A recent article in Directions Magazine, a thought leader in "all things location," focused on the emergence of location intelligence in the  corporation. The article presents a fine summary of key drivers and trends that are converging on the practice we call geo-analytics.
Even though estimates show over 80% of corporate data has some kind of geographic element attached to it, LI has thus far remained underutilized in corporate environments.
Why? Our author points out,
Many BI (Business Information) vendors have taken tentative steps to bolt their tools and applications to specialized GIS systems like MapInfo (acquired by Pitney Bowes in March 2007) and ESRI. But uptake has been painfully slow, not least due to clunky integration and poor joint-marketing. Consider also, for example, that large BI systems integrators like IBM Global Services or Accenture, who employ tens of thousands of consultants, still don't have any location-specific competencies - as yet at least. These vendors are missing out on a valuable opportunity to put geospatial information into the hands of corporate decision makers.
This absence of both strategy and tactics on the part of thought leaders is one issue we are watching change before our eyes. In the most recent quarter, we have had major corporations not only bring location intelligence and geo-analytics into their strategic planning, but ask us not to share their identity, in order to retain a competitive advantage.
It's precisely this shift -- and the corporate consultants’ delay -- that opens up unique opportunities for agile, young companies to fill the void. Consider this technical analysis:
The first [step] is making sure that LI adheres to standard IT infrastructure already in enterprises. It means moving away from the proprietary GIS platforms of yesteryear and leveraging familiar interfaces. Using a proprietary GIS solution to analyze geographic data can be a huge roadblock to adoption and use - in effect creating another unwelcome silo in the enterprise IT infrastructure. The key is making LI the norm for BI applications, instead of an unfamiliar and expensive alternative.
This is a wonderful description of AWhere's technical design. In fact, the explicit purpose of AWhere's architecture, whether delivered via a desktop software application, or through our web-based service, is to provide a common home for information from different silos to increase decision-making across organizational and informational boundaries.
In the article's summary, one point stands out:
Most important of all LI should be sold not as a technology - companies aren't looking to buy maps - but as part of solution that solves real-world business problems or pains they are experiencing today. | 
