Founder & Chairman’s Message
This year is my company’s 25th anniversary. Twenty-five years is only like a blink in the history, but for me, it is a step-by-step process of moving forward. When I look back, I am grateful for the ups and downs, indeed, I cherish every moment of the years.
25 years ago, a university student who had graduated a few years ago, bearing in mind a strong belief in geographic information system (GIS), that Hong Kong could use this innovative information technology to enhance efficiency of urban planning and data visualisation, and improve people’s quality of life and satisfaction, started her business. She proposed to build up the digital economy and related services to create more quality employment opportunities, and to make good use of cloud service to increase productivity and competitiveness. Meanwhile, the macro perspective brought by GIS helped people strike a balance between urban development and environmental conservation.
GIS can create a sustainable future
Honestly, I truly believe that using GIS technology can create a more sustainable future and consolidate Hong Kong’s status as a world-class metropolis.
It is with this kind of vigour that I started my business 25 years ago, it was the IT industry that received little attention during the period. At one time, I talked about my work with my relatives and friends, "It is digitisation of paper maps, and you can add a lot of data to facilitate analysis..." During that period, there was hardly anyone who understood my work. I am grateful that over the past 25 years, we have gradually received support from many local clients, our products and services have been deployed in population census, water mains monitoring, environmental protection law enforcement, disaster relief, species conservation, urban planning, airport management, logistics and transportation, and more. The private and public organisations and the government are more aware of the importance of geospatial data and GIS, we can see a good momentum, though there is still room for improving their knowledge in GIS.
What’s next?
What about the next 5, 10, or even 25 years?
As Jack Dangermond, the president of Esri, has said: "For the future of GIS, the sky is the limit. It all depends on our creativity to discover its possibilities." I do hope more young people will join the GIS industry so that Hong Kong could develop more ambitiously through the creativity of our next generations.
Dr. Winnie Tang
Founder and Chairman of Esri China (Hong Kong) Limited