ESRI the makers of ArcGIS just made available to Evergreen Business Analyst and Business Analyst Online, which is a very interesting exploration into the integration of GIS and business analytics.  At first glance it is a way to look at standard datasets through a geographic lens.  You can add data points, buffer or travel times and then run reports from a number of integrated data sets not least of which includes current US Census data.  Create report ready customized maps, conduct market analysis based on a host of socioeconomic information.  They are starting to improve the ability to run queries and analyses from the cloud which rivals some of the more CPU intensive processes that GIS is (in)famous for.  Check out some of the demos which give an idea of what this system is built to do.  You can also try a free trial.  Evergreen students and faculty of course can, through a global account, use the application as part of the state GIS consortium.  Send me an email if you are interested and I can get you started..

Want to try something interesting, try the Get the Scoop on Any Area in the U.S. from the front page of BAO and type in your zipcode and check out the information about your home zip.  whoa.