Geospatial technologies include the Global Positioning System (GPS) and other global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), total stationsto measure angles and distances, light detection and ranging (LIDAR), remote sensing (RS, which includes multi-spectral satellite imaging and aerial ortho-photography), location-based services (LBS), computer-aided design (CAD), and geographic information systems (GIS). The industry includes basic and applied research, technology development, and applications to address all types of planning, decision-making, and operational needs of government, the private sector, science, and individuals. The market for geomatics products can be divided by level of accuracy into three segments: consumer grade, resource grade, and survey grade.

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The geospatial industry produces knowledge (such as the geographic distribution of cases of malaria or of social service centers), products (such as hand-held GPS receivers or ortho-rectified digital aerial photographs), and services (such as turn-by-turn directions or storm tracking). While consumer geomatics products are very user-friendly and may require as little user input as entering an address, professional uses require significant technical training. Therefore, the educational and training activities of colleges, universities, and professional organizations are a key component of the geospatial community. Geospatial disciplines include surveying, geodesy, mapping, cartography, remote sensing, and geographic information science.