makepath Joins the Open Geospatial Consortium

makepath is happy to announce we are officially members of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC)!

We are joining the OGC in their efforts to make location information Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR).

What is the Open Geospatial Consortium?

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is the standards organization responsible for uniting the geospatial community in an effort to standardize location information across all platforms.  

Their presence spans the globe, including more than 500 entities from both public and private industries. 

What are OGC Standards?

The OGC has set implementation standards for a range of geospatial features such as KML, Web Map Tiles Services, and many more.

Standards are key to interoperability between platforms. 

Interoperability enables information to be used in a variety of places— without having to convert to a different format, or modify tools to accommodate additional data formats.

For example, standards for GeoTIFF were set in 2019. Most people in geospatial today consider GeoTIFF a common, acceptable, and easy-to-use format for geographic image data.

How does the OGC Fit into the History of Open Source GIS?

New innovation in the open source geospatial community has referenced the goals and guidelines set by the OGC. This makes it possible for the geospatial community to move forward, united by agreed upon standards. 

According to the History of Open Source GIS, the OGC was established in 1994 to connect the GIS community and promote increased access and sharing of geospatial information.

Since its establishment, the OGC has been an influential community that aids research and development for solving real geospatial issues. Many items on the History of Open Source GIS timeline are a direct result of work done by the OGC.

OGC Membership

Have questions about how makepath fits into the OGC? Reach out at contact@makepath.com!