Whether in urban planning, environmental research, the planning of company locations or the development of infrastructure — geodata is essential for making good decisions. In many cases, however, it is not enough to rely solely on internal data. Companies often need to integrate external data sources to get a complete picture. In this post, we look at why geographic data analysis benefits from a combination of internal and external data sources.

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Why combine internal & external geographic data?

Internal geographic data can be incredibly valuable as it can provide answers to a company’s specific questions. For example, a retail chain could collect internal data on customer demographics and store sales. However, this data alone is only of limited value. This is where external data sources can add to the picture:

1. Improved context

Internal data is usually limited to specific internal metrics that sometimes lack broader context. External geographic data provides valuable context by adding information such as community demographics, traffic patterns, weather and climate, or socioeconomic factors. For example, an urban planning team may have internal traffic data from local sensors, but integrating this data with further data on population density, commuting patterns and economic trends can provide deeper insights into traffic flows and congestion.

2. Broader data scope & completeness

Companies often only have geographic data for areas or regions in which they operate. External data sources can fill these gaps by providing a more complete, sometimes even global, perspective. Satellite imagery, for example, can supplement internal data with up-to-date views of large areas that would be expensive or impractical to collect independently.

3. Access to specialized data sets

Collecting data can be time-consuming and costly. It can be much more efficient to obtain specialized datasets that have already been collected elsewhere from external sources than to create them from scratch.

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The role of infrastructure data in geographic analysis

Infrastructure data such as information on roads, rail networks, public facilities and transport systems are very often sourced externally as their accurate collection requires significant investment in resources, usually from government agencies or specialized teams. This data, regularly updated through technologies such as satellite imagery and on-site inspections, allows organizations to access up-to-date and standardized information without having to bear the high costs of collecting and updating the data themselves. In addition, external infrastructure data promotes cross-sector collaboration by providing a compatible basis for decisions in areas such as transportation, urban planning and emergency management. By combining internal data, e.g. for site analysis or emergency response planning, with external infrastructure information, informed decisions can be made and optimal solutions developed.

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Conclusion

For organizations that really want to understand their environment, the combination of internal and external geographic data is essential. Internal data provides tailored, specific insights, while external sources add important context and additional detail. As high-quality external geographic data becomes more accessible, organizations can increasingly use these resources to make even more informed decisions.

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