Growing Geospatial Solutions

At Datotel, we’re excited about the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) building a new facility just a few blocks from our downtown St. Louis colocation facility and corporate headquarters. With the NGA’s substantial investment in St. Louis and the Midwest, it’s no surprise that momentum is building around the creation of a geospatial business hub in the city. This area of downtown St. Louis is poised to become a leading center for technology in the geospatial field.

NGA’s Vision: An Open IT Environment

According to the NGA’s Strategy Document, one of their key objectives is establishing an Open IT Environment. The document states:

“Leverage and rapidly deploy interoperable collection, processing, and exploitation capabilities… NGA will develop and deploy intuitive online services that are available for adoption and integration by the GEOINT community. These applications will provide immediate access to GEOINT processing and exploitation capabilities, enabling rapid and precise responses to key intelligence issues.”

It further explains:

“This enables a self-assisted, full-service delivery model that allows users to create and consume GEOINT content anytime on the device of their choice.”

Cloud Adoption Mirrors Industry Trends

The NGA’s push for an Open IT Environment reflects broader trends across industries:

• Data and analytics demands are increasing.
• Budgets are often constrained.
• There is a growing need for simplified, interoperable workflows.

Cloud computing addresses these challenges, providing a flexible, centralized infrastructure that scales with demand.

Why Storage and Access Matter

As the geospatial industry expands, fast storage, reliable backup, and remote access are critical. Many organizations now manage petabytes of data, which must be accessible and analyzable from remote devices. This growth drives the need for more computing power and scalable storage solutions, delivered in a way that is efficient and reliable.

The Benefits of Cloud-Based Solutions

Expanding cloud-based infrastructure offers significant advantages for geospatial organizations:

• Centralized Virtual Servers: Deliver all necessary data and software in a single, manageable environment.
• Streamlined Administration: Licensing and user management occur centrally, reducing wasted resources.
• Simplified Maintenance: Updates can be deployed quickly across the system, rather than on individual desktops.
• Cost and Time Savings: Centralized management reduces operational overhead and downtime.
• Scalable Deployments: Virtual desktops enable enterprise-wide software installations, making large-scale deployments feasible and cost-effective.

Driving Growth Across Sectors

Cloud computing adoption in geospatial technology is unlocking new opportunities for businesses and the St. Louis region. By connecting geospatial technology to established sectors like agriculture, utilities, defense, finance, and logistics, the city is positioned for continued regional and industry growth.

At Datotel, we are proud to support this evolving sector through our data center resources, cloud computing capabilities, and operational expertise.

Discover how Datotel supports the geospatial industry, get in touch today.