Our world is changing rapidly, creating many problems to solve: global warming, land use and environmental conflicts, declining biodiversity, shortages of energy resources, threats to our security, etc.

Today, our users are demonstrating the value of using geography and GIS technology to support hundreds of applications in hundreds of thousands of organizations.  These GIS applications are affecting how we see the world, how we organize our institutions, and how we work. Perhaps more importantly, they deliver many benefits including greater efficiency, better decision-making, and improved communication.

Advances in enabling technology such as computing, networks, mobile devices, etc. as well as GIS software promise to grow GIS to new levels. GIS professionals are already creating and applying geographic knowledge to many areas.  Their work invariably involves building systems that create and manage systematic databases, model geographic processes, make maps, and support complex GIS applications. They fundamentally apply spatial thinking to the way organizations plan and carry out activities.