Jon Murphy can be quite persuasive.

Sparkgeo started as a company that wanted to break out of moulds. We started with the intent to make maps differently, using the web. Since then we have been laser-focused on delivering cloud-native geospatial technology. Though, back then we just said: “let’s put maps on the internet.” In doing so, we avoided any serving hardware, just because it made sense for us to use the cloud. We were not alone in that assessment. 

This small history lesson puts us in perspective. We are a company that writes cutting edge technology, we are comfortable in technical conversations with startups in San Francisco, and we know how to engage with enterprises to deliver value. However, we are not very good at engaging with Governments. We know we can provide enormous value to various levels of the Canadian Government. But, in all honesty, we do not know how. Additionally, the opportunities in the US tech sector are a source of consistent interest. In the end, it has just been more comfortable to talk to companies we understand.

This had been the status-quo for Sparkgeo until Jon pinned me down in Vancouver for a beer on the waterfront.

He told me that there was a disconnect between government and geospatial technology companies in Canada. I agreed. He said he wanted to help resolve that by creating an event to join these two groups together. He talked about an event on a National scale to showcase Canadian technology and to help breakdown or highlight any barriers. By creating a place where the appropriate intellectual collisions could happen, he hoped to ignite the interface between geospatial and government.

Well, he had me at ‘Canadian Geospatial.’

I am looking forward to talking about what Sparkgeo has been doing with geospatial analytics and why geospatial analytics, in general, will quietly dominate much of our data-driven lifestyles. For us, it’s not necessarily just about maps. It’s about what we can do with digital geography; what we can learn about our changing landscapes; what we can measure from human activities through time. Beyond that even: what might we be able to learn about the future? Can we take our analytics from description to prescription to prediction and even to prescience? That seems like a bold vision, but it is our trajectory.

The GeoIgnite website is officially live and filled with new details, including the first conference keynote speakers: Keith Masback, former Chief Executive Officer of the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF), Prashant Shuckle, Director General of the Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation (CCMEO), and Sanjay Kumar, Founder and CEO of Geospatial Media & Communications. Keep your eye on www.geoignite.ca for the latest details.

I look forward to meeting you at GeoIgnite.