Got Geoint? At #GEOINT2018 The Intel Community Seeks Vibrant Industry Partnerships

The topic of Geoint needs to be on the mind of all of us involved in geospatial technologies. We may not work directly on Geo Intel projects or with DOD agencies, however, that doesn’t mean that some time in the future we won’t be. 

As providers of cutting-edge GIS software, services, data, and solutions to clients and users across the entire community, we also support many professionals who are very active working on Geoint, DOD, and intel projects. As a result, geointel and security is a very important topic for us to follow.

Each year, the Geointel community, along with others interested in the topic of geoint, gather together for the USGIF  GEOINT Symposium. The event, hosted annually by USGIF, gathers the defense, intelligence, and homeland security communities and other users and producers of geospatial information for an exciting agenda of keynote speakers, panel discussions, and breakout tracks offering the unique opportunity to learn from senior leaders and subject matter experts. Note, The USGIF is the only organization dedicated to promoting the geospatial intelligence tradecraft and building a stronger community of interest across industry, academia, government, professional organizations and individual stakeholders.


Above,  Former Navy Seal and current Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, Joseph D. Kernan, stressed innovation, technology, and partnership with industry when he addressed the crowd at GEOINT 2018. (Credit: Trajectory Magazine)

Imagine a “Secret” security clearance that is no longer subject to 10-year background investigation interviews and is instead, constantly and automatically reviewed on a daily basis using technological scrutiny. It may also be used across agencies and outside of the U.S. government… “my expectations are extremely high about a vibrant partnership with industry.” The theme for GEOINT 2018 is Driving Data to Decisions and Action

So, why Geoint?

Attendees, presenters, and sponsors of the Geoint event are working working with many of the same technologies as many of us (they just focus on the application of these technologies for DOD, military, and intel centric clients). Browsing the event hashtag #Geoint2018 you’ll find interesting updates and tips that are dealing with many of the same things that you are interested in: data visualization, mobile data capture, VR, AR, social media, real time sensors, cyber security, imagery, cloud technology and more. The 2018 event is taking place April 22-25 at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Fla. Over 4,000 attendees are expected, along with more than 200 exhibitors. GEOINT subject matter experts teach participants about new concepts in topics such as deep learning, data science, big data analysis, LiDAR, synthetic aperture radar, and more – so you can see, Geoint event really could be beneficial to anyone involved in Geo!

Some interesting Updates from Geoint Event:

  • DoD is working toward establishing a machine learning center within the department.
  • Joseph D. Kernan urges the Community to use information in a way that helps protect the nation while still balancing civil liberties
  • Think of your career trajectory as a jungle gym, not a ladder
  • Be open to experiences because you never know where they will lead in your career
  • Geospatial analytics can help improve decision-making
  • Spatial analytics is a key component for effective emergency planning & civil stress prediction
  • Emerging geospatial technologies can be used to monitor, assess, and act in medical & health services
  • Mountains of geospatial information can turn into practical, actionable intelligence with

For us at GEO Jobe, we find the GEOINT event of interest and enjoy following all the updates and technology innovations. Indeed, we aren’t really a traditional “Geoint/Geo intel company”, however, we get tremendous benefit from watching and learning from the practitioners in this community. Our UAV services group is growing rapidly and this segment is indeed supporting a growing list of clients who are concerned greatly with Geoint. The the group has been working with airports, campus planners, and government orgs who require secure solutions and data to support actionable intelligence and mission planning. Additionally, since we provide services and solutions for clients and partners who are active within the traditional geoint community, following this event is very important for us. There are many Geoint users and organizations that depend on  our Admin Tools for ArcGIS Online and the GEOPowered Cloud solution and we are pleased to support them and their work in geoint!

About the Geoint Event:

Hosted and produced by the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF), a non-profit, non-lobbying educational organization, the annual GEOINT Symposium is the nation’s largest gathering of industry, academia, and government to include Defense, Intelligence and Homeland Security Communities as well as commercial, Fed/Civil, State and Local geospatial intelligence stakeholders. The event annually attracts more than 4,000 attendees from all over the world, features more than 250 exhibiting organizations, offers 50 hours of training sessions, and countless opportunities to learn, exchange ideas, and network.

got geoint

Useful Twitter accounts to follow:

  • @GEOINTsymposium
  • @USGIF
  • @NGA_Geoint
  • @USGIFypg

See more:

Trajectory Magazine

USGIF http://usgif.org/

Geoint 2018 http://geoint2018.com/

GEOspatial Evangelist & CMO

Geographer, GIS professional, writer, and fan of all things mobile.