About Azavea

Azavea (formerly Avencia) is a small, award-winning geospatial analysis (GIS) software development firm specializing in the creation of highly crafted and easy-to-use web and mobile solutions, as well as geospatial analysis services to enhance decision-making processes.

We like to call ourselves a boutique systems design and software development firm. What do we mean by “boutique”? We don’t just write software. Azavea’s culture is based on several features – growth and diversification, intellectually challenging work that has social value, teams made up of smart people, and attention to a high quality experience for our clients and the audience that uses our applications.

Our goal is to combine our experience solving tough geospatial problems, commitment to tailored service, and a genuine desire to “do well by doing good” in order to help our clients create more dynamic, vibrant, and sustainable communities. It is our hope that in the process, we can help our clients make positive and long-lasting impacts on the communities they serve.

We have experience working on projects spanning a wide array of domains: natural resource planning, neighborhood revitalization, economic development, crime analysis, real estate property analysis, redistricting, political advocacy, and cultural resources to name a few.

While terms such as 'Corporate Social Responsibility', 'conscious capitalism' and 'sustainable development' are increasingly being used, it all boils down to the choices we make as businesses and the values we not only claim to believe in, but that we actually apply in our day-to-day operations. The B Corporation status emphasizes the triple bottom line of social responsibility, sustainability and profitability (people, planet, profit). At Azavea, many of our business decisions stem from these three principles, so becoming a B Corporation was a no brainer. By legally becoming a B Corporation we are better positioned to demonstrate that commitment and set an example in our industry and our community.

The Change We Seek™

We see technology as a means to an end; not as an ideology. Pushing the envelope of what current technology platforms can do is what sets us apart, but at the core of our choices are our clients’ needs and budgets, and the positive impacts their projects will have on the communities they serve. We can work with both commercial software and open source platforms as well as hybrids of the two, depending on the particular needs of the client. Ultimately, we want to produce elegant, technically beautiful, user-friendly solutions that are also affordable.

Investing in relationships with our clients, our employees, and the communities around us is one of our core values:

• We believe in being generous with our time, knowledge, and expertise. We want to be helpful to the communities we serve (locally and globally) as much as we are to our paying clients. Whether it is to answer a quick question by email or responding by phone for an hour, we believe being helpful is one of the highest qualities we can demonstrate.

• Investing in a stimulating, intellectually challenging and open environment for our employees is an explicit part of Azavea’s mission. From the office layout and monthly Brown Bag Lunches to our benefit package that includes training and continuing education expense reimbursements, we try to create a place where smart people can collaborate more effectively and feel intellectually stimulated.

• Lastly, our investment in relationships extends to our commitment to redistributing 2% of our annual profits to charitable organizations selected by our staff through our “Time to Give Back” program, while our pro bono and 10% personal research programs have enabled our employees to work on projects that have a strong potential to help either a group of people or a whole community, but for which an organization might not otherwise have sufficient funds to afford our services.

Azavea Inc.

• Industry: IT Software & Services
• Product/Services: GIS and Mapping Software Development Services and Geospatial Analysis Services
• Location: Philadelphia, PA
• http://www.azavea.com