Insights
Practical guides on GIS, GeoAI and the software around the map, written for the people who plan, build and run geospatial systems.
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How to Write a GIS Project Brief That Gets Accurate Quotes
What to include in a GIS project brief or RFP so providers can quote accurately, covering users, data, integrations, hosting, licences, acceptance and support.
Dedicated GIS Team, Fixed Project or Freelancer? How to Choose
A comparison of three ways to get GIS development done, a dedicated team, a fixed-scope project or individual freelancers, with the situations each suits and the risks to manage.
Onboarding a New GIS Team: A 30-Day Checklist
A practical 30-day checklist for onboarding a new GIS or geospatial development team, from access and data to environments, first deliveries and handover documentation.
Working with an Offshore GIS Development Team: A Practical Guide
How to make an offshore GIS development team work well, covering scope, time zones, communication, data access, quality control, intellectual property and cost drivers.
How to Hire GIS Developers: Skills, Interviews and Red Flags
A practical guide to hiring GIS developers, covering the skills that matter, how to test them, interview questions that reveal real experience and warning signs to watch for.
Moving Off ArcGIS Workforce and AppStudio: A Migration Guide
ArcGIS AppStudio has retired and Workforce is being retired in favour of Tasks in Field Maps. Here is how to plan the move without disrupting field teams.
Cloud-Native Geospatial: COG, GeoParquet, STAC and PMTiles
An introduction to cloud-native geospatial formats that let you query and stream large raster and vector data straight from object storage, with fewer servers to run.
Ask Your Map: Natural-Language Queries on PostGIS with LLMs
How to let users ask questions of spatial data in plain language using large language models to generate PostGIS SQL, with guardrails for accuracy and security.
Satellite Change Detection: Monitoring Land Use Over Time
How to detect change from satellite imagery, from choosing Sentinel-2 or Landsat data and preparing time series to spectral indices, machine learning and validation.
Deploying PostGIS and GeoServer with Docker and CI/CD
A practical approach to containerising a PostGIS and GeoServer stack, managing configuration and data, and automating builds, tests and deployments with CI/CD.
Offline-First Field Apps: Designing for No Signal
How to design mobile field data collection apps that work without connectivity, covering local storage, offline maps, sync, conflict handling and testing.
Using LLMs to Clean Messy Addresses Before Geocoding
How large language models can standardise and parse messy, multilingual address data before geocoding, and how to combine them with rules and validation.
Building a Fast Web Map with MapLibre GL JS and React
Practical patterns for integrating MapLibre GL JS with React, covering map lifecycle, sources and layers, state, large datasets and performance on mobile devices.
LiDAR Point Cloud Classification with Machine Learning
How LiDAR point clouds are classified into ground, vegetation, buildings and utilities, comparing rule-based tools with machine learning and deep learning approaches.
Spatial Cross-Validation: Why Random Splits Overstate Accuracy
Why random train-test splits give misleading accuracy for machine learning on spatial data, and how spatial blocking and spatial features produce honest models.
Extracting Building Footprints from Imagery with Deep Learning
A step-by-step look at building footprint extraction from aerial and satellite imagery, from choosing imagery and models to cleaning polygons and measuring accuracy.
What Is GeoAI? Practical Uses of AI for Geospatial Data
A clear introduction to GeoAI, the use of machine learning and AI on location data, with practical use cases, data needs and how to start a first project.
PostGIS Performance: Indexes and Query Patterns That Matter
Practical PostGIS performance advice on spatial indexes, bounding-box filters, geometry versus geography, subdividing large polygons and reading query plans.
Vector Tiles vs Raster Tiles: Serving Large Map Data Fast
How vector and raster map tiles differ, when to use each, and the formats and tools that make large geospatial datasets load quickly in the browser.
Open Source GIS or ArcGIS? How to Choose for Your Next Project
A practical comparison of open source GIS and Esri ArcGIS for web mapping projects, covering licensing, skills, data, hosting and long-term ownership.Have a question these guides do not answer?
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