Sorting the Setup to Churn Out Smarter Mapping Solutions

The Overture Maps Foundation, a collaborative effort to build interoperable open map data, has officially announced the general availability of its groundbreaking Global Entity Reference System (GERS).

According to certain reports, GERS arrives on the scene bearing an ability to provide one unique ID for every geospatial entity, an ID which makes it easier to build richer mapping solutions across industries, such as automotive, local search, urban planning, ride-sharing, logistics, and more.

To understand the significance of such a development; we must take into account a fact that, even though mapping applications and spatial analysis can now harness the power of new data types, there remains one significant challenge. This challenge basically relates to combining data from various sources, something which has shown to require significant time and money, if one is to ensure that the data is correctly associated with the right entities in the map. 

The stated cost of evaluating and conflating data can also, in fact; exceed the cost of licensing the data. 

Against that, GERS IDs will make it possible for organizations to more easily join datasets, share information, and onboard new data on the back of open and accessible identifiers, while simultaneously avoiding the high costs and complexity associated with reconciling data from different sources.

More on that would reveal how the whole dataset is comprised of 2.6 billion buildings, 64 million places, nearly 447 million addresses, and 321 million road segments. 

“When we started Overture almost three years ago, we knew that to remake the geospatial industry, we had to solve the problems of adding rich data to the map. GERS does this and is the most impactful innovation of the Overture Maps Foundation so far,” said Marc Prioleau, Executive Director at Overture Maps Foundation. “It will drive innovation that impacts billions of consumers as well as companies, governments, and organizations globally. We fully expect it to become the standard around which the geospatial industry aligns.”

Talk about the whole value proposition on a slightly deeper level, we begin from its open nature. You see, other ID systems surely exist in mapping today, but many are controlled by a single company. In contrast, Overture data and GERS IDs are completely open, meaning anyone can use it without restrictive licensing. Hence, data can be matched to the open base layers via GERS without risk of vendor lock-in.

Next up, we must dig into the solution’s global reach. As some ID systems today are specific to a country or region, it turns out to be a complex affair for applications that cross borders. GERS, however, is global and works the same way in every geographical region. 

“GERS will accelerate innovation by reducing the time and resources needed to get data into maps, as well as enable organizations to add rich data more cost-efficiently for improved, comprehensive analysis,” said Deane Kensok, ArcGIS Content CTO of Esri, the world-leading provider of geographic information system (GIS) software.

Another detail worth a mention is rooted in the technology’s entity-based setup. This translates to how GERS IDs refer to entities like buildings, addresses, road segments, or places, allowing data to be associated with greater specificity than IDs based on latitude and longitude.

Rounding up highlights would be the technology’s bid to leverage the GERS framework and empower application developers in the context of tracking changes to data tied with unique IDs, quickly looking up and locating entities through a central registry and linking internal data sources to Overture map entities using bridge files.

“We see GERS as a major milestone in the evolution of interconnected data as it greatly extends the ecosystem of trusted, connected data available to organizations. Now, teams will be more productive, spending less time onboarding data and more time using it to drive faster, more informed decision-making,” said Dan Adams, EVP and GM of Data Enrichment at Precisely, which is a contributing member of Overture and has used its pioneering Data Link partner program for linking GERS to its location, business and consumer data to accelerate innovation and AI outcomes for leading enterprises.”