Solving the Challenges of Data Interoperability - A practical approach

SOLVING THE CHALLENGES OF DATA

INTEROPERABILITY: A practical approach

Darwin Jayson Mariano

Location has always been an important element in understanding the activities that are happening around us. Mapping specifi c locations has been an important way for humans to understand each other and the world around them. With the progress of modern technology, new tools have been developed to expand the breadth of this capability and make geospatial information more powerful and much more useful.

One of the key challenges faced by military and defense organisations in the area of geospatial intelligence is the interoperability issue that still continues to hound various levels of the military hierarchy.

In building spatial data infrastructure, it is important to consider whether it can achieve a level of interoperability, enough to render the entire infrastructure useful and much more meaningful. The ability to exchange information between disparate systems is an absolute fundamental principle of modern defense systems and of GIS.

“The geospatial community has a number of mature standards bodies across Defense and the international community such as DGIWG and OGC. These standards bodies are absolutely essential to interoperability and will continue to be so into the future,” says Brett Dixon, Asia Pacifi c Defense Business Development Manager for ESRI, leading provider of Geographic Information System (GIS) software and geodatabase management applications. “Whilst the geospatial community has led the way in terms of standards-based interoperability, it is a continuous journey. Geospatial organisations in Defence and industry must make an ongoing commitment to standards development to ensure they remain relevant and eff ective.”

Brigadier-General Dato’ Zaharin bin Din, Director, Defence Geospatial Division for Department of Survey and Mapping Agency (JUPEM), Malaysia shares a similar view: “Our focus is on building the foundation for interagency interoperability with the public and government domains as well as with the Security/Defence domains. Our enterprise development programmes were geared towards bridging this gap. Since we launched our development programme in 2007, we have progressed into the intermediate phase. As a result, we are able to make sure that all of our systems can fi t into that.

“We’ve spent a good amount of eff ort breaking down the issues and we’ve worked hard to make information very discoverable and accessible to our customer.”

www.GeospatialDefenceAsia.com

v 17-18 September 2013vGrand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Singapore vwww.GeospatialDefenceAsia.com

SOLVING THE CHALLENGES OF DATA INTEROPERABILITY: A practical approach

Dealing with multiple data models, no longer a big issueThere has been much debate about the creation of single, enterprise data models to enable interoperability. Key proponents for and against it present substantive arguments that could sway the debate to either direction. However, dealing with multiple data models these days, may not necessarily be as bad as before.

“Data models are created to optimise the data’s application in particular environments, operations and systems. In the realm of geospatial intelligence we are dealing with data models for a variety of environments and, military and intelligence activities. So, I think we will be dealing with multiple data models for a long time to come. In many ways, it is now less of an issue when you consider the many exchange standards, technologies and practices in place to support the dissemination and fusion of disparate datasets. We only need look at the evolution of web services and their ability to normalise differing datasets into a single view.

“A good example of this is the fusion of hydrographic, topographic and meteorological information to support amphibious operations. Multiple, disparate datasets published as web services and fused to provide a recognised environmental picture” says Esri’s Brett Dixon.

During periods of wartime or natural disasters, poor system efficiency will inevitably lead to misguided decision-making or indecision. A crisis could easily blow up into a catastrophe.


SOLVING THE CHALLENGES OF DATA INTEROPERABILITY:

A practical approach

Upgrading your GIS systemA major challenge with Asian geospatial systems is in combining multiple data types into a single, readable picture. It is often the case that data sets are either incompatible or require too much time to incorporate with existing intelligence. During periods of wartime or natural disasters, poor system effi ciency will inevitably lead to misguided decision-making or indecision. A crisis could easily blow up into a catastrophe.

Given that many defence organisations still deal with legacy systems and perhaps thinking of refi ning/upgrading the existing GIS system, it is timely that Anthony Gri� ths of the Department of Environment & Primary Industries (DEPI), Australia will be conducting a workshop entitled “SOLVING THE CHALLENGES OF DATA INTEROPERABILITY AND POOR SYSTEM EFFICIENCY” at the coming Geospatial Defence & Intelligence APAC 2013 happening on 17-18 September in Singapore.

In addressing issues related to data interoperability, it is important to consider fresh options for refi ning your existing GIS system to operate as effi ciently and as eff ectively as possible.


v 17-18 September 2013vGrand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Singapore


v 17-18 September 2013vGrand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Singapore


17-18 September 2013Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Singapore www.GeospatialDefenceAsia.com Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Singapore

17-18 September 2013Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Singapore www.GeospatialDefenceAsia.com Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Singapore www.GeospatialDefenceAsia.com

Disclaimer: Please note that we do all we can to ensure accuracy and timeliness of the information presented herein but errors may still understandably occur in some cases. If you believe that a serious inaccuracy has been made please let us know. This article is provided for information purposes only. IQPC accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any direct or indirect losses arising from the use of this report or its contents.

Be part of Asia’s most important geospatial intelligence event of the year. Hear directly from NATO, USA, UK, Australia, South Korea and other organisations for expert insights on the most

up-to-date sensing technologies and Identify how your geospatial processes can be cost-eff ectively improved and optimized. For more information, visit www.geospatialdefenceasia.com

REGISTER NOW! [email protected] ¡ +65 6722 9388


Darwin Jayson Mariano is the Digital Content Manager and Regional Editor for IQPC Worldwide. You can contact him on Twitter @whoisdarwin or email [email protected]

1. Engage in open discussions about your systems true capabilities.

An open and candid discussion about the strengths and limitations of your system’s true capabilities is essential in identifying ways to further improve it. In this exercise, it is important to get key stakeholders involved and include subject matter experts in running the dialogue.

2. Benchmark what other GIS experts are doing to get the most out of their data.

Benchmarking with other experts who have encountered challenges similar or even far worse than you have ever encountered, is a good way to strengthen your own GEOINT capabilities. By hearing fi rst-hand what experts’ experiences were and how they were able to address specifi c issues, you can avoid a costly errors that could aff ect your organization.

3. Understand exactly what types of cost-effective upgrades are available now.

Upgrading your systems’ capabilities is always ideal but not necessarily practical. By knowing the types of cost- eff ective solutions available out there, you can realize exponential growth in benefi ts and a more scalable organization moving forward.

SOLVING THE CHALLENGES OF DATA INTEROPERABILITY: A practical approach

Solving the Challenges of Data Interoperability - A practical approach

Business

Transcript of Solving the Challenges of Data Interoperability - A practical approach