GEO Activities

Together with our customers we conceive the right solution. We offer advice, analyse your needs, develop applications, supply training and implement complete projects. Find out here how we go about this.

GEO Basics

In almost every database, a link to a position on earth can be found to couple the information maintained by the database to a map. This first step towards GIS is called Geocoding.

Classically geocoding starts from a postal address and it will in a two step process assign geographical coordinates to the address. The first step consists of matching the given address to a referential database in order to standardize it. In the second step, the coordinates of the matched object are assigned to the corrected input address. Other geocoding techniques using administrative entities or other known boundaries names or codes are also available to link your data to a map feature.

After geocoding, the world of mapping is available to your database. All your information can be presented on a classical map or using thematic representations. This new type of data representation will give you new insights and reveal previously unidentified patterns. This ability to understand and reveal relationships between locations bound to your internal information will help you to make better strategic decisions.

After mapping, adding routing information to your data will once more improve your analysis capabilities and decision making. Routing ranges from simple itinerary computing, to drive time mapping and ends in constrained planning optimalisation. Questions like , is my point of sales accessible, what is the impact of closing/opening this point on my network, who is the nearest available engineer to help my client, … can be answered.

GEO Technology

As GIS technology becomes more closely integrated into other mainstream and operational systems, the following technological aspects derived from the IT world are crucial to design, build and deploy successful and maintainable Enterprise Geo applications:

• Analysis techniques (UML – BPM - …)
• Architectural aspects (logical and physical – SOA – SAAS - …)
• Project management methodologies (SCRUM – PRINCE - ITIL…)
• Programming languages (java - .net – python – ruby – php -…)
• Server configuration and network issues (CPU – RAM – ROUTER – NAS -..)
• Hardware issues
• Software components, tools and libraries (GIS and others)
• Development techniques (test driven / pair programming / …)
• Database management systems (POSTGIS / SQL server – ORACLE -..)
• Other IT related aspects

All these essential technological aspects are covered by our team of GIS & IT consultants. Therefore we can guarantee that our team will use state of the art technological concepts to build your GEO application and this with respect to your in-house IT standards.

GEO Software

GIS software encompasses the full range of applications and components that have in common the fact that they can work with digital maps and geo-referenced data. At Geo Solutions GIS software is one of the main building blocks used to provide our customer with a spatial oriented application.

Being a software-independent service company our portfolio of GIS software covers different types of Open Source Software as well as a broad range of commercial GIS software (ESRI, MapInfo, Autodesk, Star and Luciad).

These GIS applications/components can be grouped in different categories:

• Desktop tools and applications
• Server tools and applications
• Programming toolkits

Our approach in every GIS project is to determine together with our client, based on his current and future functional needs and his internal IT standards, the most suited GIS software tools needed to reach his objectives. This can result in the use of commercial software for certain needs and an Open Source alternative to cover other needs.

GEO Data

Geo Solutions is producer and reseller of geographical data. Several maps and datasets are available for the Benelux, Europe and the world. We deliver datasets such as postal codes maps, administrative maps, streets, road networks, drive time tables, distance matrices, address lists, speed profiles, POI’s, 2D & 3D city maps, 3D landmarks, real-time traffic information, voice maps, etc.

We can also provide you with socio-demographic and thematic datasets.

GEO Navigation

The increasing availability of map data and location-enabled products has enhanced the awareness of businesses with regards to its potential to contribute to improving efficiency and lowering cost, to environmental awareness.

Hence the demands of businesses also have an impact on our location and mobility front end solutions for professional and consumer markets.

Geo Solutions acquired expertise through research projects in multimodal navigation, the development of powerful and compact private label navigation products and building ASP mapping platforms for Track & Tracing en Fleet Management.

Several customers and partners currently use custom-made navigation solutions in ruggedized onboard units in commercial and heavy-goods vehicles.

These solutions are applied in specific markets varying from tourism over waste management to mobile workforce management. They communicate with back office solutions that for instance dispatch a delivery sequence or complete route information or update planning based on actual vehicle positions and statuses.

The powerful capabilities of interoperating with processes in the logistics workflow allows Geo Solutions to successfully propose truly integrated navigation solutions to its customers.

GEO GIS & IT

GIS capabilities have evolved enormously and are picking up more and more IT standards such as Service Oriented Architectures (SOA), server and client API's... Due to its closer integration with IT standards and architectures, it has become possible to integrate GIS in ERP, CMS, BI and other equivalent systems.

At Geo Solutions we try to further support this integration through professional services and advice. In our projects we emphasise the idea that should keep its focus. However as 1 + 1 is not always two, the integration of GIS into an ERP, CMS or similar IT system can open up very significant new capabilities both at the level of data management as at the level of data reporting.

Typical new ideas for data management are the integration of a central address database – combined with its position – , site management, navigation, location based search capabilities...

For data reporting, the focus lies more on the interpretation of the data in a geographical context. It has been proven several times that location intelligence has an enormous advantage to interpret data in an extra dimension.

GEO Intelligence

The promise of Business Intelligence (PBI) is actionable insight for every employee. Achieving this, requires complete and comprehensive business intelligence (BI), including the fundamental four aspects of Who, What, When and Where. Unfortunately, most companies break up these aspects. The Who, What and When are typically found in BI environments. While the Where is often left unanswered or vastly underexploited in traditional BI. This leaves much of the business intelligence incomplete and subsequent decision-making capability impaired.

