Great news for rural economic developers!

GIS WebTech is moving rural economic development forward with the launch of Guru Rural, the first technology purpose-built for the unique needs of rural economic development. Curious? Read on!

What is Guru Rural?

Guru Rural is the first online site selection technology specifically designed for rural economic development. Rural economic development is distinct from economic development in metro areas, with unique challenges and unique advantages. With our company’s rapid growth over the last five years we heard time and again from rural economic developers how they were frustrated with their lack of options. So when we launched development of our all-new Guru technology we committed to developing a version specifically for rural economic development. Today, we announce the launch of Guru Rural!

How is Guru Rural different?

Until now, rural economic developers have had to adapt to technology not designed for their needs. With Guru Rural, GIS WebTech has flipped the script: we adapted technology to the unique needs of rural economic developers rather than the other way around. Guru Rural includes a set of features and data specifically designed for rural business attraction and retention. Likewise, it excludes data that is not helpful or irrelevant for rural needs. Best of all, Guru Rural comes at a price point designed to fit smaller rural budgets.

How does Guru Rural help rural economic developers be more successful?

Guru Rural also includes all of the cutting-edge property features we developed for our new Guru platform. Want to show local data in a meeting? Just drag a spreadsheet onto the map and Guru Rural does the rest! Want to highlight virtual spec buildings on major properties? Guru Rural comes with a full suite of 3D spec buildings, and when you add one to a property a business clicking on that property automatically sees the spec building in full 3D. Want to make sure site selectors and businesses see every property’s unique assets, like high voltage power or available sewer and wastewater? Guru Rural lets you select which layers open automatically when a site selector clicks on a property, ensuring they see the information you want them to see.

Lastly, Guru Rural includes all of the GIS functionality of our Guru platform, allowing rural economic developers to integrate layers like zoning, sewer and wastewater built by local GIS departments with just a few clicks.

None of these features are available in legacy apps. Only GIS WebTech’s Guru platform provides them.

Of course, Guru Rural also includes the latest, most up to date user experience. As noted in our blog announcing the launch of our Guru technology , we do not believe in bolting feature after feature onto an older technology just to keep extending its life, because it diminishes the user experience. (For a deeper explanation of why apps need to be regularly rebuilt and not just updated, see our classic blog on product life cycle .) Instead, our commitment to continuous innovation means our clients always enjoy the newest apps incorporating the latest GIS technology, with a modern and up-to-date user experience. Guru is the latest platform and reflects the latest in app design. No cluttered landing page with confusing navigation!

I have a very limited budget. How much does Guru Rural cost?

This is one of the really exciting advantages of Guru Rural: by developing a technology specifically for rural needs we kept the technology incredibly affordable. You don’t pay for features and data that are irrelevant to rural economic development. If you have never been able to afford an online sites & buildings technology in the past, or if you’ve had to settle for an outdated technology simply because it was affordable, Guru Rural is for you! We know rural economic developers have limited budgets, and Guru Rural was designed and built to fit those budgets while still containing the latest features and data.
We use one of the older technologies. Is it difficult to switch?

Not at all! So many economic developers have switched to GIS WebTech from older technologies over the last few years that we’ve automated part of the process! Guru Rural is so easy to set up that our team can have your installation up and running in a few hours.

I am stuck with months, even a year or more, on my contract for an older technology. What can I do?

No worries! We have many clients who were in a similar situation. Contact me and I will explain how we can help.

I am going to redesign my website and branding. Should I wait until that is done to make the switch to Guru Rural?

No need to wait to get the benefits of the latest technology! We will set up Guru Rural now using your current website and branding, then reconfigure Guru Rural at no charge when your new website and new branding are ready. You get the benefits of economic development’s best technology immediately, without having to wait, and we don’t charge you twice for configuration.

We’d love to show you how Guru Rural makes rural economic development easier. Just contact me (ron@giswebtech.com) or Courtney Bridger (courtney@giswebtech.com).