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What is GIS?

A geographic information system (GIS) integrates hardware, software, and data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information.

GIS allows us to view, understand, question, interpret, and visualize data in many ways that reveal relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts.

A GIS helps you answer questions and solve problems by looking at your data in a way that is quickly understood and easily shared.

GIS technology can be integrated into any enterprise information system framework.

GIS benefits organizations of all sizes and in almost every industry. There is a growing awareness of the economic and strategic value of GIS. The benefits of GIS generally fall into five basic categories:

• Cost Savings and Increased Efficiency
• Better Decision Making
• Improved Communication
• Better Recordkeeping
• Managing Geographicall
• what Can You DO with GIS ?

  Map Where Things Are

  Mapping where things are lets you find places that have the features you're looking for and to see patterns.

  Map Quantities

  People map quantities to find places that meet their criteria and take action. A children's clothing company might want to find ZIP Codes with many young families with relatively high income. Public health officials might want to map the numbers of physicians per 1,000 people in each census tract to identify which areas are adequately served, and which are not.

  Map Densities

  A density map lets you measure the number of features using a uniform areal unit so you can clearly see the distribution. This is especially useful when mapping areas, such as census tracts or counties, which vary greatly in size. On maps showing the number of people per census tract, the larger tracts might have more people than smaller ones. But some smaller tracts might have more people per square mile—a higher density.

  Find What's Inside

  Use GIS to monitor what's happening and to take specific action by mapping what's inside a specific area. For example, a district attorney would monitor drug-related arrests to find out if an arrest is within 1,000 feet of a school--if so, stiffer penalties apply.

  Find What's Nearby

  GIS can help you find out what's occurring within a set distance of a feature by mapping what's nearby.

  Map Change

  Map the change in an area to anticipate future conditions, decide on a course of action, or to evaluate the results of an action or policy. By mapping where and how things move over a period of time, you can gain insight into how they behave. For example, a meteorologist might study the paths of hurricanes to predict where and when they might occur in the future.