Mapping vs GIS
Which is better? What's the difference?

TL;DR:

The 'Which is better" is click bait, sorry. Both are 'better' depending on what you need.

Mapping is keeping track of specific points and how to get there.

GIS is keeping track of the underlying assets and giving reporting, auditing and management capabilities from a geospatial first perspective.

The differences between a mapping solution like Google Maps and a Geographic Information System (GIS) may be understood in terms of functionality, data management, analysis capabilities, and use cases.

Are you interested in: Where does this road go from/to? What direction can I travel on it? What speed can I go. Is it a paved road? Gravel? Dirt? Then you are interested in mapping.

You want GIS if you are you interested in: What is the asphalt mix used for this 100foot/33meter section of the road? How thick/wide is it? What is the 1st underlay?... Where exactly is the speed limit sign? What age is it? When should it be replaced? What company did we buy the speed limit sign from and/or which of our technician made it? What are it's dimensions including the thickness, what material is it made out of? Where are the manholes and what does each access? And 1000 other items of information/data about that specific section of road, and 1000 other segments of road in the area.

On the 'expensive' side of things, GIS is more expensive than mapping on two fronts, first it just typically costs a lot more for the software, second it requires more investment in time, effort and training to do the basics.

Municipalities, construction companies, utility companies and TV bank robbers are good candidates for wanting the more expensive GIS. Almost everyone else is a good candidate for the much lower cost 'mapping'.

If you have some people in your organization that need to see your data as GIS, and others that need to see it 'just' as mapping, you are going to love our mapping tools that add mapping on to ESRI ArcGIS and other GIS sources.

A different way of discussing this can be found here: Mapping and GIS - we support both, but what are they?

Here's a detailed comparison:

  1. Functionality

Google Maps and Similar Solutions:

• Navigation and Routing: Primarily used for finding routes, providing turn-by-turn navigation, and displaying traffic conditions. • Basic Information: Offers information on businesses, landmarks, and places of interest. • User Interaction: Allows for basic user interaction like searching for locations, getting directions, and viewing street-level imagery (e.g., Street View). • Customization: Limited customization options, mostly centered around visual themes and markers.

GIS:

• Advanced Analysis: Designed for complex spatial analysis and modeling, such as terrain analysis, spatial statistics, and geoprocessing. • Data Management: Capable of managing large datasets with multiple layers of spatial and non-spatial data. • Customization: Highly customizable, allowing users to create and manipulate layers, run custom scripts, and develop specialized applications. • Visualization: Advanced visualization capabilities, including 3D modeling, thematic mapping, and temporal analysis.

  1. Data Management

Google Maps and Similar Solutions:

• Data Source: Uses data collected from various sources like satellite imagery, user contributions, and third-party providers. • Data Storage: Primarily stores data on Google’s servers with limited options for user data integration. • Data Access: Users can access and view data but have limited control over data manipulation and storage.

GIS:

• Data Integration: Integrates data from various sources including satellite imagery, surveys, sensor networks, and user-generated data. • Data Storage: Provides robust data storage options, including local storage, cloud-based solutions, and enterprise databases. • Data Manipulation: Users can manipulate, analyze, and update data extensively. Supports various data formats and conversion tools.

  1. Analysis Capabilities

Google Maps and Similar Solutions:

• Basic Analysis: Limited to basic functionalities like measuring distances, finding locations, and simple routing. • No Spatial Analysis: Lacks advanced spatial analysis tools needed for detailed geographic studies.

GIS:

• Advanced Spatial Analysis: Supports a wide range of spatial analyses such as buffer analysis, overlay analysis, network analysis, and spatial statistics. • Modeling and Simulation: Capable of modeling and simulating geographic phenomena, including environmental modeling, urban planning, and resource management. • Geoprocessing Tools: Provides a suite of geoprocessing tools for tasks like data cleaning, transformation, and spatial querying.

  1. Use Cases

Google Maps and Similar Solutions:

• General Public Use: Ideal for everyday users needing directions, location information, and basic map interaction. • Business Listings: Useful for businesses to list their locations and for users to find nearby services and amenities. • Basic Mapping: Suitable for embedding simple maps into websites and applications.

GIS:

• Professional and Research Use: Essential for professionals in fields like urban planning, environmental science, public health, and disaster management. • Detailed Analysis and Reporting: Used for creating detailed maps, reports, and analysis for decision-making processes. • Custom Applications: Facilitates the development of custom GIS applications tailored to specific industry needs.

Summary

• Google Maps and Similar Solutions are user-friendly, designed for general navigation, and provide basic mapping services suitable for everyday use. • GIS such as ArcGIS offers comprehensive tools for spatial analysis, data management, and customization, making it indispensable for professional, scientific, and specialized applications.

Both serve distinct purposes and cater to different user needs, with GIS providing a much broader and deeper set of functionalities for asset and spatial management compared to mapping solutions and mapping typically having broader and deeper set of traveling functions compared to GIS.

False definitions, these have all be given to us and most can be found on the internet today:

We've read that GIS is about what a map 'is' made up of, not what it will be. But that definition is patently false. GIS is often about what 'will be', used for planning, documenting before you start.

Maps are static paper, GIS is dynamic data that changes. While this might have been a valid definition in the early 1980's it is not true anymore. Maps go well beyond paper as evidenced by Google Maps and the like.

Maps can be printed, GIS cannot be. Again this is too simplistic. Maps can provide routing, which while the final result can be printed, the data and tooling to do it is still 'just' mapping.

And individual product descriptions often bend the definitions to match their products. We provide mapping, GIS, and GIS aids/add-ons. So like many things in our system - if you end up disagreeing with our definitions, that's fine, we are just trying to help you understand. What you really should care about is: Can you get the features and benefits you need at a price point you are happy with. We try to, while working with systems like OpenStreetmaps, Google maps and ESRI Arc/GIS, give you the options to let you make a decision that works for you whatever your definition is.

What GIS or Mapping software should I use?

ESRI ArcGIS is a popular Geographic Information System (GIS) software, but it does have several competitors. Here are some of the major ones:

  1. CARTO: Aims to help business analysts to data scientists, to turn location data into business value.
  2. Salesforce Maps: This tool leverages mapping and optimization technologies to maximize productivity of sales and service resources.
  3. Maptitude: Maptitude Geographic Information System (GIS) software gives you tools, maps, and demographic data you need to analyze and understand how geography affects you and your business.
  4. MapInfo Pro: MapInfo Professional is a powerful mapping and geographic analysis application designed to show the relationship between data and geography visually.
  5. Mapbox: Mapbox is another major competitor in the Mapping and GIS category.

And for EAM/CMMS: The ITIQ EAM/CMMS GIS addon for open street maps, ESRI ArcGIS and google maps.

These alternatives are often compared to ESRI ArcGIS based on their capabilities in categories such as evaluation and contracting, integration and deployment, service and support, and specific product capabilities3. Each of these alternatives offers unique features and capabilities that may suit different needs better than ESRI ArcGIS.

Google Maps is obviously popular for mapping. Competitors include:

  1. OpenStreet Maps
  2. ITIQ Mapping (which is compatible, sits on top of, several solutions including OpenStreet Maps, ESRI Arc/GIS and google maps.)