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That is the message underlying the publication of the brand new Data Catalogue from Kingswood MapMechanics, the leading UK specialist in digital mapping and geographic information systems.
Whilst nominally an update of the previous catalogue, the new 2003/2 edition has actually been completely redesigned and extended to 70 pages, the most so far. |
“Yes, the new edition includes the long-awaited 2001 Census Data, and features more European and international datasets than ever before,” says marketing manager Theresa Barlow. “But for many, the attraction will be in the clear, logical presentation and convenience of having the paper catalogue as well as the on-line version"
Kingswood MapMechanics’ ability to enhance existing datasets is seen at once in its presentation of the 2001 GB Census Data, where for instance it has linked key counts for population and car ownership to street-level maps. As Theresa Barlow puts it: “People live on streets, not in administrative areas.” As standard, this dataset comes with NavTech street-level map data, but it can also be linked to other street-level data.
Attractive and practical new ways have been found to present the Census Data – for instance, in subsets showing dwelling type, hours worked, occupation, qualifications and many other groupings. There is also a useful new categorisation of daytime population, showing where people spend their working hours as well as where they live (ideal for planning new retail premises, for example).
Advantage can be taken of Census Data 2001 with a new UK geocoding file called Code-Point Plus, which not only finds map references for postcodes, but also shows which Census output administrative area they fall in. This makes it quick and easy to do geographical searches on customer data (for instance, to measure market penetration), using familiar tools such as spreadsheets.
Spending patterns are also explored in new datasets linked to the Government’s Family Expenditure Survey. Gravity modelling has revealed how much consumers spend at 4,200 town centre and retail parks, and the same information can be aggregated to 1,000 towns. Drawing on key factors such as sales density, accessibility and brand power, these datasets make it possible to do far more meaningful analysis on the attractiveness of given centres.
Recognising that marketing and GIS activities increasingly extend across the whole of Europe and beyond, Kingswood MapMechanics has added a range of new products with an international dimension. New address-cleaning products such as QuickAddress Pro World and Matchcode International make it possible to retrieve correct addresses for many different countries, even though their formats may vary widely.
With the Universal Geocoder kit from GeoConcept International, these addresses can then be given correct grid references. Kingswood MapMechanics supplies this product in Britain, or can alternatively carry out the geocoding as a service.
Several unit postcode products in the Catalogue have been enhanced by Kingswood MapMechanics to cope with variations in the way users’ codes have been entered. For instance, they can place both “TW8 8JA” and “TW 8 8JA” on a map with equal accuracy.
To extend analysis to new areas, the Catalogue now includes demographic and business datasets for a much wider range of areas, including for instance Australia and New Zealand and the Netherlands. Inevitably, different countries gather slightly different data and relate it to different administrative units (population by Zahlsprengel in Austria, for instance, or by commune in France), but these differences are made clear; and for those who need common metrics for multiple countries, profiling and modelling techniques have made it possible to create datasets that are consistent across borders. The Catalogue lists datasets dividing countries into five groups with 25 distinct categories (such as “affluent singles” or poorer families with children).
International business data as well as demographic data is given more prominence in the latest Catalogue. New datasets in this edition include business counts for a range of continental countries, including Dun & Bradstreet data. Dun & Bradstreet data for Great Britain is now also included. Where business data is not geocoded, Kingswood MapMechanics can add this information with its Universal Geocoder service.
Digital mapping, the core product in the Data Catalogue, has not been neglected in this update. Street-level map data has now been introduced for both North and South America, and map data from Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland (the most comprehensive and up-to-date for the area) has been added to the existing OS data for Great Britain. Digital mapping from the AA, the OS, Andes, NavTech and other suppliers continues to figure prominently, along with gazetteers. |
