Off-Site Insight by First Base Solutions

RAQ's: Rarely asked questions Anyone's who purchased aerial imagery or mapping data through MapWarehouse is familiar with the quick delivery of a zip folder containing a bunch of cryptically named files.   Did you know the string of numbers actually means something useful? By interpreting the file names you can find: The data type (orthophoto, parcel, contours...) The UTM coordinates of the file's insertion point The year the data was produced The data provider (FBS, Teranet, TRCA...)

Beyond the book report If you need to reproduce a section of our maps and imagery to incorporate into your design proposal, research results, or similar professional documentation, spare a little room in your composition to cite your data sources correctly.  It not only fulfills the legal requirements of our EULA , the credibility and professionalism of your work goes up as well. Below you'll find some common examples for citing the source of data you've acquired from First Base Solutions as an inline citation in the border of a map or graphical compilation of data, figure details, footnote, or bibliography.

If a tree falls in the forest without analytics... How did the world ever tick along for millions of years without being critically monitored in every respect? We'll never know since it wasn't being recorded and there was no team in place analyzing it.  Big data is being captured like never before and it has the power to transform everything; from big things like our economy to small things like how we decide what to make for dinner.  We're all participating in big data collection.  It affects us and we in turn affect it. Here's a few trends in big data to watch out for, according to Doug Laney, research vice president for Gartner Research.

Improved data provides important insights in critical situations. Insurance is a data driven industry.  First Base Solutions has tools that help you understand the current situation, avoid hazards, and forecast accurately using aerial imagery and spatial data.

Tips to manage a spatial data library. In private organizations, the CDO, or Chief Digital Officer, is a job that didn't exist just a few years ago and is still evolving.  They help companies adopt technology, manage digital resources, and get the biggest bang for buck out of the online economy, among other things. Spatial data management in particular is so important to the success of organizations these days, in the European Union, the INSPIRE directive was created to standardize the approach for the benefit of public policy makers across the entire European community, with full implementation expected by 2019.

I nearly made a costly mistake once. Starting with bad data, or just misinterpreting or misrepresenting data to your stakeholders can send your project down the wrong path and hurt your reputation. Your once compelling evidence that you've made good decisions is suddenly not as compelling as you thought. Just ask this guy , or this guy or this guy or this guy .

Governments Lie? Even though scientists tell us that the polar ice caps are melting at an alarming rate, the new Atlas of Canada tells a different story because the methodology of calculating sea ice has changed. Mark Monmonier's library of publications, the best known being How to Lie with Maps outlines this principle in detail. We don't condone dishonesty, of course, but you can emphasize the point you want to make, draw attention to certain features, or influence an audience like your stakeholders by presenting spatial data in a way that best supports your position.

Positioning mapping as a solution not a problem. The GIS Department in any company used to be a small group of experts zealously guarding their data assets, ready with a quick hand slap and a "Don't Touch!" to anyone who might poke their nose into where the year's budget went.  Not so any more, as mapping is being incorporated into all kinds of business applications that weren't available just a decade ago.