We have just released a white paper series tailor made for sales professionals. The first in the 5 part series has had a great response and we are delighted to share it with the community.

The series has been written with one goal in mind – empowering sales teams to make informed decisions through effective management of their data. The confidence to take action based on intelligent data is the key to accelerating sales performance.

Throughout the series we will demonstrate how mapping software can rise to this challenge by maximizing sales resources, empowering individuals and encouraging collaboration.

Download the first in the 5 part series here and receive the remaining white papers directly to your inbox.

The structure of the series is as follows:

1. Mapping software – Saving Precious Time
2. Mapping software – Minimizing Costs
3. Mapping software – Empowering Individuals
4. Mapping software – Encouraging Collaboration
5. Mapping software – Enabling Intelligent Decision Making

I was instantly intrigued by this post because I find myself trying to answer the question all the time. So much of what we do at eSpatial is focused on turning analysis and reporting into action.

However, I was a little disappointed at the end of the post as it didn’t satiate my initial interest. So it encouraged me to “analyze” the topic in greater detail.

What’s the difference anyway?

I was really hoping for an answer to the question – What exactly is the difference between reporting and analysis? It might be considered an academic question but it’s not something people consider too often.

So I delved a little further.

Google tells me that analysis is:

“Detailed examination of the elements or structure of something, typically as a basis for discussion or interpretation.”

Reporting is defined as:
“Giving a spoken or written account of something that one has observed, heard, done, or investigated.”

If someone had asked me to provide a distinction I probably would have said something like this: “When you analyze you are attempting to turn data and information into insight, when you are reporting you are communicating that insight as knowledge.”

Definitions are all well and good but what exactly is the distinction here?

I think the keyword in the definition above is “basis”. When you analyze you are taking something apart with the goal of gaining a deeper understanding and using that understanding to your advantage.

When you are reporting you are doing one thing – story telling. You are giving a “spoken or written account” of your analysis. Of course I would expand that definition to include “spoken, written and visual account”.

You should never turn up to a meeting or a presentation with an analysis; you should come with a report. People with limited time are not interested in the complexities of your methodologies they want the key points, they want the story.

For example, this post might be considered the “report” on my “analysis” of the subject. I am not providing my searches for the definitions, how I came across the blog post in the first place, my thought process and material for writing. I’m simply presenting the story.

Finally, there was one other element of the Adobe post that caught my attention:

“The goal of this blog is not to say that reporting does not have a role, but rather to make the point that reporting by itself is just numbers. Without an understanding of the big picture, you can’t rely on individual reports to make your decisions.”

I would completely disagree with this statement. While an understanding of the big picture is essential, reporting doesn’t have to be just numbers. An effective report has the ability to communicate the complexity and multidimensionality of the analysis without overwhelming the audience.

Good reporting is good story telling and good story telling combines visuals, words and numbers.

Phil O’Doherty
Digital Marketing Executive

Click the map above for a larger image

The Eurovision Song Contest begins tonight!

Whether you love or loathe it, you can’t deny that it’s a unique form of entertainment.

Established as a way of bringing countries in the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) together after WWII, it was also a unique experiment in live television when it first launched in 1956.

Our first map (above) illustrates the reach of the EBU. You’ll notice that eligibility does not depend on being located in Europe – instead, it extends to active members of the EBU who are located in states that fall within the European Broadcasting Area, or are member states of the Council of Europe.

Click the image above for a larger map

Our second map (right) shows how often different countries have won the competition since its inception.

We’re proud to note that Ireland has won a grand total of 7 times – and we hope to make it 8 this year!

Who do you hope will win?

^{Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest}

A small selection of our favourite Tweets from the past week!

• The Location Intelligence and Oracle Spatial Conferences are being held by Directions Magazine in Washington, DC this week and we’re giving two presentations!All the details are here!
• We loved this timelapse video map of Europe – and so too did our other fellow Europeans!Watch it here!
• Cloud Times have predicted that Big Data Apps will be the next driving force for SaaS…Read about it here. Let us know what you think in the comments!

Catch us here next week for another Monday Mentions!

If you’re not already following us on Twitter – catch us here: @espatial

eSpatial, leading provider of GIS (Geographical Information Systems) and pioneer in mapping software delivered via Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), will be represented at the forthcoming Location Intelligence and Oracle Spatial conferences in Washington DC.

The event, on 23-23 May, is hosted by Directions magazine, and will see technology leaders come together to explore “The Power of Place”, and the latest solutions and trends in the geospatial industry.

“As pioneers in the provision of SaaS-based mapping software, we have a unique story to tell,” says eSpatial CEO Philip O’Doherty.

“We look forward to sharing our experiences with our colleagues at these conferences.”

