SuperGeo Technologies Inc. originates from the early 1990’s and calls Asia home. CEO Super Wang began the company together with other interested parties. It has since grown to become a leading international geographic information system (GIS) software manufacturer. Vector1 Media editor Jeff Thurston interviewed Mr. Wang on several topics to learn about the company and it’s expansion and development.
V1 Magazine: How did SuperGeo Technologies Incorporated begin? What prompted the formation of the company and what were some of the considerations at the start?
SW: The company was funded in 2001 by myself and SYSTEX Corp., the biggest System Integrator and also a listed company in Taiwan. The origin of SuperGeo, however, can be traced back to 1990 when I built the first GIS consultant company in Taiwan. At that time, I observed that the existing software venders did not completely satisfy the local demands, especially in Taiwan where IT technology is highly developed and users have more requirements. That is when I saw the business opportunity in developing own-brand GIS software and thus decided to research SuperGIS Software to meet user requirements better.
V1 Magazine: There is a strong research and education theme that is noticeable within the company. Where does that come from? Is it fair to say that environmental and land management issues are also a primary interest for SuperGeo Technologies?
SW: In the beginning of our establishment, we received much support and advice from many reputed professors and researchers in Taiwan; our software has assisted them in related research work, too. Besides, we have won many awards and funding from Taiwanese government for our development and innovation of GIS techniques. These have motivated us in research and education theme continuously.
Now we are also co-working with the academia in other countries. By collaborating closely with them, we have learned the most advanced research and theories. These are precious resources and references for SuperGeo. We have a project team to develop GIS applications in all fields. There are also many third-party partners who use our software to develop applications and assist their work in making better decisions. At first, many applications are related to environment and land, because they are closest to people’s lives, but SuperGeo products have already been utilized and extended to much more areas, like transportation, public health, emergency, tourism, etc.
V1 Magazine: What do you see as the challenges for geographic information systems (GIS) today? Are we meeting these challenges? If not, what could be done better and how do you suggest we proceed to overcome them?
SW: Environmental changing issues, such as global warming and climate anomalies, are getting more complex, far behind our imagination. Whether traditional GIS technology could solve this would be a question. At the same time, software and hardware techniques are also advancing day after day. How to integrate our software into more platforms for the best user-friendly operation environment is also what we are concerning about and working on now.
V1 Magazine: What distinguishes SuperGIS from other GIS in the marketplace? You also market SuperWebGIS, does that closely follow the desktop version? Can you describe the differences between customers using desktop versus web GIS products that you are experiencing?
SW: When I first established SuperGeo, it was the unfulfilled user demands that encouraged me to develop our own products. So, considering user demands, offering better service, more flexible product choices, and reasonable prices are our advantages.
SuperWenGIS and SuperGIS Desktop both belong to our provided solutions. Depending on user’s requests and purposes, they can choose the suitable software for their work. For instance, if you’d like to publish web services, then SuperWebGIS is the solution for you; if you want to maintain database or operate geoprocessing, SuperGIS Desktop is the right choice. And, if you have outdoor mapping and survey tasks, SuperPad can assist your mobile GIS work. Users can flexibly choose the suitable software to support their GIS work.
V1 Magazine: In our Asian Surveying and Mapping magazine there is a long history of editorial material. However, markets outside of Asia are more recent for SuperGeo Technologies. How is your growth and expansion going? Do you see differences between the Asian markets and other markets?
SW: We are very proud of our global expansion. SuperGeo started the overseas sales and partnership since 2007. Within 3 years, we already have partners not only in Asia and Middle East, but also in Africa, Europe, America, and recently Oceania. So I would say our expansion is going well and we hope to keep growing by cooperating with more long-term partners.
Overall, the users in North America and Europe tend to use the GIS products provided by US-based suppliers. On the other hand, Asian markets are still learning and growing, but the emerging markets have deep demands for GIS products. We are lucky to start from Asia to other area, because we can cover comprehensively for user needs in all scales. Compared to some GIS companies in North America, our company probably is not very big. This, however, makes us focus more on customer services and support, and also interests more users to come to us.
V1 Magzine: I’m curious to know more about SuperPad and the uptake of mobile GIS in the Asian markets since these markets are more wireless oriented than non-Asian markets. Can you tell us about this aspect?
SW: In Asia, many countries have great demand for infrastructure, so they need to rely on mobile GIS products to help field works a lot. It is convenient for field users to connect to server for quick data uploading and downloading, because this helps to achieve better data updating and decision making. Considering this, wireless connection would be important for field users and surveyors. SuperPad is already ready for this.
