Growing use of GIS technology in Sri Lanka

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is fast becoming the platform of collaboration between organizations and the public, responding to the needs of all stakeholders and in the case of governments to enhance development, essentially rural development.

This was stated to the Business Times (BT) by Dave Byers, Regional Manager, Asia Pacific, ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Insti- tute), USA. He was speaking on the sidelines of a media briefing held in Colombo last week to announce that GIS (Geo Information Systems) Solutions (Pvt) Ltd is the sole distributor for AreGIS software in Sri Lanka and has been in operation for the past year and of its potential for Sri Lanka.

These solutions have been used in Sri Lanka for the last 20 years and more than 1,000 people and institutions have been using it for various purposes. He said that this technology is widely used by governments, utilities, telecom industry, banking, insurance, homeland security, infrastructure development and for many other purposes.

He said that Sri Lanka can take advantage of this innovative technology to maximize economic development including rural development, drive business efficiencies. In the case of governments they would be able to focus on more responsive needs of the population. During the briefing, he said that the nation’s large scale development initiative and infrastructure projects and the growing interest from non-traditional local GIS sectors like banking and plantations are indications of the market potential and growth, here in Sri Lanka.

Government agencies currently are the majority users of GIS technology, he said. Even during the Tsunami catastrophe, Mr Byers said, this technology helped speed up the relief operations

Ms Ashani Jayasinghe-Dabare, CEO, GIS Solutions said that this technology is used for development to increase productivity and for professional efficiency. It is being used in many countries, including US, Singapore, Malaysia, China, and Vietnam. She said that GIS could be used for multiple applications. It can also be used for tracking persons.

Government agencies currently are the majority users of GIS technology, he said. Even during the Tsunami catastrophe, Mr Byers said, this technology helped speed up the relief operations