From 10-11:00am on 22 May in Horizon Room B, Philip O’Doherty will present on “SaaS-based GIS adoption: Successes and lessons learned” as part of the GeoCloud Computing Strategies session.

From 3-4:30pm, on 23 May in Horizon Room A, CTO Eamon Walsh and Senior Consultant Paul Baynham will present “GIS Software as a Service Using Oracle Spatial in Amazon EC2 Cloud”.

More details on the Location Intelligence & Oracle Spatial conferences are available at: http://www.locationintelligence.net

Rounding up our favourite tweets from last week:

• We’re big on Software as a Service (in case you didn’t already know!) – but we’re even bigger on providing excellent service to our customers. Here’s how we do it!
• We had great fun with this antipode map! Find out where your location’s opposite land is here!
• Social networking is happening all around us – and mapping has come to the fore in it. Mapinterest is social media’s newest craze! See what it’s all about here!

If you’re not already following us on Twitter – catch us here: @espatial

We’re excited to announce that our Chief Executive Officer, Philip O’Doherty, our Chief Technical Officer, Eamon Walsh, and our US-based Senior Consultant, Paul Baynam, will be joining other geospatial leaders at the upcoming Location Intelligence/ Oracle Spatial User Conference in Washington DC.

The event, on 23-23 May, is hosted by Directions magazine, and will see technology leaders come together to explore “The Power of Place”, and the latest solutions and trends in the geospatial industry.

Philip will give a presentation at the Location Intelligence conference on day 1, and Eamon and Paul will co-present at the Oracle Spatial User conference on day 2:

• 10-11:00am, 22 May, Horizon Room B
  Philip will present on “SaaS-based GIS adoption: Successes and lessons learned” as part of the GeoCloud Computing Strategies session.
• 3-4:30pm, 23 May, Horizon Room A
  Eamon and Senior Consultant Paul Baynham will present “GIS Software as a Service Using Oracle Spatial in Amazon EC2 Cloud”.

We look forward to seeing you there!

At eSpatial, we’re all about great tools – and great service. We take the “Service” component of “Software as a Service” to extremes!

So when our customers tell us that they love working with our team, we’re really happy to hear it!

Our customers tell us that what they love most about working with our team is the way that we offer both technical expertise, and an understanding of what it’s like to start using mapping software.

How do we know what it’s like? Because the people who visualise our own data are also recent converts to mapping software – and they share their experiences with the team!

Our own sales and marketing data isn’t mapped by a mapping software expert –they’re so busy looking after our customers! Instead, it’s a member of our marketing team who logs in, imports data, and produces maps and reports for us to analyse.

Our mapping software experts are whizzes with the software – and by sharing our own experiences, they’ve been able to understand what it’s like to create maps from data for the very first time.

So when you talk to a member of our team, you’re not talking to a sales drone. Instead, you’re talking to someone who:

• Understands the potential of mapping software.
• Is familiar with some of the challenges you might face.
• Wants to know more about how to help you.
• Is excited that you’ve chosen to speak with us!

We think this balance of knowledge, curiosity and excitement makes for great service – and we’re glad that our customers agree!

Want to experience our great service for yourself?
Sign up for a 14-day trial of eSpatial OnDemand GIS™ – or contact us. We look forward to talking to you!

We came across an article recently that illustrated a great use of mapping in a business context.

The Victoria Theatre in Calderdale, UK mapped patron data in order to gain more business. In a nutshell, they leveraged existing data to view market opportunities, and created targeted campaigns to capitalise on them. (View the full case study: Geographic Profiling Helps a Theater Identify More Patrons.)

In most instances, a case study dated 2008 might not recommend itself – but here, the date is really significant. Over 4 years ago, the marketers at the Victioria Theatre used mapping software – well ahead of their peers!

So why has it taken so long for other marketers to get on board with mapping software?

For a start, the software used to be too complex and expensive – and companies offering the technology didn’t want to talk to marketers.

Fortunately, times have changed. Not only has the software become more affordable and easier to use – but as more marketers have started mapping their data, more companies have become interested in helping them to do it!

We’re delighted to see more and more marketers enquiring about visualising their data on a map – and we do our very best to help them.

Want to find out more about how mapping marketing data might work for you? Enquire today and our mapping experts will get in touch to help you out!

Click the image above to view a larger map

Happy May Day – and Happy International Workers’ Day!

While May Day is a holiday in many parts of the world, in some countries it has an additional purpose: celebrating and highlighting the rights of workers.

Depending on where you live, you might enjoy a day off – or you might encounter protests and even riots!

Our map above shows where 1 May is an official holiday – and 3 countries where it’s not a holiday, but where protests and demonstrations commonly occur.

^{Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Workers%27_Day}