What Do Geospatial Standards Look Like in 2021?

In her 2021 piece for Geospatial World, Dr. Nadine Alameh redefines the role of geospatial standards, shifting the focus from rigid, technical specifications to a more agile, developer-centric ecosystem. She argues that for standards to remain relevant in a rapidly accelerating digital landscape, they must move away from the "standards for standards' sake" mentality. Instead, the modern standard is characterized by its ability to hide complexity, allowing developers and data scientists to leverage powerful spatial capabilities through familiar, web-native interfaces like modern APIs without needing to be GIS experts.

Dr. Alameh highlights that the "modern look" of standards is inherently collaborative and multidisciplinary. In 2021, the emphasis was on breaking down the historical barriers between geospatial data and mainstream IT. This involved a strategic transition toward cloud-native architectures and "FAIR" data principles, ensuring that information is not just available, but truly findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable across different platforms. By aligning with broader tech trends such as Big Data, IoT, and AI, geospatial standards act as the "invisible glue" that enables diverse systems to communicate seamlessly.

Ultimately, she frames the future of standards as a critical foundation for solving global, planetary-scale challenges. She stresses that as we face complex issues like climate change and pandemic response, no single organization can operate in a vacuum. Standards in 2021 and beyond are about creating a "collective intelligence" through open innovation and public-private partnerships. By simplifying how we share and integrate location data, these standards empower a wider range of stakeholders to transform raw geographic information into the trusted, real-time insights required for meaningful global action.