Most existing GIS, or geographical information services, sell on-site proprietary software packages that cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several million dollars.

FORBES: Google Sells Its Mighty Cloud

To some, geographic information systems (GIS) are all about technology.

FORBES: Esri Debunks Three Common Digital Marketing Myths

This side event will launch an initiative to establish a common spatial data framework for vulnerability analysis and adaptation planning, linking a wide range of relevant data using Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

UNESCO: Basic Sciences

In the sometimes desperate hours following Katrina's landfall, experts in geographic information services -- GIS -- helped search and rescue crews reach more than 75 stranded survivors in Mississippi.

CNN: 'Geocoding' used to locate Katrina survivors