Understanding the meaning of geographic coverage across a business

When it comes to purchasing geospatial data for organisations in the Logistics sector, ensuring that you and your business have asked the right questions to secure accurate data will be key to the success of your planning, efficiency and optimisation initiatives. Our new blog series will answer the critical questions you should ask yourself when acquiring geospatial data for yourself or your organisation, from its coverage, accessibility and accuracy to legal sharing and usage.  

What is the meaning of geographic coverage?

Geographic coverage is where the boundaries of the data extend to. For every piece of information that your business acquires, you must define the geographic coverage that you need it for. Without defining the boundary of the data, you could end up with far more data than you need. If you don’t define the geographic coverage, you may not receive all the data that you need. It’s important that you clearly define the geographic coverage for your data requirement.

What elements of geographic coverage through data should you consider before starting your project?

You should consider the geographic coverage that you need at the outset of your project and assess any future needs across multiple countries. Here are some example questions that may help you to ensure your geographic data requirements will be covered: 

• What is the difference between the United Kingdom and Great Britain? 
• If I buy data now for a specific country (e.g. The Netherlands), will it be available at the same detail in another country (e.g. Belgium)? 
• Will the maps and road networks line up across the borders? 
• Does the data cover the small islands around the edges of a country or small neighbouring countries such as Monaco? 
• Which countries offer detailed street level data in major towns and cities vs key roads in urban areas?

Stay tuned for our next post, where we’ll dive into geospatial data analysis and the attribute information that comes with it. 

Our team of experts can help you navigate the intricacies of every dataset in every country across the globe. Download our whitepaper ‘Key questions to ask when buying geospatial data’ to find out more.