MapInfo joined forces with BusinessWeek Research Services to survey 1,700 business executives in organizations with more than 500 employees and $50 million gross revenues about the importance of location in their business processes. Some of the survey’s interesting findings from the 447 respondents:

• 64% think location intelligence can improve business process and decision-making
• 13% are using or evaluating location intelligence technologies for business
• 21% are planning to investigate the area more over the next year

For the price of surrendering an e-mail address, one can download the 16-page report LocationIntelligence: The New Geography of Business. An international study on location decision making practices. The report meshes survey findings with MapInfo success stories. Amongst the survey analysis is the observation that while large organizations recognize the value of technology in helping make decisions, the investment in such tools lags. Only 26% said they use sophisticated software applications and analytic reporting tools to make important business decisions. Likewise, the same is true for location intelligence — lots on interest but little investment.

So it’s good news/bad news. The awareness is growing, but the impetus to implement is not quite there. There is a need to educate business people while providing location intelligence capabilities in enterprise applications already widely used, such as CRM, ERP, and supply chain management.

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