Features

GIS Growing Fast

The GIS sector has grown steadily through the economic downtown of the past few years. GIS core-business revenue will grow 8% in 2003 to a total of $1.75 billion in 2003, according to research done by Daratech, a market research firm that tracks the GIS market. This compares to a 2.4% growth in 2002 over the prior year. Daratech includes software, hardware, services and data products within these core-business revenues.

In these areas for 2002, Software comprised more than two-thirds of the segment with revenues from GIS software vendors reaching $1.1 billion. Leading the market in software revenues were Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) and Intergraph Corporation, which account for nearly half of the industry's total software revenues.

Hardware has been a declining component of core-business GIS revenues for many years, according to Daratech. This is in part because the costs of GIS workstations have fallen so low. Hardware accounted for just 5% of total core-business revenues in 2002, or $88 million.

Although the federal government was among the early adopters of GIS technology, Daratech research has found states and localities deploying their own GIS solutions. In 2002, state and local government markets accounted for 67% of total public sector GIS revenue, while the federal government contributed 33%.

GIS is also making inroads into the commercial space. ESRI Business Information Solutions (ESRI BIS), a division of ESRI offers a product called Retail MarketPlace that helps businesses analyze the business potential of a given location. The database enables businesses evaluate both supply (how many retails sales are done in the area) and demand (consumer spending or retail potential) for retail and food services establishments. In short, the tool helps retailers decide how to open a store in the most profitable location.

Businesses can use the Retail MarketPlace database to capture and sort sales and spending data in 31 industry sectors, including motor vehicle and parts dealers, furniture and home furnishings stores, electronics and appliance stores, food and beverage stores, and clothing and accessories stores.