Critical data intelligence hidden in low level GIS tables can deliver more holistic view and better decision making, says Pitney Bowes Business Insight

Windsor, Berks UK – 16 June 2010 – Mainstream adoption of Location Aware CRM will take low level GIS systems from the database to the boardroom, providing a more holistic view and better decision making for organisations, according to Pitney Bowes Business Insight, the leading global provider of location intelligence, data management, and customer communication management solutions.

GIS systems have been analysing data for years and are most commonly associated with maps. However, historically GIS also meant expensive customised systems, which were time-consuming to build, and required people with specialist skills to run them. As technology evolved, location intelligence added a new dimension to business information, enabling companies to visualise data geographically and apply it in different applications. Unlike low level GIS tools which empowered five people, location intelligence tools empower 5,000 people to apply their knowledge and experience to what may have been previously insoluble problems.

“With the advent of Location Aware CRM, organisations are able to integrate all of the benefits of location intelligence with the underlying core disciplines of CRM, such as data quality, data integration, customer communications management and data-as-a-service,” said Scott Robinson, Director, Global Data Products, Pitney Bowes Business Insight. “This takes critical data intelligence out of low level tables hidden in a database and into the boardroom for a more holistic view and better decision making.”

The combination of these disciplines means organisations can now access important location aware information (such as flood risk data for example), cleanse and validate the data ensuring it is fit for purpose, integrate and enrich it with internal systems and processes, analyse and visualise it as needed (e.g. check the flood risk potential of selected post codes), and then seamlessly and effectively route and communicate that data both internally and with specific customers or citizens using structured or unstructured data. This gives organisations the ability to locate, connect and communicate from a Location Aware data platform.

Location Aware technologies improve and accelerate business efficiency and performance, particularly in customer / citizen centric processes. A Location Aware solution integrated with an existing customer database or CRM system enables an organisation to visually identify and engage with its most valuable customers; better assess risk scenarios, see how demographics correlate with specific objectives or revenue goals, and target new customers/citizens with similar demographic or geographic characteristics.

According to industry analysts, Ovum, more than 80 per cent of enterprise databases, 70 per cent of all documents and 25 per cent of all web content have geospatial co-ordinates that can be visualised on a map as points, lines or areas. However, whilst 80 percent of all data has a location component, it is not being capitalised by organisations and IT systems today.

Pitney Bowes Business Insight is addressing this critical requirement through its Location Aware CRM solutions, comprising Location Intelligence, Data Management and Customer Communications Management, which enable customers to harness the power of the ‘where’ dimension in their operational, business, and strategic decisions. Location Aware CRM solutions enable organisations to analyse vast amounts of multi-dimensional data for greater business insight and better decision making. PBBI believes that Location Aware CRM is set to break into mainstream business computing over the next two to five years.