Overture Maps Foundation’s submission offers a working model for the next generation of SDI, emphasizing building on open, interoperable, and cloud-native foundations through public-private collaboration.

Its proposal highlights the use of open base map layers and the Global Entity Reference System (GERS) to create a sustainable, collaborative framework for spatial data integration and sharing.

Key Features

• Open Base Layers as Shared Infrastructure
  Provides foundational datasets: buildings, roads, administrative boundaries, land cover/use, and points of interest. Supports a federated model where governments provide authoritative data and industry scales innovation. Reduces duplication through jointly maintained and openly licensed data.
• Global Entity Reference System (GERS)
  Assigns stable, unique, and open identifiers to geographic entities (e.g., buildings, road segments). Enables interoperability and data conflation across diverse sources, linking census, environmental, and commercial datasets.
• Cloud-Native and Interoperable Architecture
  Uses GeoParquet and cloud-native geospatial technologies for scalable data storage, distribution, and analytics. Eliminates legacy silos and supports real-time and distributed SDI architectures.
• Public-Private Collaboration and Sustainability
  Backed by Amazon, Esri, Microsoft, Meta, TomTom, Uber, and U.S. NGA. Demonstrates broad industry support and ensures long-term maintenance and evolution of the open datasets.

Benefits and Impact

• Enhanced Data Interoperability
  GERS allows seamless linking of government and private datasets for analysis and decision making.
• Scalable and Sustainable SDI
  Open, federated data sharing reduces redundancy and increases efficiency.
• Accelerated Innovation
  Cloud-native workflows enable real-time analytics and advanced geospatial applications.
• Inclusive Collaboration
  Aligns national SDIs with multi-sector contributions, ensuring longevity and adaptability.
• Global Knowledge Exchange
  Provides a model that can be replicated or integrated into other national and international SDI efforts.

Use Cases

• National SDI modernization
• Cross-domain data conflation
• Cloud-driven geospatial services
• Public-private data ecosystems