Enabling Open Geospatial Data Spaces: How GeoCat Helps Governments Unlock the Power of OGC Standards

GeoCat’s Standards-Driven Solution

GeoCat addresses the complex challenges of geospatial data sharing with open-source, standards-based solutions that simplify metadata management and enable organizations to build robust, interoperable Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs). Grounded in OGC standards, GeoCat’s product suite enables governments and industry stakeholders to confidently find, share, and use geospatial data—whether internal, protected, or publicly available.

OGC-Enabled Solutions for Interoperability

GeoCat’s core offerings – Find, Map, and Bridge – help organizations build interoperable SDIs. By implementing key OGC standards such as CSW, WMS, WFS, WCS, SLD, and the emerging OGC APIs – Records and Features, these solutions enable efficient data discovery and sharing.

Unlike closed, proprietary and often incompatible systems, GeoCat’s standards-based approach is scalable, open, and designed for cross-platform integration. Their commitment to free and open-source software (FOSS) allows for transparent testing, analysis, and contributions from the broader community. GeoCat offers enterprise-ready products that combine robust software with expert support, vulnerability management and regular maintenance – allowing customers to focus on using the tools effectively without needing to manage technical complexities or security concerns.

Impact and Outcomes

GeoCat’s solutions have helped European public agencies to significantly reduce the time spent on metadata management, streamline publishing, and ensure compliance with INSPIRE, ISO (TC211), W3C and OGC standards. More than 85% of European INSPIRE portals utilize GeoNetwork, showcasing a significant commitment to enhancing spatial data interoperability and accessibility across the continent. Users report improved data consistency, faster workflows, and easier cross-agency collaboration. What was once a fragmented, manual process is now a centralized, efficient, and standards-based system for managing geospatial data. Secure data sharing – upstream and downstream – is fully supported, with fine-grained access controls and privacy safeguards, such as automatic replacement of individual contact details with institutional contact information.

Technical Spotlight: GeoCat Find

GeoCat Find, built on GeoNetwork opensource and powered by the OGC API – Records, enables seamless data access and sharing. This RESTful API ensures interoperability by adhering to open standards, allowing smooth integration with both legacy and modern systems.

Implementation challenges – such as meeting INSPIRE compliance and harmonizing data across agencies – were addressed using automated metadata validation and the use of GeoCat Bridge for streamlined data publishing. Today, GeoCat Live serves over 6.8 million pages to 35,000 unique visitors monthly, powering real-time data discovery across numerous government platforms.

Looking Ahead

GeoCat plans to scale its products by expanding support for OGC APIs and deepening its contributions to the open-source community.  The team welcomes community feedback to drive ongoing improvements and aims to replicate successful deployments in more regions, promoting broader adoption of interoperable geospatial solutions.

Join the Movement

GeoCat invites governments, developers, and data stewards to engage with the open-source community, contribute to ongoing innovation, and explore the transformative potential of OGC standards. Together, we can unlock the full value of geospatial data for everyone.