Field service companies today are using cloud software and iPads to improve work-order management. Airline pilots are using iPads in the cockpit. And even thermostats are becoming sleek examples of 21st-century technology. Now, a new iPad app shows that even utility districts and municipalities are getting in on the mobile-tech action.

A new tool from Nobel Systems called the GeoViewer Mobile for iPad aims to help field crews and their managers use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data to access and interact with a virtual library of information, including aerial maps, schematics, renderings, reports, service history, and anything else a field worker could need. It’s being billed as a modern, user-friendly approach to an industry sorely in need of one.

This app also follows a trend we’ve been noticing: city governments and municipalities adopting mobile technologies to streamline their field operations. As we reported earlier this year, Boston’s public works department is using a mobile app to detect and more quickly report potholes throughout the city. We also ran a story detailing how the police department in Redlands, Calif. is using GIS and mobile computing to analyze crime. This app from Nobel System, which of course is also targeted for use by city governments, appears to be the latest in what may no longer be considered a trend. We’re eager to see what’s next.

More: How Mobile Apps Are Reinventing Citizen Field Service for Boston.

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