Esri South Africa has launched an interactive online experience called Know What’s Around You, designed to show local businesses how location data (like a single street address) can surface intelligence they may not know they’re missing.
The experience uses a series of automated maps to demonstrate how location data adds context to business information. According to the company, it covers everything from customer demographics to competitor presence and nearby points of interest.
Maps are not just for geographers
Most business data is tied to a physical place, and most businesses aren’t using that fact.
- Customers live in neighbourhoods.
- Products move along routes.
- Assets sit at specific sites.
When that data is viewed only in tables and reports, the spatial relationships between all those things stay invisible.
According to the company, patterns and relationships hidden in traditional spreadsheets become visible once the same data is mapped. “Businesses already have access to large volumes of data, but much of it is still viewed in isolation,” said Patrick McKivergan, Managing Director of Esri South Africa.
“When that data is mapped, it becomes easier to see how different factors relate to one another.”
What this looks like in practice
The company uses a retail example to illustrate the point.
A retailer scoping a potential new store location might focus on the property itself. Mapping the surrounding area, according to Esri South Africa, can reveal information about nearby customers, competing businesses and local dynamics that the property view alone won’t show.
The same logic applies across sectors.
- Financial services firms can use location data to better understand customers and property-related risks.
- Insurers can assess geographic exposure.
- Telecommunications companies can analyse network coverage alongside customer distribution.
- Logistics businesses can use it to manage routes and operational costs.
“Location is one of the most powerful ways to connect different parts of a business,” McKivergan said.
“A map allows decision-makers to see relationships that are difficult to identify in a spreadsheet. It shifts the question from simply ‘Where is this?’ to ‘What surrounds it, and what does that mean for the business?'”
Built on ArcGIS StoryMaps, no GIS degree required
Know What’s Around You was built using ArcGIS StoryMaps, a platform that combines maps with narrative content.
The format is designed to make location intelligence accessible without requiring specialised geographic information system knowledge. (AI is not involved here; this is GIS.)
The company positions location as a connective layer across customers, markets, operations, finances, assets and risks. The experience is available online and is framed as an entry point for businesses that haven’t yet considered what their address data could tell them.
