An introduction to Geographic Information Systems: what GIS is, how desktop, web and mobile work together, where it is used, and where GeoApps sits in that landscape.
GIS is the backbone of location intelligence: from cadastral parcels to climate maps and public participation. Specialists analyse in desktop GIS; everyone else opens maps in the browser. This article explains what GIS is, how desktop, web and mobile fit together, and where GeoApps sits in that landscape.
GIS stands for Geographic Information System. It links locations on earth to information: not only where something is, but what it is, when it changed, and how it relates to its surroundings. That makes patterns visible that often stay hidden in spreadsheets or reports.
A working GIS rests on three pillars that reinforce each other:
Organizations increasingly combine GIS types. Specialists prepare and analyze in desktop GIS (QGIS or ArcGIS Pro); teams, executives and external parties work via web GIS in the browser; field staff capture data on the go. The art is one reliable data source and clear publishing to the right audience — that publishing layer is where GeoApps Viewer sits.
In the public sector GIS supports policy and operations at municipalities, provinces, water boards, and national government. In the market you see utilities, construction, real estate, environment, and logistics – from climate adaptation to asset management and participation.
A GIS viewer is the web map colleagues, policymakers and project teams actually open: toggle layers, query objects, share a link — no desktop GIS. GeoApps Viewer is that layer: PDOK and your own data in one map, with user management.
Not everyone needs to be a GIS specialist to benefit. Policy staff, project leads, and communications use maps and dashboards; GIS specialists build data models, analyze, and publish. Read more in our article on the GIS specialist.
GeoApps is the web GIS for sharing analyses and maps with colleagues, executives and citizens — without everyone needing desktop GIS. Governments, city departments and consulting and engineering firms already work this way.
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