Geospatial demand is outpacing capacity according to UK research

78% of UK geospatial and GIS professionals say that geospatial outputs are being requested faster than their teams can support. These and other findings from a recent survey, published in a new by Landmark Geodata, underscore the increasingly critical role of location intelligence across infrastructure, land and property, utilities, environmental services and finance.

The report, titled 'The State of Geospatial Intelligence Adoption', found that 83% of geospatial and GIS professionals surveyed reported increased organizational demand for geospatial data, analysis or outputs over the past 12 months, with 95% expecting it to play a greater role in business decisions within the next two to three years. Nearly half (48%) already describe geospatial capability as embedded through specialist teams or strategic platforms.

Yet demand is outpacing capacity. More than three-quarters (78%) said geospatial outputs are being requested faster than their teams can support, while 80% expect demand for GIS and geospatial skills to outpace supply over the same period.

Despite growing investment, many organizations still struggle to make full use of geospatial insight. Only 19% describe their systems and data sources as highly interoperable, with integration challenges identified as the biggest obstacle to using geospatial data effectively. Crucially, teams also reported spending an average of 33% of their time preparing data before analysis can begin, limiting the time available for hypothesizing and critically assessing datasets.

The research also found that organizations are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to improve productivity and manage growing workloads. More than two-thirds (68%) already use AI within geospatial workflows, with a further 25% planning adoption in the next year. Among those already using AI, 83% apply it to analysis and insight generation, while 88% expect AI to automate a greater proportion of geospatial workflows over the next two to three years.

Turning insight into action quickly

Josh Rains, managing director of Landmark Geodata, said: “The market research found that the challenge for many organizations is not a lack of data. Most now have access to more information than ever before. The challenge is turning that information into decisions quickly enough to keep pace with growing demands on teams and increasing complexity across infrastructure, property and environmental management.”

“As geospatial insight becomes more embedded in day-to-day decision making, the focus needs to shift from simply producing outputs to enabling better business outcomes. When skilled professionals are spending significant time preparing and organizing data, that limits their ability to test assumptions, interrogate risks and apply their expertise to the questions that matter most,” he continued.

“As location-based insight becomes more central to planning, asset management and risk assessment, the opportunity for many organizations lies in making geospatial data easier to access, structure and use. Those best at adopting this approach will enable their teams to spend less time managing information and more time applying insight to real-world decisions,” he added.

The report is available here

The research was conducted by Landmark Geodata between April and May 2026, drawing on interviews with 77 geospatial and GIS professionals across Great Britain. Respondents spanned infrastructure, utilities, environmental services, land development and finance, and ranged from senior decision-makers to practitioners working across technology adoption, spatial data and environmental strategy.