The 2010 conference season started with a big one: the European Defence Geospatial Intelligence 2010 Conference in London. 600 attendees from all over the world from a myriad of organisations.
To get a better Common Operational Picture of this community we decided to infiltrate it by setting up a semi-permanent observation post (i.e. our stand) on the conference floor.
So, what were my expectations? As it was the Defence Geospatial Intelligence Conference I imagined flight simulators, four-star generals, secret spies in long raincoats and a communal "God Save the Queen" at the start of each day. But what was the case? I was totally wrong! (...apart from spotting the occasional high-ranked military commander...)
A global geospatial community
It turned out that the geospatial intelligence and defence community is very much like any other geospatial industry: many highly skilled professionals who face similar challenges with enabling interoperability of their data and systems. Solutions are found in building spatial data infrastructures based on open standards.
Using open standards to enabe SDIs has been Snowflake's expertise for almost 10 years. Our experience in the INSPIRE and Aviation industries prove that open standards really do work and lead to practical and successful solutions.
What did I take back from this conference?
- There is an irreversible move towards the use of open standards to ensure effective goal achievement across the defence and intelligence communities.
- Geospatial information is not just a nice-to-have, but plays an absolutely fundamental role in the decision-making process.
- The geospatial intelligence and defence community is not much different from any other geospatial community. However, it has the slightly masochistic tendency to starting conference days very, very early in the morning.
For more information about the solutions we can offer for interoperability, visit our website: www.snowflakesoftware.com or see our solutions for Defence and National Security: http://www.snowflakesoftware.com/markets/defence/solution.htm.
Richard Rombouts | Technical Sales Manager | richard.rombouts@snowflakesoftware.com
Del.icio.us
Digg This
Facebook
LinkedIn
Stumbleupon
something completely different:
Hello Richard
My name is Pien (jacqueline maria adriana) Rombouts. I am the youngest daughter of Piet Rombouts from Gilze Rijen/Molenschot in the south of Holland.
My mother (Sjaan Bruurs) is looking for his brother Anton Rombouts who married Annie van den Hout and moved to Australia in ±1968.
Are these people your parents?
I would like to here from you.
met vriendelijke groet,
pien rombouts