Why Now

Access to all relevant, real-time information is rapidly becoming dependent on data and software that informs organizations about the location of people, events, places, facilities and many other geographic insights.

These technology services are often referred to as geo-social applications or location intelligence. Business leaders have no place to turn for an objective evaluation of the location ecosystem or to learn how to integrate location intelligence across the enterprise. The Location Forum was launched for three very specific reasons:

• Enterprise Guidance: Location applications are widely used and intuitive to consumers.
  However, leveraging location in the enterprise remains complex and in need of best practices and lessons learned that point out the opportunities and pitfalls;
• Industry Neutral Voice: The use of location information as a competitive advantage fuels exciting new business opportunities but also raises concerns such as privacy and security. The industry needs an independent, objective and authoritative voice that provides clarity, leadership and education on these critical issues;
• Accelerate Productivity: Technologists and business people; vendors and users often talk past each other creating misunderstandings that can impact a project’s business case, implementation time, costs, and success. Creating tools such as case studies, business process frameworks and implementation guides provide a common industry language that enables everyone to effectively communicate and rapidly produce results with location information.

To expand your awareness of location intelligence, please see our Business Guide to Location Intelligence: Location Awareness Guide Q&A