Many large forestry companies are already employing GIS to manage their forestry assets. The data for hundreds of thousands of acres can be consolidated into a single system rather than scattered throughout numerous binders and plats. When coupled with GPS receivers, GIS drastically increases the efficiency of any operation. In addition, digital imagery of recent aerial photography can be incorporated into existing GIS systems so that stand lines not only represent the data of that stand but actually display its visual qualities as well.

A GIS also provides county tax assessors with a database to catalog properties (and their data) with digital aerial photography. This makes location and display of desired properties easy to determine. Similarly, real estate agents can use a GIS to locate properties with certain criteria and display their location relative to surrounding properties, access routes, and other features of interest. A GIS can also be used to call up imagery of individual properties.

Entities responsible for emergency planning can utilize a GIS to locate hazards or resources and to plot evacuation or intervention routes. A similar arrangement can be employed for city planning to show access routes and utility corridors to areas of potential growth. This is especially useful when incorporating detailed contour and drainage mapping. Industrial plants are also increasingly using GIS to aid in evacuation planning, land procurement, facility management, and land use monitoring.