GEOBusiness features leading organisations in the geospatial industry

The The highly anticipated and action packed GEO Business Conference Programme has been launched to critical acclaim as it brings together some of the most high profile names within the industry. Presentation and panel debate contributors include, but are not limited to: Google, Costain, ARUP, Cambridge University, Cass Business School, Land Registry, Environment Agency, Highways England, Thames Tideway, Skanska and AECOM.

Taking place next month in London, UK, from 24-25 May, GEO Business opens with a session dedicated to ‘the role of geospatial technology and services in the digital world’ featuring presentations from Ed Parsons from Google; Professor Gianvito Lanzolla from Cass Business School, and Tim Williams from What3Words.

The second day commences with Amanda Clack, President Elect at RICS, who will present the keynote address entitled: ‘Infrastructure delivery – the state of the industry’. Amanda will elaborate on large infrastructure projects that have a number of potential ingredients for major headaches: large scales, complexity, long timeframes, multiple stakeholders, complicated private and/or public financing and essential specialists. This keynote will examine how the industry moves towards better project performance and will highlight how the integration of geospatial information and the use of data will become increasingly essential for infrastructure delivery.

Amanda will then take part in a highly anticipated panel debated focusing on ‘how the geospatial sector will embrace opportunity presented by the UK’s commitment to invest in large infrastructure projects’ featuring Alex Bywaters from Highways England; Peter Vale from Thames Tideway, and a representative from HS2, which will be facilitated by Anthony Oliver, editorial consultant and infrastructure specialist.

The discussion will focus on critical issues facing the sector, including:

• How is the use of BIM and data transforming the infrastructure sector in terms of asset delivery, maintenance and communication across the supply chain?
• In what ways is this new world of data management changing the approach to operation and maintenance of assets – are owners prepared to invest in whole life value?
• The importance of innovation and smart thinking to improve industry performance is clear – how can the geospatial sector help make the necessary step change in performance?
• What are the critical skills required to drive a digitally enabled future?
• How does the sector extract greater value for clients and customers from the data that is gathered particularly through the use of data analytics and improved/live asset information?
• Is this sector still too focused on the design and construction process rather than the needs of customers?
• What radical new thinking and tools do you expect will change the geospatial sector’s future?
• What do you believe will be the next great digital transformations in the geospatial sector?
• Is there a future for embedding technology into the finished works to deliver value throughout the operation and maintenance of assets?
• How important are technologies such as unmanned aircraft and miniature helicopters for monitoring?
• Is there any low hanging fruit that we can embrace today to accelerate change?

Other sessions not to be missed include GEO Innovation, GEO Economics and GEO Sustainability, all of which offer unrivalled opportunity to exchange global information about the latest geospatial technologies and services. Over two days, expert presenters will explore how geospatial solutions have enabled projects to run more efficiently, ensuring that they are delivered on time, whilst saving money and reducing risk.

Caroline Hobden, GEO Business Event Director, said: “The 2016 programme is like no other, featuring key individuals and organisations working at the forefront of our exciting industry. The panel sessions alone promise to garner exciting and at times no doubt controversial dialog, something that simply cannot be missed.”

Conference Chairman, Ian Bush from Black & Veatch said: “It’s a real honour for me to be chairing this third GEO Business conference. I’ve been involved with the event since the start and it is truly exciting to see how much it has grown in three years. This year we are making the conference programme as accessible as possible, by charging from as little as £30 per day for delegates. This is fantastic value and shows the importance the organising committee places on sharing knowledge, best practice and ideas throughout the geospatial industry.”

Join 3000+ visitors from approximately 50 countries and also take part in an exhibition of 200 exhibitors showcasing products and services from across the globe, an array of live demonstrations within the free to attend commercial workshop programme and the ever popular and vibrant social programme maximising on possibilities for informal networking.

With so much happening at GEO Business 2016 and the exceptional feedback from the previous events, the organisers are expecting an even greater turnout of visitors to the show in May and leaves only one question - can you afford to miss it?

To see the full programme at GEO Business 2016, please visit: http://geobusinessshow.com/conference/. GEO Business 2016 takes place from 24-25 May 2016 at the Business Design Centre in London, UK.