Geographic information system (GIS) technology is evolving beyond the traditional GIS community and becoming an integral part of the information infrastructure in many organizations. The unique integration capabilities of a GIS allow disparate data sets to be brought together to create a complete picture of a situation.

GIS provides essential information tools for many levels of society.

• Coordinate and communicate key concepts between departments within an organization.

• Share crucial information across organizational boundaries.

• Manage and maintain a central spatial data infrastructure, often within a service-oriented architecture (SOA).

GIS technology illustrates relationships, connections, and patterns that are not necessarily obvious in any one data set, enabling organizations to make better decisions based on all relevant factors. GIS technology is also being used via the Internet and Web services.