Map Application and Business Intelligence One of the key components to the success of any business is the information that the organization has access to and uses to make decisions. Decisions are what drive success in an organization and in order to make the best decisions one has to have the right information. Making decisions without the right information is guessing and the likelihood of success when making decisions based on factual information is much greater than attempting to guess. When shareholders invest in a company each want to know that the organization is using that money to produce a profit such that they can return dividends and increased share value. If an organization fails to deliver on their promise to shareholders, then the shareholders leave, the stock tanks and the company’s future likely does the same. One of the biggest advantages to business over the last decade is an increase in the ability to map data. Data can then be collected and analyzed and turned into actionable information. Maps provide a number of factual components about people and places. Everything from the topology and altitude of a region, the weather, populations and virtually every type of demographic from age to political affiliation. These maps are what businesses use to target consumers. Targeting consumers insures the organization is placing their investments in the place where they likely have the best chance of returning a profit. If a company wants to invest they will likely want to do so in an area that has a lot of consumers who might be interested in their product. The ability to use map information varies with some basic components such as weather driving some marketing decisions. If most people in Minnesota for instance don’t have central air conditioning in their home then it probably wouldn’t be the best decision to sell the devices in