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GeoSpatial Convergence – The Next Step
Technological convergence refers to a trend where some technologies having distinct functionalities evolve to technologies that overlap, i.e. multiple products come together to form one product, with the advantages each initial component. It is the collections of different types of technologies to perform very similar tasks. These different separate technologies are able to share resources and interact with each other creating new efficiencies.

The convergence of remote sensing, geospatial and web technologies has created a significant opportunity for businesses public and private to leverage the power of geography and location with time to enable improved decision support, planning and operations. MapQuest, Yahoo Maps, Google Earth and Microsoft Virtual Earth are all examples of services which combine different technologies from geospatial and mainstream domain. The recent trend in the new technological applications includes access to geospatial content via mobile devices, which can be used for decision support as part of enterprise workflow.

Bringing about the change, which is necessary to allow all geospatial domain users to work together more effectively and with greater speed, is not a snap but a gradual process.