GIS is an acronym for geographic information systems, the computer technology for managing, manipulating and analyzing geographic spatial data. Although GIS has been used for decades in oil exploration and high end corporations, practical use of GIS has been made possible just in the 1990's by tremendous advances in computers. GIS is much more advanced than computer-aided design (CAD) or any other spatial data system, with applications appearing wherever geographically distributed information is used and that's almost everywhere in business and government.

The GIS market is one of the fastest growing computer application markets. Estimated to be greater than a $2 billion market in 1994, the software segment is expected to continue a compounded growth rate of at least 18% per year. The market includes computer hardware and software, peripherals of all types, plus consulting, surveying, remote sensing, GPS and other data support industries. The worldwide GIS market remains poised for explosive expansion as a result of major new business applications.

Information provided by ESRI, Inc.