Today, massive amounts of data are available for use in map production.Modern cartography tools have replaced the more time-consuming processes which previously characterised map production, from information gathering to transferral to paper and finally to the very slow process of transferral to a medium which can be duplicated.

There is still a need for highly educated cartographers to develop these systems and to pass the enormous amount of knowledge of map production on to new users. At the same time, the industry is undergoing great changes and new methods of producing maps are constantly being developed.