Caryn Vorster
Director of Communications and Technical Writing
In recognition of International GIS Day, we’re sharing a first look at how Applied Information is incorporating Geographic Information Systems (GIS) into Glance to give agencies a clearer view of how their connected systems perform in the real world.
Every day, Applied Information’s Glance platform collects millions of data points from connected infrastructure across cities, including traffic signals, school beacons, transit vehicles, and emergency response systems. As Glance continues to grow, we’ve recognized that this connected data holds potential beyond device monitoring and system management.
That is where GIS comes in. By integrating GIS within Glance, users can see and analyze connected data in its real-world locations, providing clearer insight into how devices and systems operate in the field. By analyzing data spatially, we can better understand travel times, identify performance patterns, and measure the impact of connected technology on traffic flow and emergency response.
What is GIS and why is it relevant to Glance?
GIS is a framework for capturing, analyzing, and visualizing data tied to location. It adds geographic context to raw data, helping users see not only where things happen but also how and why they occur. By linking data to geography, GIS reveals patterns and relationships that are often difficult to identify through tables or reports alone.
Within the Glance platform, GIS integration connects data from traffic infrastructure and field devices to real-world locations, allowing agencies to view performance and system activity in a spatial context. By layering real-time information such as signal activations, emergency responses, and traffic flow onto interactive maps and dashboards, GIS in transportation helps agencies visualize operational patterns and understand how their systems perform in real-world conditions. Whether you are a traffic engineer monitoring corridor performance or a fire chief evaluating response coverage, GIS makes complex systems easier to understand at a glance.
Use Case: How GIS Can Help Quantify Potential Time Savings with a Smart Emergency Vehicle Preemption Solution
Using GIS, Applied Information can quantify how Glance’s Emergency Vehicle Preemption (EVP) system converts red-light and traffic delay into measurable response-time savings. Through a proprietary GIS-based modeling method that incorporates the physics of fire apparatus movement and standard emergency driving procedures, our team can simulate response scenarios under current conditions and compare them with a full Glance EVP deployment.
These analyses, offered at no cost to prospective agencies, help quantify how many minutes and seconds of 90th-percentile performance improvement a city can expect using an intelligent preemption system, and how many additional addresses can be reached within the NFPA 1710 travel-time benchmark. In a prior like-kind analysis, the Glance EVP solution improved addresses covered within the NFPA 1710 travel-time standard by more than 60 percent and reduced 90th-percentile travel times by 59 seconds citywide. This methodology supports Standards of Cover, strategic planning, and other operational analyses, providing agencies with data-driven insight into the measurable impact of connected preemption technology.
What’s next for GIS and Data Insights in Glance?
The integration of GIS marks the beginning of a new chapter for Glance. In the months ahead, the GIS and Data Insights team will continue expanding the platform’s analytical capabilities, introducing new map layers and visualization tools that help agencies interpret connected data in more meaningful ways.
Future developments will explore how GIS can support initiatives such as driver safety analysis, transit efficiency studies, and school zone performance reviews. As these tools evolve, agencies will gain deeper ways to view and understand system performance across their networks. The work is just beginning, and the next phase of Glance will continue to reveal how connected data and spatial analysis can work together to support smarter, more informed transportation decisions.
Meet the Minds Behind the Maps
Behind every connected map is a team of innovators who see the world through data. Applied Information’s GIS and Data Insights team blends geospatial analysis with practical problem-solving to turn complex datasets into clear, actionable insights. As they continue shaping Glance into a comprehensive analytics hub, we asked them to share their thoughts on mapping, data, and what inspires their work in the evolving world of GIS.
Alex Temes
Director of Spatial Technology
If you could map anything in the world (no limits!), what would you map and why?
If I had unlimited time and resources, I would make a virtual reality, three-dimensional model scene of my family ranch in Oklahoma where I could visualize all the trees, topology, and hydrology combined with real drone imagery.
What’s your favorite layer to turn on first in a GIS project?
I always throw my road centerlines layer first. No matter the map or analysis, roads always help give me context to what I’m about to do next.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve ever discovered from a map?
While working for a County Fire Department, I used a composite matrix analysis tool to identify where in the county the greatest risks for fatal structure fires existed based on a variety of datasets. The analysis showed exactly where their Community Risk Reduction (CRR) and Fire Education staff needed to focus CRR efforts. To date, the analysis tool has helped drive smoke alarm visits within the community, and most of the fire deaths in that community over the last few years have occurred in this map’s highest risk areas.
What’s harder to find — good coffee or clean GIS data?
Clean GIS data is harder to find…I’m convinced it does not exist.
Kayla Theron
GIS Developer
If you could map anything in the world (no limits!), what would you map and why?
I would create a map highlighting the world’s most breathtaking and untouched natural landscapes. While popular cities and landmarks are often well-documented, natural wonders like waterfalls, glaciers, beaches, and mountain ranges tend to receive far less attention. There are countless stunning natural destinations that remain overlooked and deserve to be discovered!
What’s your favorite layer to turn on first in a GIS project?
I always begin my GIS projects by adding a basemap layer. This provides essential spatial context, aids with orientation, and helps identify potential errors early in the process.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve ever discovered from a map?
One of the most surprising things I’ve learned from using everyday maps is that the fastest route isn’t always the best one. While traveling in Austria, I had two options: a quicker route that relied on unreliable public transport, or a slightly longer one that was entirely walkable. I decided to skip the bus and take the walking route — and it turned out to be the best decision. The path wound through a quiet forest, past charming Austrian farmhouses, and along the way I even stumbled upon some local chocolate. It may have been a longer walk, but it was infinitely more rewarding. Who knew the scenic detour would become the most memorable part of the journey? It’s also a reminder that maps shouldn’t overlook the real-world context behind the data they present.
What’s harder to find — good coffee or clean GIS data?
Clean data is definitely harder to find! Very rarely do we encounter perfect data… but luckily good coffee is easy to find if you know where to look!
Grant Tredrea
GIS Developer
If you could map anything in the world (no limits!), what would you map and why?
Something I’ve always been fascinated by is applications of mapping in archeology, drawing out representations of places and structures that no longer exist based on a few data points, some understanding and a lot of guesswork.
What’s your favorite layer to turn on first in a GIS project?
National and continental boundaries. Because there is no better indication that something is wrong than seeing all your data points mapped in the middle of the ocean or on the wrong side of the planet!
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve ever discovered from a map? Antarctica is the biggest continent, taking up the whole bottom edge of the world. What do you mean, “the planet is round with no edges”? Projection distortion? What’s that? (In case my message is unclear, the surprise is that maps can lie: one should always balance the reading of them with an understanding of the real world they represent.)
What’s harder to find — good coffee or clean GIS data?
I don’t drink coffee … and cleanliness is overrated, you know? I liked spending those literal years of my life editing shapefiles! No I’m not crying, you’re crying!
