People-First Technology and Strategy
Location intelligence is becoming increasingly central to enterprise analytics, with organizations in sectors such as retail, logistics, and financial services integrating geospatial data into decision-making systems. A 2016 McKinsey report projected that data-driven decision-making could generate trillions in economic value, with location data playing a key role in operational and strategic improvements (Manyika et al., … Continue reading Reframing Location Intelligence From Where to Why
For the last handful of months, I’ve been working with my father’s company, Cercana Systems, to assist with content marketing and business development. In college, I finished most of a public relations degree at The University of Alabama before the first of my two daughters graced us with her presence and we decided to move … Continue reading A Novice Takes a Stab at GIS
When most people hear "geospatial," they immediately think of maps. But in many advanced applications, maps never enter the picture at all. Instead, geospatial data becomes a powerful input to machine learning workflows, unlocking insights and automation in ways that don't require a single visual. At its core, geospatial data is structured around location—coordinates, areas, … Continue reading Geospatial Without Maps
In today’s AI-driven and geospatially enabled world, data is an organization's most valuable asset — yet it is often treated as an afterthought until issues arise. Poor data quality, incomplete metadata, and inconsistent governance can quickly derail even the most sophisticated projects. At Cercana, we believe that data stewardship must be intentional, continuous, strategic, and … Continue reading Data Stewardship in AI, Geospatial, and Security Operations
What is FedGeoDay? FedGeoDay is a single-track conference dedicated to federal use-cases of open geospatial ecosystems. The open ecosystems have a wide variety of uses and forms, but largely include anything designed around open data, open source software, and open standards. The main event is a one day commitment and is followed by a day … Continue reading Reflections on the Process of Planning FedGeoDay 2025
A sampling of Cercana's favorite parts of FedGeoDay 2025.
Cercana Systems is excited to share that our entire team will be in attendance at FedGeoDay 2025! This is a great opportunity to meet with us face-to-face and learn more about our capabilities and the work we do. The event is happening April 22, 2025 at the Department of Interior’s Yates Auditorium in Washington, D.C. … Continue reading Cercana At FedGeoDay
In today’s fast-paced professional world, it's easy for young professionals to assume that hard work alone will get them ahead. While grinding at the desk and delivering results matters, relying solely on your work to speak for itself may leave you overlooked in a competitive field. Getting out of the office and into local conferences, … Continue reading Why Young Professionals Should Get Out of the Office and Into Industry Events
Introduction Geospatial data volumes and complexity are growing due to diverse sources, such as GPS, satellite imagery, and sensor data. Traditional geospatial processing methods face challenges, including scalability, handling various formats, and ensuring data consistency. The medallion architecture offers a layered approach to data management, improving data processing, reliability, and scalability. While the medallion architecture … Continue reading Demystifying the Medallion Architecture for Geospatial Data Processing
Introduction When combining open-source GIS tools with the ArcGIS ecosystem, there are a handful of challenges one can encounter. The compatibility of data formats, issues with interoperability, tool chain fragmentation, and performance at scale come to mind quickly. However, the use of the open-source Python library GeoPandas can be an effective way of working around … Continue reading Three Ways to Use GeoPandas in Your ArcGIS Workflow