GIS Today
What is GIS?
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is the rapidly growing software system for the 21st century that is utilized by various businesses and industries to aid in key decision-making.
A GIS is an automated information system. It is a system that aids in making decisions by relating data to a geographic location, unlike a conventional information system that relates data in databases by common attributes.
GIS data may be thought of as being stored in layers; where each layer contains data that is related (tied) to a specific geolocation.
Data for a GIS may come from many sources such as:
Data for a GIS may come from many sources such as:
- Databases
- Digitized or electronic Maps and CAD files
- Remotely sensed imager (aerial and satellite digital photos)
Data stored in the system can then be used to provide a variety of decision aiding products and visualizations. Such items might include:
- Electronic or hardcopy maps of selected data.
- Visualizations of the location of specific group of items such as vegetation types.
- A temporal visualization showing the change over time of data such as census data.
- A real-time display of the location of emergency vehicles or equipment.
- Visualization of the analysis to determine the possible locations for a particular building such as a retail store.
The following are some of the areas in which GIS is being used today. Select an area to learn more about how GIS is used and who is implementing it. Select GIS under SERVICES to the left to learn how JAYA can help use GIS and other services to meet your needs.
- Environmental/Natural Resource Management
- City Planning
- Emergency Planning
- Site Locations
Image processing and web technologies are closely associated with GIS. Image processing as mentioned above can be a source of data for GIS. On the other hand many agencies process and analyze processed aerial and satellite imagery without ever bringing the data into a GIS. Select image processing to learn more about image processing and the services that JAYA Corporation provides. On the same note, internet applications are widely used without supporting a GIS or the supporting data. However, today there are several software packages that allow GIS data and applications to be accessed via the Internet, providing a link to distant users and managers. Select Web-based GIS/DATA Repositories to read about this application of GIS and the services that JAYA Corporation provides using the internet.
