In 1985 Super Mario Bros. was released in United States and was the best-selling video game of all time for over two decades (until Wii Sports outsold it in 2009).

Part of the reason Super Mario Bros. was so successful is because Mario was able to eat those gigantic Mushrooms and double his size – giving him the ability to take an extra hit from most enemies and break those red bricks with ease (he could also shoot fire balls if he ate the Fire Flower, which was pretty cool).

In Super Mario Bros. 2 he gained a different power – you’ll remember that Mario was able to pull up weeds out of the ground (which would turn into bottles of magic potion), and throw those bottles of potion on the ground to create magic doors – leading to an alternate world where he could make himself rich by collecting lots of coins.

Then, in 1990, came Super Mario Bros. 3 – a billion-dollar-plus gross revenue producer that gave Mario his best powers yet:

1. He learned to fly (always wished I could do that), and
2. He got a GIS-based work management system.

Apparently sometime between 1985 and 1990 Mario realized he could do his job better if he could see his work on a map.

Mario's GIS-based work management system

Ironically, it was about that same period that companies began using GIS together with their asset and work management software.  Originally these systems were crude and extremely difficult to implement and maintain – however they’ve come a long way and today’s GIS-based work management systems are much more manageable.

A modern version of Mario's GIS-based work management system

My favorite thing about Mario’s GIS-based work management system is the dancing cacti and cheerful background music.  My favorite thing about modern GIS-based work management systems is the ability for organizations to see where their Work Orders are taking place, use the maps to manage maintenance activities, and visualize work history patterns.

Here’s a quick video demonstrating GIS integration with asset management software:

And just for fun, here’s a video that shows you how to beat Super Mario Bros. 3 in record time (note the dancing cacti and great music that accompany the maps):

…who knows, maybe someday we’ll see dancing cacti and cheerful background music as added features in GIS-based asset and work management software.