Posted inCommercial

Report: Geospatial Industry Charting Strong Growth

The U.S. geospatial industry, which provides satellite imagery and electronic maps, employs as many people as the airline industry and earns as much revenue as the paper industry, according to a December study from the Boston Consulting Group.

The report found the business sector accounts for $73 billion in revenue and 500,000 jobs nationwide. Those jobs include geo-data providers, location-enabled device manufacturers, computer application developers, and geospatial experts and educators. Globally, the industry is valued at $270 billion.

The authors described the geospatial industry as in the midst of a high-growth phase, where the primary customers are defense, regional governments and large businesses. A survey included in the report said 51 percent of business leaders use Web-based mapping services in their company.

The report estimates that geospatial services save businesses $1.4 trillion each year.