Cognos Analytics, Geospatial Analysis

Geospatial Analysis: Where To Get Started

The benefits of using geospatial analysis to help make better business decisions is unquestionable. Though if you need convincing, check out our previous blog post in the mapping for analysis series. Not only does mapping information help with decision making, it’s often used as a valuable communications tool within an organisation. Below are some basics you need in getting started with location-based analysis.

Starter tips in mapping for analysis

Geocode your data

The essence of geospatial analysis is geographical data. Before you can visualise data into a map, the data needs to contain location information. This gives every object – sales transaction information, store locations, competitor locations – in a data warehouse location coordinates. This can then be visualised on maps for analysis.

Define what to map

The next thing to consider is with readily available geospatial data, what do you map? If you’re looking to optimise your marketing budget, there’s a few things to consider. Where are your customers are located? How much are they spending? What they’re buying? You could go further and map out what the competitor landscape looks like to prioritise marketing efforts in their locales. Based on your goals, sort through what data will be useful for your analysis, keeping in mind that mapping this data should help you make better decisions with more clarity.

Keep your users in mind

Finally, since geospatial analysis is about helping decision-makers, what you choose to map depends on the end-users. After all, they are the ones who will be using it! Think about what they want and need from the maps. Keep them in the loop of the creative process. This will then help what data, tools, and level of detail the mapping needs to go to.

Unfortunately, Australian companies lag behind the rest of the world when it comes to analytics, according to a report by Melbourne Business School and AT Kearney. Companies are investing in tech and data, but don’t maximise what they have. It doesn’t have to be this way, though! Considering the vast amounts of geospatial data your organisation already has, it’s likely you could be sitting on top of a treasure trove of insights. All you need to do is turn that insight into action. Gain a competitive edge by building geospatial analysis into your corporate planning toolkit.

Get in touch with our consultants to find out how to integrate geospatial analysis into your business intelligence suite.

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