Boundless partners with United Nations on UN Open GIS Initiative

Boundless is partnering with the United Nations (UN) to support the UN Open GIS Initiative, which aids UN operations around the world with open source geospatial software and services.

According to Boundless, using its technology, the UN can leverage a hybrid architecture approach and maintain interoperability with existing software systems to maximize the value of its open technology and open data in global peacekeeping and other UN operations.

The UN Open GIS Initiative aims to identify and develop open source geospatial software and services that meet the requirements of UN operations, taking full advantage of the expertise of mission partners including member states, technology contributing countries, international organizations, academia, non-governmental organizations and the private sector.

The scope of the initiative covers software development for the entire lifecycle of geospatial information at the enterprise level, from data collection, management and sharing to geospatial analysis and web and mobile applications. The initiative also focuses on the technology’s sustainability and eventual transfer from the UN to other potential user groups and developing countries.

“Boundless is honored to be a critical part of the UN Open GIS Initiative, and proud to see the real-world impact our open source software and technology is supporting for UN peacekeeping operations around the world,” said Anthony Calamito, chief geospatial officer at Boundless. “The ability to use Boundless in a hybrid architecture enables the organization to share freely with other UN operational partners and nations and interoperate with existing technologies already in use. It enables rapid innovation and prevents single vendor lock-in.”

The UN deployed Boundless’ technology after nearly two years of planning and development and a successful demonstration in a simulated UN field operational environment. In addition to providing technological support for the UN Open GIS Initiative, Boundless is also a sponsor of the OSGeo UN Committee Educational Challenge, a program focused on developing open geospatial educational material for the initiative.