On the occasion of the World GIS Day, Center for Geographic Information Systems (CGIS), Qatar under Ministry of Municipality & Environment in collaboration with Mannai Trading Co. and ESRI hosted “GIS DAY QATAR 2016” at Hilton, Doha. More than 100 GIS, IT & Engineering professionals participated from the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, Ashghal, QRail, Qatar Petroleum, Ministry of Interior, Primary Health Care Center, Ministry of Development planning & Statistics, Ministry of Transport and communication, ISF.
As a pioneer of GIS implementation in the region, Dr. Mohamed Hamouda, CGIS, presented the changing trends in the technology and how the user base is becoming much wider with the increasing availability of GIS tools and services to government agencies and the general public. The figures are a clear indication of the trend where there are currently 92 agencies connected to GIS net, more than 16 web services made available by CGIS to both application developers, users and over 45 agencies using those services. CGIS provided several examples of mobile and web applications that use these web services.
CGIS director Manaf Al Sada thanked the attendees, participants and presenters for taking part in this year’s event that is considered as a forum for users of geographic information systems (GIS) technology to demonstrate real-world applications that are making a difference in our society. “I consider GIS Day as an excellent occasion for the GIS community in Qatar to meet and share experiences in an informal and useful setting” Al Sada added.
The Center for Information Convergence and Strategy (CICS) Co-Director, Akshay Pottathil, highlighted the “importance of actually comprehending the domain knowledge and building on geospatial intelligence with sensors and technology rather than using them solely as an information technology tool.”
Venu Sarakki, CEO, Saraki Associates Inc (SAI), presented the evolution of the next big thing in the timeline starting from the PC era in the 80’s to the present Internet of Things, and how, combined with GIS and Big Data, has the potential to disrupt businesses as we know it. He also presented the potential market for IoT by 2022 ($15 Trillion by some estimates), and what kind of talent and skill set is needed to take on tomorrow’s IoT/GIS/Big Data world. Securing the internet of things will be a big challenge and gave examples of recent hacks. “Real time information from Internet of Things (IoT), overlaid on GIS mapping will enable underlying data patterns to emerge in real time to make better decisions.
“Doha and this region has such a unique opportunity to start with a blank sheet of paper and build the ideal transportation platform from the ground up,” said Bob Youakim, CEO at Passport. He strengthened this position by explaining that we live in an on-demand world where consumers expect information and services in real-time. This age of convenience has transformed the way many businesses throughout the world compete and transportation is no different. An influx of new technology is helping to improve mobility, infrastructure, and the customer experience. Transit agencies throughout North America are leveraging GIS and other data sources to reduce transportation complexity and empower passengers of the future to connect with their environments in new and exciting ways. Mr. Youakim’s company has completed over 2000 installations in over 200 cities within a span of six years.
Mansour Raad, ESRI’s Big Data Advocate, discussed the various strategic advantages of leveraging GIS platforms in real life from farming to urban planning.
With the evolving technologies in GIS, Mannai works strategically with an extensive network of business partners, to provide state-of-the-art geospatial solutions, thus enabling organizations to effectively analyze and manage the geographic information and make better decisions. “Once again Mannai has helped to gather subject matter experts in Qatar on the occasion of the World GIS Day to address global trends and local opportunities; we will continue to assist this region leverage such opportunities and contribute to the growth of Qatar”, stated the Vice President of Mannai InfoTech, Mr. Binu MR.
