks to demographic reporting tools we’re able to not just stack numbers, but use them to our advantage when designing products and providing services. Just about everyone can benefit from the aid of geospatial analysis software, even if it’s to provide insight into issues that won’t be happening for decades, and technology gets better by the day. What can the location intelligence market do to make sense of our massive world?
Let’s take a look at the power of spatial data analysis.
The world’s population may seem large now, but it’s actually going to get even bigger. Demographic reporting tools have estimated the planet’s population will grow by 50% in just the next four decades. That’s over nine billion from the six and a half billion we have today. Crunching numbers isn’t done for the sake of it. It’s how we learn about our industries and how we can properly accommodate entire countries thanks to shifts in age, population and location. Europe, for example, is using geospatial mapping to predict the next few decades.
By the time 2030 arrives every 100 workers in Europe will have to support 40 people over the age of 65. Compare this to 2008, where this figure was closer to 25 for every 100 people. This research was published by Eurostat, the statistics arm of the European Union devoted to using demographic reporting tools to predict the flow of different industries. The United States is also taking advantage of marketing analytics services and geospatial technology, with some predictions suggesting over 20% of the population will be over the age of 65 in the next three decades. From healthcare to jobs, these numbers are important.
How do we reach such conclusions? Just look above you. The GPS satellite is a powerful construct that allows us to better map out our planet, keep track of time and provide a constant stream of information to multiple industries. There are always at least 24 active GPS satellites circling the Earth, with a few spares, and each satellite will orbit the world once every 12 hours. They travel at over 12,000 miles above us at nearly 7,000 miles per hour. They can even receive the current time within 100 billionths of a second.
Not only can geospatial technology help make sense of these enormous population shifts, they can help us determine the flow of jobs. Research company Gartner, for example, suggests there will be over four million big data jobs available in the next few years. Just a third of them, however, will be successfully filled. This gives companies enough time to reach out and fill out their workforce before the deficit becomes too much. A 2014 global business survey provided by Dresner Advisory Services found more than half of all respondents across all industries stating location intelligence to be very important to their business model.
Today the geospatial industry generates over $70 billion in revenue, helping to generate an impressive $1 trillion for the American economy, specifically. Location intelligence companies are doing incredible work providing ongoing data to countless industries ranging from healthcare to entertainment, helping people stay in touch with one another even in today’s fast-paced environment. Demographic reporting tools are only going to get more crucial from here and it’s through appreciating their complex work are we able to move forward intelligently.
It’s a big world. Thankfully, location intelligence solutions make it a little smaller.
