2020 marks Orbis’ 20th anniversary! To celebrate our growth over the last two decades, co-founders Russell Combs, Jr. and Clarence Neese, Jr. are reflecting on the history of Orbis and what the future holds.
The story of Orbis is really the story of our clients. That’s because our philosophy has always been to make our clients as successful as possible. We believed, and still do, that if we do right by the people that hire us, our success would take care of itself.
How We Got Here
Before Orbis, we worked together in the GIS industry. It didn’t take us long to recognize the potential for GIS technology to transform the timberland investment industry. That’s why, in 2000, we founded Orbis with a concentrated focus on facilitating the natural resources industry’s adoption of GIS mapping. This is how we got the name Orbis, which is Latin for world.
Five years in, we saw a growing need for innovative new tools that could modernize the way land asset managers do business. This led to an intense focus on application and software development, which we had never anticipated.
We’ve since launched over half a dozen products and services to solve specific problems for our clients. From land records management to recreational leasing, from ecommerce platforms to cloud services, we’re proud to have developed technology that helps manage the entire lifecycle of an asset.
Like many startups and small companies, we’ve worked through some difficult times too. For example, 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis and the current global pandemic. Through the skill and hard work of our dedicated team, we’ve always found a way to innovate and change in ways to weather the storm.
Looking Forward
It’s hard to know what the next 20 years holds for Orbis. Technology is changing rapidly every day. But the one thing that hasn’t changed is our focus on helping our clients be successful.
20 years ago, GIS mapping transformed how land asset managers do business. In the next few years, we anticipate cloud computing to play a similarly vital role in the evolution of land asset management. We’ve been working in the cloud for more than 10 years and believe that the growing benefits and capabilities of the technology will make it more transformative than ever.
As always Orbis will continue to evolve. Our next generation of services is already in planning and development stages. We won’t stop adapting to new challenges and pushing the technological envelope. And we will continue working to expand our customer service and product offerings. All as part of our commitment to equip our clients with whatever solutions and services they need to succeed.
Thank you to our clients, team members and partners for being a part of a memorable 20 years. Here’s to celebrating the next successful chapter together.
Russell & Clarence
Let’s Work Together
Orbis helps you make better sense of your assets, and better use of everything involved in managing them. Request more information or book a consultation with us today.