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Many large companies have geospatial systems. Starbucks, Target, UPS, FedEx, Ford, and a million other places, utilize GIS and geospatial technologies. The list of private companies below is by no means exhaustive, and no endorsement is implied. The list has been compiled merely to show the spectrum of companies involved in geospatial technology.

Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) has been the world leader in geospatial application design, development, and consulting for three decades.

Intergraph is a provider of engineering and geospatial software for business and industry. Intergraph is part of Hexagon, a global provider of geospatial technologies. Intergraph is home to ERDAS Imagine, ER Mapper, GeoMedia, LPS and ImageStation.

Autodesk is a global company whose primary focus is computer-aided design and drafting, especially within architecture, construction and utilities management.

MapInfo, a division of Pitney Bowes, provides desktop, server, web and data GIS products.

BAE Systems is a global defense, aerospace and security company. BAE delivers a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, security, information technology solutions and support services. BAE is home to the "Socet" collection of geospatial software, popular among government contractors.

SAS (pronounced "sass") once stood for "statistical analysis system," and began at North Carolina State University as a project to analyze agricultural research. As demand for such software grew, SAS was founded in 1976 to help all sorts of customers - from pharmaceutical companies and banks to academic and governmental entities. Today, SAS is know for analyzing Big Data for a wide range of economic sectors.

SPSS is a statistical analysis, a/k/a "predictive analytics," software package. SPSS was once a stand-alone company and is now part of IBM.

Though best known for GPS technology, Trimble integrates a wide range of positioning technologies including GPS, laser, optical and inertial technologies with application software, wireless communications, and services to provide complete commercial solutions. Its integrated solutions allow customers to collect, manage and analyze complex information faster and easier, making them more productive, efficient and profitable.

Garmin produces GPS hardware and software for the automobile, aviation, marine, outdoor, and sports and leisure industries, with 35 offices worldwide.

NAVTEQ is a company working behind the scenes to develop the spatial data necessary for other companies to use in their mobile devices and dashboard navigators. NAVTEQ has offices worldwide and develops data for populated places the world over.

(Maps/Earth)

Google, while a company based on a search engine, has evolved into a geospatial technology company. Google has many jobs specifically aimed at the geospatial field.

(Bing)

Microsoft is better known, perhaps, for operating systems and office productivity software. Microsoft also has a significant geospatial investment in Bing and Bing Maps.

Apple develops maps in-house, and, sometimes, by purchasing small specialized mapping companies.

DigitalGlobe is a leading global provider of commercial high-resolution earth imagery products and services. Sourced from its own advanced satellite constellation, DG imagery solutions support a wide variety of uses within defense and intelligence, civil agencies, mapping and analysis, environmental monitoring, oil and gas exploration, infrastructure management, Internet portals and navigation technology.

Rand McNally specializes in maps, navigation, road travel, and trip planning. Founded in 1856, the company provides products and services for consumers, the trucking and commercial transportation market, and educators. Rand McNally's products and services include IntelliRoute® truck routing software and GPS devices, a leading geography-based online subscription service for schools, printed maps and atlases including America's #1 Road Atlas.

Sanborn offers a full suite of photogrammetric mapping and geographic information system (GIS) consulting services.

Pictometry is an imagery company, providing clients with high-resolution nadir, off-nadir, and low oblique aerial imagery for use in many different applications.

PenBay Solutions

PenBay Solutions uses ArcGIS (and perhaps other platforms) to develop applications for facilities management and operations.

Accuweather provides a number of GIS-based services for agriculture, air quality managers, utility companies, and probably even sports companies.

Divisions within LCE use GIS to analyze and develop retail business solutions, which really means GIS is used for the analysis of neighborhoods, consumer spending, and location/site analysis for store location.

GIS is used throughout the Energy sector, from managing equipment and operations, to exploration and analysis.

Atkins Global is a design, engineering, and project management consulting group with offices around the world.