When Location Intelligence (LI) is integrated into the BI environment, three things are achieved:

• Enable analysis for the Where.
• Enhance and expand the Who by binding third party, attribute rich data to the existing data.
• Afford visualization that exposes complex interrelationships, specifically those based on geographic data that are difficult to describe or explain in a table or graph.

Integrating location specific data and associated information at the level of the data warehouse expands its reach. All dependent data stores, their reporting and analysis tools, and the user communities they support, benefit from that information.

GEO Services

More than ever before, organizations must carefully consider and plan their geospatial needs. Successful implementation of Geo-ICT Applications and Solutions requires combined GIS & IT experience and skills. Our staff are experts in developing practical solutions to your requirements. Our flexible, fully integrated suite of services, is designed to assist you with all aspects of your Geo-ICT needs.

Our consulting and systems integration services, include:

• Needs Assessment
• Feasibility Studies
• Project Planning
• Project Management
• Application Design and Development
• Systems Configuration and Deployment
• Integration With Existing Systems
• Support Staff and End User Training
• Long-Term Application Support.

Geo Solutions is experienced in the development of system architectures and has designed several systems that integrate geospatial technologies into business-oriented solutions. We use design processes that are based upon proven IT methodologies. These require system specifications to be based upon a detailed understanding of the required businesses processes. This approach helps ensure that system specifications meet the organizational objectives.

GEO Projects

GIS related projects follow very similar life cycles compared to regular IT projects. However, the projects are often complicated due to the specific GIS requirements. In general, our GIS projects are typically recognised by an inception, analysis, realisation and closing phase. Each phase as its own specific goals:

• Inception phase: This phase is typically intended to start up the project. During this phase the details of the scope project are determined.
• Analysis phase: During the analysis the requirements are determined in detail.
• Realisation phase: The realisation phase is typically executed through an interactive process.
• Closing phase: The closing phase is intended to verify the project deliverables with the customer’s expectation. Also during this phase we focus on controlling of the completeness of the deliverables.

Horizontally over these phases, project management and quality control glue these phases together. In our organisation the project management is very important to assure that the communication between all team members is optimal. We believe that open communication leads to optimal results for both the customer and our own team. During the projects we continuously aim at high quality of our work and deliverables. Quality is exposed in analysis documents, coding standards, application architectures and many more...

GEO Collaboration

(Web –Portal –SDI)

The European INSPIRE regulations have created enormous awareness on the importance of re-usability of GIS resources. Spatial Data Infrastructures are typically setup to exchange GIS resources of common interest.

In our organisation we have a strong expertise on the operational sides of a SDI. From datasets to service, from GIS to IT knowledge, you will find in depth knowledge and a lot of practical tips and tricks on the different aspects of the SDI.

The setup of a Spatial Data Infrastructure is a challenge at different levels. Preparing datasets, metadata and INSPIRE compliant services. All these items require their specific attention. Data quality, completeness, service performance, hard/software requirements are only a few of the topics that need to be discussed to establish a reliable SDI.

Next to the knowledge on the individual components of an SDI our team has also a very good vision on how to bring the different components together. Each component separate has its own challenges; however, the chained sequence of the components in an SDI makes it often very complex to manage an SDI. Our organisation is due to its mixed team of both thematic and IT experts – and its in depth operational expertise – very well positioned to assist organisation to make their SDI a succes.

GEO Organisation Wide

In the past, GIS capabilities were scattered over an organisation. Both hardware/software resources as well as GIS know-how were ad hoc and only rarely managed centrally. GIS technology has moved in a few years’ time from a desktop to a server environment. GIS technology has evolved enormously and can nowadays easily be integrated in any central IT system.

Due to these new opportunities GIS is taking up a more central role in the support of an organisation. GIS functionalities can easily be integrated to support specific business processes such as location based reporting, search capabilities or any other location based functionality.

In our organisation, we have a in-depth expertise with designing application and GIS architectures to support the different needs of small and large organisations in both the public and private sector. Aside from more technical support, we offer expertise on the management side of a central GIS system. Typical knowledge we provide here are hardware sizing, data management, policies (application and/or data), operational issues such as monitoring, availability, help desk…

GEO Mobility Solutions

In a modern world, it becomes increasingly important to monitor, manage and plan your mobile resources instantaneously. Typical operational questions like “Where is my resource now?”, “How can I serve my customer as fast as possible?”, “Which driver is covering the largest region?”, “How can we adapt our planning in order to save wages and transportation costs”, … need answering in real time.

We offer a range of solutions targeting both small and large enterprises that address these questions. But, in contrast to standard solutions, we make sure that we answer your questions by building software components that are tailored to your business.

Our toolbox includes state-of-the-art components for interfacing, mapping, optimization, reporting and integration. This allows us to build desktop or web apps that range from simple track and trace solutions to advanced real time planning applications that introduce location in the planning process.

By ensuring seamless integration with your IT environment, we allow for the use of your business data in our software components. Moreover, it becomes possible to geo-enable your existing software by incorporating our geo-components transparently in your IT infrastructure. This way, you don’t need to change your business processes.