Since we introduced Fulcrum in 2011, the team at Spatial Networks has worked continuously to improve the platform and become the industry leader in field data collection, as well as to mature as both geographers and software developers. We like to think we’re succeeding on both counts.
But as we gathered last year to start planning for 2018, we realized that we were on the verge of something bigger. Much bigger. (Seriously, we’re talking twice as big — read on!)
Here’s a peek at what’s in store for the 12 months ahead, and beyond:
Scaling Fulcrum for Large Organizations
Our engineers are always working to address the needs of our users. In 2018 we are planning additional back-end developments to address the feature requests of some of our larger customers, including scalability issues, increased security, improved operational workflows and team-management features.
Growing Fulcrum Community
After last year’s record-breaking hurricanes, folks around the country used Fulcrum Community, our no-cost, event-based crowdsourcing solution, to help survivors in Houston find shelter and other resources after Hurricane Harvey and to conduct damage assessments after Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
Fulcrum Community is still in its infancy, and the active hurricane season had much to teach us. This year, we plan to work on maturing the platform based on those lessons. The team and our users have lots of ideas for ways to better leverage Fulcrum for emergency-response scenarios.
We are also looking at creating a Fulcrum Community-like product that will make it easier for municipalities to leverage citizen participation and crowdsourcing — not just for disaster relief, but to create more citizen engagement for city projects and other resource needs!
Sharing Best Practices
Not only is the Spatial Networks team the creators of Fulcrum, but we are also users! This year, we will be taking what we’ve learned through our data collection efforts to help teach our customers best practices and show them ways to effectively manage teams and take full advantage of the platform.
We will also continue to host monthly webinars to help our users get the most out of Fulcrum.
Expanding our Global Network
The Spatial Networks team sponsors and attends several industry events each year to increase our network and knowledge base as well as spread the word about the powerful Fulcrum platform.
Here are a few of places you’ll find us in 2018:
- DGI 2018, Jan. 22-24, London
- Global SOF Symposium – US, Feb. 19-21, Tampa
- GEOINT 2018 Symposium, April 22-25, Tampa
- FOSS4G-NA, May 14-16, St. Louis
- SOFIC 2018, May 21-24, Tampa
- Global SOF Symposium – Europe, Sept. 25-27, Madrid
- Geography 2050, Nov. 15-16, New York
If you see us, stop by and say hello!
Improving User Experience
Some of our larger users — including our own data collectors — have found it cumbersome to look at data from multiple apps at the same time with the current Fulcrum Editor. This year we’re working on some Editor enhancements to make it easier to collect and compare data on several apps at once.
Customer feedback is an essential driver in helping us prioritize new development, and we’ll be introducing several smaller feature improvements during the coming months based on our users’ comments and requests.
Another exciting item on this year’s agenda is to expand our partner network, which will make it easier for our users to integrate Fulcrum with other platforms. We have several long-time partners in our network already, and we plan to expand this significantly with new partners focused on specific domains and geographies.
We’re also expecting significant growth in our data and analytics product offerings. Check back here and on the Spatial Networks website for updates!
And finally, to accomplish all of this and more, Spatial Networks is…
(More than) Doubling our Staff
At the end of 2017, Spatial Networks had 32 employees operating in seven states. By the end of this year, we’ll have 66, and have established a presence in Washington, DC.
Our immediate priority is to acquire a recruiter to help us hire the most motivated and talented people for these positions, which will include account managers, developers, support specialists, analysts, product managers, and more.
That’s just a taste of what’s to come — 2018 is going to be a year of major changes and big-time growth for the team behind Fulcrum! Check back on our blog often for more announcements and to learn about new features as they’re introduced!
Want to come work with us? Check our openings and apply today!