Towards Standardizing Place: Why I'm Excited for Overture's GERS

The Overture Maps Foundation has announced the General Availability of its global maps datasets, marking a significant milestone in geospatial data management. Drew Breunig, involved with Overture for over a year, expresses enthusiasm for the Global Entity Reference System (GERS), which aims to standardize how datasets handle the concept of "place." While existing coordinate reference systems like WGS 84 effectively define locations, they fall short in standardizing places, which are defined by human interactions and characteristics. To achieve standardization, three key components are necessary: a source of truth, mechanisms for disseminating this truth, and a format for expressing positions relative to it. Breunig emphasizes that Overture's data is designed for accessibility, contrasting it with Open Street Map, which, despite its strengths, lacks user-friendly data access. Overture's datasets are cloud-native and can be easily queried, facilitating connections between disparate datasets. GERS provides unique identifiers for entities within Overture's data, enhancing data stability and error detection. Breunig argues that the future of GIS lies not in more maps but in the ability to connect and analyze data through simpler means, such as SQL queries. By establishing a standard for places, Overture could significantly expand the geospatial market, reduce onboarding costs, and enhance data connectivity, ultimately making geospatial intelligence more accessible to a broader audience. As Overture continues to develop, the potential for GERS to become a common standard for identifying places is promising.