Location Intelligence

What Does Location Intelligence Mean?

Location intelligence, also known as location awareness, is the ability a technology has to provide other software applications with the geographical location of a specific computing device or person. This capability works by actively or passively determining the target's geographical coordinates in respect to a reference point.

Location is often determined by one of six methods:

• GPS satellite tracking
• Cellular tower triangulation
• A computing device's media access control (MAC) address
• Geofencing
• Sensor proximity limitations
• Security cameras

In business, an important goal of location intelligence is to help organizations use geospatial data to enhance customer experience management (CXM). On the internet, an important goal of location intelligence is to support a data-centric cybersecurity strategy called Zero Trust. Location intelligence also plays an important role in physical security and law enforcement.

Techopedia Explains Location Intelligence

Location intelligence is an interdisciplinary field that combines three different types of technology: geographic information systems, artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics.

Location intelligence software

Types of location intelligence software applications include:

• Asset tracking software
• Real-time location services
• Crowd intelligence software

In the enterprise, location intelligence data is often combined with a company’s internal customer data to improve customer experience. Other use cases include:

• Navigation
• Supply chain management (SCM)
• Risk management
• Event planning
• OSHA compliance

Location intelligence and Privacy

Concerns regarding security and privacy grow with the prevalent usage of location awareness. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) includes a working group known as Geographic Location/Privacy (geopriv) for exploring strategies to protect users while advancing the technology.