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What Is Location Data? Definition, Types, And Examples

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LocationsCloud
What Is Location Data? Definition, Types, And Examples

With a global economy, multi-location businesses, and numerous e-commerce companies allowing people to sell and buy goods from any connected device, location data are abundant in the world. In addition, the proliferation of mobile and wearable devices has increased people's curiosity about the "where" and "why" of their data. With all of these factors combined, demand for interactive maps is increasing, particularly those related to location data—and businesses must begin to incorporate maps into their business intelligence activities. Because geographic data drives so many decisions, there is a greater opportunity to see how location intelligence improves analytics for businesses, governments, utilities, and other organizations or audiences. 


What is Location Data?


Location data describes the precise geographical location of a device or other asset. It is typically collected and tracked by GPS satellites in a specific network (for example, a mobile communications carrier) or service (such as a mapping application). The smartphone is a typical example of how location data is generated and tracked. When the device's location services are enabled, it transmits its location using GPS. Location data can be collected and tracked by both the network carrier and the various apps and services installed on the device. This principle also applies to a variety of other devices and assets, such as wearable devices (for example, health monitors), vehicle fleets, shipping cargo, and so on. 


Vector: This format uses points, lines, and polygons to represent features like cities, roads, mountains, and bodies of water that are mapped and stored in geographic information systems (GIS).


Raster: This format employs cells to represent spatial features. Remote satellite data serves as an example.


Examples of data visualizations that use location data


Why Location Data?


When used and managed correctly, location data is beneficial to both consumers and service providers. For example, location data enables someone to navigate accurately using a smartphone or GPS device. Furthermore, location data can be used in a variety of contexts, including manufacturing and industrial settings, to reduce risk and improve safety and security. Similarly, location data can help to improve supply chain accuracy and efficiency.


Benefits of Location Data


Location data is useful for detecting and measuring change.


  • Informing Investment Decisions.
  • Augmenting Competitive Intelligence
  • Developing New Products and Markets


Location data in business has the potential to significantly improve strategic decision-making, customer targeting, and operational efficiency. Unlike static data sets, which are only reviewed once a quarter during KPI analysis, location data is frequently based on mobile location data and geolocation technologies such as GPS data, which can provide enormous insights into customer behavior, departmental successes (or failures), and competitive opportunities. The only question teams still have is how to activate it.


Conclusion


A business thrives when it has repeat customers. In today's data-driven business world, location data is an important tool for competitive intelligence. You can learn what customers want, what the market is doing, and what your competitors are planning. Companies can use location data to make better decisions, improve their services, and gain a competitive advantage.


Data must be collected and analyzed for innovation and growth to occur. Using location data as a key component of your competitive strategy can help you gain market share, improve customer satisfaction, and achieve long-term success in a volatile and changing environment. At LocationsCloud, you can request a free quote and speak with one of our experts about our location data services.

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