V1 Magazine: It seems to me that language must be a major issue for marketing your products. Are they all in English language or other languages too? Have you found any interesting cultural factors regarding the use of GIS between different places?
SW: Indeed, language would be a major issue when entering overseas markets. All of our products are designed in English and Chinese. We also translate the interface to many worldwide commonly-used languages, such as French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, and Korean. We will provide more in the future for sure.
Besides languages, the essential difference in the use of GIS in dissimilar cultures would be the legends, coordinate systems, etc. We also have solutions to these issues.
V1 Magazine: What are the major expectations that GIS users have today in your view?
SW: To utilize GIS to deal with all kinds of spatial related issues, such as environment, business and economy, resource development, health, emergency, etc, would be my view of users’ major expectations. We also hope to meet their expectations in all scopes, from individuals, companies, to nations. Reasonable cost is no doubt another concern, which is also what we offer to users.
V1 Magazine: What are SuperGeo DataRectifier and SuperGIS DataConverter? Do you find many people attempting to integrate different types of data? Can you describe a few cases where your products solved their problems?
SW: SuperGIS DataRectifier helps user to rectify feature layers and raster layers. SuperGIS DataConvertor converts commonly-used file formats to our self-defined formats, enhancing the convenience for new users when they have different data formats. This happens a lot because users may use various types of data before, but they want to change to SuperGIS software with the least hassle. The tool is very useful in this way. And what’s better, they are FREE tools for our clients for the ease of use. It decreases the barriers in converting data and also products.
V1 Magazine: I understand that SuperGeo Technologies also holds patents for some of products it has developed. Can you explain please?
SW: To obtain patents is not only a proof of our R&D efforts, but also a protection for our technologies and products. That is why I ask our RD team to apply for patents to preserve our research achievements and technology advancements. Therefore, we will keep innovating and also applying patents in the future.
V1 Magazine: Today we see 3D growing in importance. How does your company approach 3D and where do you see it going in terms of 3D technologies and applications?
SW: 3D effects visualize features on maps better. We have 3D Analyst for this trend and demand. It provides 3D visualization effects and analysis methods of surface change for spatial data. Also, we have SuperGIS Image Server to publish 3D data via the Internet for organizations. More advanced 3D technologies and applications are under planning, too.
V1 Magazine: Imaging from airborne and satellite based technologies are often used in GIS applications. Can you describe a few examples where your software is being used together with imaging applications?
SW: Aeromaps and satellite images are important data for users. In Taiwan, we are also a distributor of GeoEye after we observe Taiwanese users’ demands. Also, we have SuperGIS Image Server and SuperGIS Server to deliver on-the-fly image processing functions and manage large amounts of imagery data. Other SuperGIS series software is also connected to these and able to display image data. So our products provide useful connection and strong support for imaging applications.
Take a map company for example. They use SuperGIS Desktop and SuperGIS Image Server to build a large map data building company that manufactures all the map data for whole Taiwan.
V1 Magazine: Sustainability is a major interest to many people around the world today. What is SuperGeo Technologies doing to ensure a clean and green future that supports people in clean and healthy ways?
SW: Sustainable environment is a significant issue for SuperGeo, and it is one of our main concerns since the establishment. We have lots of applications of improving and maintaining the environment and conservation for the government and the public’s reference. We also emphasize natural resources and have some success cases in pollution detection. These explain our ambition in supporting sustainability. Meanwhile, I also encourage our employees to implement this idea in daily life, such as taking public transit to work and doing garbage classification.
V1 Magazine: Where do you see your company in 5 years?
SW: Global expansion is one of our main tasks now. Since we are already strong in Asia, the next focus will be in Europe, and also America. We hope to collaborate with potential partners in a long term. Also, we would like to keep on research and innovation, making SuperGIS a renowned GIS brand worldwide in 5 years.
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Bio: Super Wang, CEO, SuperGeo Technologies Inc
Super Wang, graduated from the Department of Geography in 1989 with his major in GIS at National Taiwan University, the top one university in Taiwan. Deeply involved in GIS domain over 20 years, Wang possesses not only solid GIS knowledge but also abundant practical experience. Wang also actively takes board members of several important GIS associations in Taiwan. Under his leadership and expertise, SuperGIS Software keeps in progress and is becoming a leading GIS brand by offering a total solution for global GIS users.
SuperGeo contact: [email protected]
