Data, data and again: data. It's as if there's no other subject in geomatics these days. The best figure I heard recently is quintillion - forget billion, zillion, megabyte or terabyte. Quintillion - 1030 - is the latest, and in the discussion in our field it refers to the number of bytes gathered and uploaded every day: 2.5 quintillion. Of all the data gathered it is said that 80% has a geo-component. One can imagine what this means for all the professionals in our field. One of the most important things these days is to create order in the chaos in order to allow geospatial data to underpin policy, enabling informed decision-making. It's therefore necessary to be able to see through all this data and make sense of it. A lot of manufacturers in our field are now developing solutions precisely to make this happen. This is exactly what we want to establish with this Buyers Guide. I know we don't have a quintillion manufacturers, service providers and dealers in our business, but it can still get a little bit difficult to see through the maze sometimes. What I also know is that we will see an increasing number of small and bigger manufacturers looking at geomatics as their field of work, combined with an increasing demand for geospatial techniques and products, and even geospatial professionals in the years to come. This process in which geomatics has been maturing, and during which it will need to look beyond borders, has been ongoing for the last few years and will not be finished in 2015. Geomatics will continue to grow in the coming year and that is very good news for all of us. This yearly GIM International Buyers Guide will lead you through the maze of contracting and service providers and manufacturers alike. Wherever you are on the globe, you will find a company that suits your needs. Close to 40,000 peers will get to see this edition of the Buyers Guide, including thousands of records. In all countries of the world, geomatics professionals will take a look at it. I sincerely hope this Buyers Guide will be of help to all of you, growing your business by finding that long-lost or new company or making it possible to finally approach that company you heard about time after time. I hope this Buyers Guide will help to create and realise a quintillion chances and unexpected combinations.
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