Think global. Act local. Why participation in an international standards body makes a difference

In an increasingly interdependent world, cross border sharing of geospatial information becomes increasingly important. Open, international technical standards are necessary to meet requirements for communicating geospatial information between organizations; between different vendors' software...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Athina TRAKAS
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Geo-SEE Institute 2014-12-01
Series:Micro, Macro & Mezzo Geoinformation
Subjects:
Online Access:http://mmm-gi.geo-see.org/wp-content/uploads/MMM-GI_3/Trakas_A-OGC.pdf
Description
Summary:In an increasingly interdependent world, cross border sharing of geospatial information becomes increasingly important. Open, international technical standards are necessary to meet requirements for communicating geospatial information between organizations; between different vendors' software products; between desktop computers, mobile devices, online sensors and cloud computing resources; and between different communities who have different ways of describing, for example, water quality or transportation routes. Open standards also help organizations extend the useful life of previously purchased spatial technology systems, because today virtually all commercial vendors of GIS and Earth imaging software implement open geospatial standards that enable new processing components to work with old ones. Standards empower governments to issue requests for quotes that specify that software offered for purchase must implement certain standards and/or provide certain types of interoperability. An open standards development process prevents a single, selfinterested party from controlling a standard, which helps organizations avoid “lock in” to proprietary architectures. Standards encourage market competition, which increases opportunities for entrepreneurs and promotes variety and new value in the marketplace. Participation in international standards development is important because different interoperability requirements come from different communities of interest in different regions, professions, industries and disciplines. Participants are able to leverage their expertise at an international level and likewise they benefit from contact with an international network of information technology experts who can provide early insight into user requirements for interoperability and technical approaches to interoperability. Participation also provides insight into standards that underpin European Directives like INSPIRE.
ISSN:1857-9000
1857-9019