An incredible 3007 visitors descended on the Business Design Centre in London last month for GEO Business 2019, an impressive 19% increase from the previous show which equates to an astonishing 87% increase since its launch in 2014. Analysis of those attending this year has found that visitors travelled from across the globe – 56 countries in total were represented.
With over 200 free to attend cutting edge presentations, 200+ international exhibitors, the newly introduced location intelligence event the GeoDATA Forum and several networking events it becomes clear why so many industry professionals choose GEO Business as the number one event in their calendar.
Positive Feedback Flooding In
Initial post-event feedback has been particularly encouraging. Richard Flemmings, Partner & Operations Director, Tcarta commented that GEO Business offers the opportunity for the industry to expose innovation. It is the one event of the year that brings all parts of the industry together to help collaboration, business development and increased understanding.
For the UK Hydrographic Office Phil Payne, Survey Delivery Manager, added:
GEO Business is an ideal opportunity for people from across the geospatial community to get together and share in ideas, developments and products.
Paul Burrows, Scanning Solutions Manager, Leica Geosystems said:
It is 100% the best geospatial event in the UK and is needed now more than ever.
Strategic Conference Offers Strategy Update
For the first time ever, the acclaimed strategic and high level conference was made free for everyone to attend, allowing visitors the opportunity to walk freely between 11 parallel workshop/ seminar and now conference sessions. Well over 100 people joined the day two opening keynote presented by William Priest of the Geospatial Commission and presided over by Denise McKenzie from Open Geospatial Consortium. They discussed in great detail, The Geospatial Commission's Strategic Approach to an eager crowd. This was then followed by two thrilling panel sessions including ˜The Digital Twin “ Fact or Fiction?' And ˜In the world of the IoT, When Does Cool Become Creepy?'
Geospatial Awards Set the Bar
A series of awards were introduced for the first time this year. The announcement of winners came at the events intensely popular Annual Dinner, held in the evening of the show's first day in Arsenal's Emirates Stadium.
The ˜Geospatial Professional of the Year Award' went to Dr Anne Kemp, Director BIM Strategy and Development, Atkins. Dr Kemp has been working in the industry for 25 years, delivering information to where it is needed for informed and intelligent decision making. She is also Chair of ICE's BIM Action Group and BIM4Infrastructure UK and has been part of the UK Government BIM Task Group, helping departments to implement BIM, in particular HA and EA, and is just completing her MSc in Coaching and Behavioural Change at Henley Business School, focused on enabling sustained collaborative working.
The ˜Geospatial Rising Star Award' went to Ipsita Sinha, Research Physician, Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit. Dr Ipsita Sinha is part of the Epidemiology department at MORU, and a Research Physician in Tropical Medicine at the University of Oxford. She is also an honorary medical registrar at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. Her research interests include spatiotemporal modelling, GIS mapping, population movement with dynamic modelling of malaria spread, parasite genetics and evolution, with emphasis on artemisinin resistance and malaria elimination. She is currently pursuing her doctoral studies at University of Oxford in mapping and predicting the potential spread of malaria and artemisinin resistance in South-East Asia and South Asia to better inform targeting of malaria control and elimination interventions.
Location Intelligence takes centre stage
GeoDATA Forum, made its debut in May co-locating with GEO Business targeting data specialists focused on location intelligence. This sector was previously served by a series of showcase events organised by Geoaware, part of The GeoInformation Group. Now sponsored by Verisk and organised in partnership with the AGI and The Open Geospatial Consortium, the introduction of the GeoDATA Forum at GEO Business brought a new element to the show.
Held in a separate area of the event hall, GeoDATA Forum welcomed an array of exhibitors, there were two dedicated seminar areas running in parallel hosting sessions including Mobility, Insurance, GIS & Big Data and a number of commercial workshops hosted by the exhibitors. Some big names presented over two days delighting all who attended including Neil Ackroyd from Ordnance Survey, Charles Kennelly from Esri UK and Mark Korver from Amazon.
Over 200 presentations prove to be a huge hit
Complimenting the free to attend Conference were the 20+ free to attend daily seminar sessions. UAVs, Laser Scanning, Heritage, Railways, GIS and Big Data all attracted particularly high numbers with upwards of 100 attendees in each. GEO Business also offered some very busy exhibitor-led workshops with lead geospatial companies Trimble, SkylineGlobal, Bluesky International, Drone Pilot Academy, Satsense and Atlas Computers all reporting busy sessions. Within the GeoDATA Forum hall, sessions dedicated to Insurance, Mobility and GIS & Big Data all proved popular with attendees.
London Geospatial Week 2020 Announced
One of the most significant developments from the 2019 show, was the strategic announcement made by Event Director Caroline Hobden at the GEO Business annual dinner.
GEO Business 2020 will be part of London Geospatial Week, a week of events showcasing the best and most innovative geospatial solutions, reflecting the ongoing and rapid growth of the geospatial industry. Encompassing Esri UK's Annual Conference on 19th May and the GEO Business and GeoDATA events running concurrently on 20th and 21st May, London Geospatial Week will demonstrate the significant value that geospatial technology delivers to both private and public sectors.
Over the coming months further announcements are anticipated, adding value to London Geospatial Week, including educational and CPD events, expanding on the vision: ˜Sharing Innovation “ Connecting Industry'. More at: https://www.geobusinessshow.com/press-release/industry-players-announce-london-geospatial-week-for-2020
Event Director Caroline Hobden commented after the event, ˜We have been on a significant journey since GEO Business was first launched in 2014 and we are delighted with its position today as the UK's No 1 geospatial event. We look forward to building on our links with the location intelligence community via the GeoDATA Forum and working closely with Esri UK to ensure that London Geospatial Week 2020, is a huge success.'
