GeoDecisions
Game-Changing Geospatial Information Technology for Your Enterprise

A Geographic Information System (GIS) holds the potential to visualize, analyze, and interpret geographical data to stay better connected and increase efficiency. Applied to diverse fields, GIS aids professionals in various types of geospatial data examination. Recently, GIS has been heading toward cloud and mobile applications, enabling organizations to keep costs under control and expand their capabilities to a larger user base. GeoDecisions®, a global geospatial information technology firm based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, leverages GIS to deliver intelligent business solutions that help organizations increase their return on investment. The company’s services and products empower commercial, defense, homeland security, government, international, and transportation clients to make more informed decisions.

Partnering with industry leaders such as Esri®, GeoDecisions provides strategic planning and implementation design all the way through to system integration and testing. “We’re a soup-to-nuts geospatial services and software development firm,” says GeoDecisions President Brendan J. Wesdock, MCP, GISP. “We’ve launched several products in response to customer demand in various industries that feature the Software-asa- Service (SaaS) model. Two examples include GeoILS®, our fleet management application; and GeoPlan®, our local government GIS and data management platform. Our SaaS product solutions also include Rapid Response™, a GIS-based notification system for the drinking water industry; and ElectriMap®, an application we spawned because of the need for robust editing tools in the Electric Cooperative market,” he adds. GeoDecisions continues to grow and cross-market these applications.

One of GeoDecisions’ flagship applications and geospatial industry game-changers, IRRIS® is an award winning, mission-essential command and control system developed by GeoDecisions for the U.S. military. It identifies road conditions, construction, incidents, and weather alerts to facilitate the rapid deployment of assets, equipment, and personnel.

The United States Transportation Command uses IRRIS to provide visibility and manage the security of U.S. military cargo transport worldwide, from arms, ammunitions, and explosives to defense classified courier, commercial, military, and satellite-tagged shipments. Through IRRIS, the armed forces also gained extensive reporting capabilities during emergency situations.

In addition to IRRIS, GeoDecisions worked with Esri to develop the iVision™ system in conjunction with an insurance industry partner. With iVision, insurance organizations use GIS, coupled with real-time and historic weather and natural hazard information, to help clients investigate claims and to provide an advance warning of their potential loss. Both IRRIS and iVision are examples of applying GIS technology in markets where it was not heavily used in the past. The applications also reflect GeoDecisions’ commitment toward developing top-shelf technologies during the past decade.

Between funding client partnerships and fostering employee creativity, GeoDecisions has invested several million dollars in innovation. “In 2007, our parent company, Gannett Fleming, created the Collaborative Research and Innovation Center (CRIC) that I now direct,” Wesdock explains. “Employees can submit innovative ideas to the CRIC, and a rotating working group evaluates their concepts for approval by the Gannett Fleming Board of Directors. To date, 20 innovations have been funded, including GeoDecisions’ own Fishidy.com, spun off into its own company with venture fund backing.” Beyond CRIC, GeoDecisions also holds an annual Hack-a-Thon, where employees can form a team, pitch an idea, and receive company time to develop a proof of concept.

Moving forward, GeoDecisions plans to channel this creative spirit and bring deep analytics to its software product offerings. “We’re in the process of building an enterprise service bus that will unify our products and provide a common capability across the platform. We’re really excited about this initiative, as it not only will provide greater geospatial capabilities for our clients, but it also will reduce our hard costs, increase our scalability, and simplify application maintenance,” summarizes Wesdock.