How infrastructure projects benefit from a single source of truth for spatial data

Infrastructure projects can involve hundreds of datasets, documents and plans, and they’re managed by different organisations – or different parts of an organisation. Creating a single source of truth means giving everyone a reliable way to find and use current project information without having to establish which file, map or system is correct.

That becomes difficult when data is spread across desktop GIS, shared drives, document-management systems, emails and individual project folders. Copies are created, updates are circulated and different teams can gradually find themselves working from different versions of the same information.

A shared, map-based project environment can provide a better approach.

Spatial data can form the organising framework, bringing project information together around location. Assets, land parcels, environmental constraints, survey information, proposed works and authoritative mapping can be viewed in the same geographic environment, while relevant documents and other project information can be associated with the places they relate to.

Creating that single source of truth depends on more than simply putting information online. Project teams need to consider:

• Ownership – who is responsible for maintaining each dataset?

• Currency – how are updates incorporated and superseded information managed?

• Permissions – which users and organisations should see or edit particular information?

• Consistency – are teams working with agreed datasets and project boundaries?

• Accessibility – can non-GIS specialists find and understand the information without relying on a GIS expert?

This becomes increasingly important as infrastructure projects grow. Engineers, environmental specialists, land teams, project managers and external consultants may all need different information, while still working from a consistent understanding of the project.

Idox Geospatial's groundMapper is designed around that requirement. It can bring spatial data, documents and project information into a secure cloud environment, with permission-driven access for different users and organisations. The result isn’t simply one more place to store project data: it’s a common geographic view through which teams can find the information they need and work from the same version of the project.

Alternatively, if you're a large enterprise which relies on many hundreds of contractors, consultants and suppliers, Spatial Share helps organisations reduce the cost, risk and admin of sharing large scale licensed geospatial data with teams, contractors and project partners. 

Different contractors often need different formats; GIS teams, CAD users, engineers, environmental consultants and surveyors often work using different systems. On projects, this often leads to the same data being licensed multiple times across the supply chain, simply because it’s not easily accessible, up to date or available in the right format when needed. Spatial Share removes that duplication by giving companies a single, controlled way to provide access to licensed geospatial data and mapping, to all project partners in the formats they need, without you processing it manually, reducing unnecessary costs, avoiding delays, ensuring compliance, and eradicating duplicate data purchasing.

How we can help

If you can't find exactly what you need, we can help you choose the right mapping data solution for your project via email, chat or over the phone.

For more information, reach out to our Customer Support team.

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