How Powerful Are Maps for Data Analysis?

Many of you may have already read the classic book Treasure Island by the famous Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson. One of the most quotable quotes from that timeless book is "I am told there are people who do not care for maps, and I find it hard to believe." As early as 1883, people like the great writer Stevenson had already believed how powerful maps are.

Fast forward to 2012. More than a century has passed and maps still exist as one of the most powerful tools that people use not only for geographical purposes. At the turn of the 21st century, maps are considered to be a useful tool for data visualization. The Big Data Era is no longer elusive. Contrary to popular belief, it is already the air that we breathe. People all around the world have been craving for data visualization that allows them to interpret information in the simplest ways possible.

The common data visualization tools used by many people were constrained to bar graphs, histograms, control charts, standard deviations and the likes. Soon enough, people got bored with such data visualization method that they came up with other data analysis tools that are more compelling, more attractive, and easier to understand. Hence, the idea of mapping came into existence. Until recently, men were able to determine maps as effective tools to analyze data for possible patterns, shifts and trends. They already distinguish the stories and the goals between each dot, designing new and improved business lines from one dot to another.

With free GIS maps already available on the internet, mapping data sets one after the other poses no problem at all. Now, building maps can be very exciting and fun. There are mapping solution providers over the internet that use exceptional mapping frameworks and easy geocoding services to help the users understand everything there is to know about geographical locations.

How Maps are Used for Data Analysis

While some still prefer to use math and traditional statistics to analyze huge chunks of data, using maps brings data visualization into the actual world. It makes more sense for people and they can understand conflicting data. Through time, mapping has become one of the most valuable tools for data analysis.

When maps are used for data analysis, users are able to detect:

- The gap between the perceived target and the actual business performance
- The relation between each data layer set 

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