Let us take some time out to cherish the achievements of technology, industry, and academics in the geospatial macrocosm for the year that has come to an end. 2021 brought a sense of urgency: the urgency to rebuild our societies and economies; the urgency to get businesses on track; the urgency to bridge the digital divide; and the urgency to ensure sustainable development. We have witnessed new policies unfurl in the recent past across the globe that promise to take us to stellar heights in the actualization of geospatial potential. There has been a significant shift in what’s being constructed, with new emphasis on data centers and warehouses due to the boom in e-commerce; and the pandemic has indeed acted as an ‘accelerator’ for digitalization.

The geospatial aspect in the Fourth Industrial Revolution has come to represent not just a shift in industrial capitalism through the speed and scope of technological evolution but it has also supervened as a paradigm shift in the very outlook of technology and the resultant societal patterns. Geospatial data and technologies are quietly but steadily facilitating this transition and will assume an even more significant role in the times to come.

As we embark on a new path of growth, we cannot forget the challenges posed to us vis-à-vis the environment, and must be open to rethink and realign technology with its exigencies.