National Mapping & Geospatial Agencies
Your National Geospatial Infrastructure, Modernized
National mapping agencies face a once-in-a-generation moment: citizens and governments expect AI-powered access to geospatial data, sovereignty demands are reshaping where and how strategic data is managed, and legacy SDI infrastructure can't keep up. CARTO provides the cloud-native, sovereign, and AI-ready platform to modernize your national geospatial stack — without vendor lock-in.
AI-Powered Geoportals for the Agentic Era
Your geoportal was built for browsing layers, not answering questions. Transform it with AI agents that let users simply ask what they need — accessing the right datasets, running spatial analysis, and generating maps automatically.
Geospatial Sovereignty by Design
Your most strategic national data lives inside systems controlled by a single foreign vendor. CARTO's layered sovereignty framework gives you architectural independence across data, compute, AI, and semantics — on any infrastructure you choose.
From GIS Silo to the Modern Analytics Stack
Geospatial data has lived in its own world for decades — proprietary formats, specialized services, isolated infrastructure. CARTO bridges the gap to the modern data ecosystem: BigQuery, Snowflake, Databricks, DuckDB, and OGC APIs that scale.
A Once-in-a-Generation Modernization Moment
Three forces are converging to create the most significant modernization opportunity for national mapping agencies in decades.
The AI Revolution
Agentic interfaces are transforming how every user — from analysts to citizens — interacts with geospatial data. Portals that require manual layer browsing will feel obsolete within months.
The Sovereignty Imperative
From Europe's EuroStack initiative to Saudi Arabia's SDAIA frameworks, nations are asserting control over their strategic digital infrastructure. Geospatial data is at the center of this movement.
The Analytics Convergence
Cloud-native formats, SQL-based spatial analytics, and open table standards mean geospatial no longer needs its own isolated technology stack. The era of the GIS silo is ending.
Sovereignty Doesn't Mean Isolation. It Means Choice.
True geospatial sovereignty is not about building walls. It's about having the architectural flexibility to use the best technology available — without getting locked into a single vendor or ecosystem.
Layer 1
Data
Store your national datasets in open formats (GeoParquet, Apache Iceberg) on any S3-compatible storage — AWS, MinIO on-premise, or sovereign cloud providers. Your data is cloud-native, not cloud-dependent.
Layer 2
Compute
Choose where analysis runs. BigQuery or Snowflake for massive-scale analytics. DuckDB for edge or laptop. PostgreSQL for on-premise. Deploy CARTO via Kubernetes on any infrastructure.
Layer 3
AI
Configure your own AI providers and models. Use frontier models when needed, switch to open models for cost efficiency, or deploy local models via Ollama for sensitive operations. MCP ensures standardized, portable agent tooling.
Layer 4
Semantics & IDs
Adopt common semantic standards, OGC APIs, and global identifiers (like Overture's GERS) so your national data integrates seamlessly with global datasets. Control your infrastructure while collaborating with the world.
Modernize Your National Geoportal
Your geoportal was built to let users browse catalogs and toggle map layers. But in the agentic era, users expect to ask questions and get answers. Replace or augment your existing geoportal with CARTO's AI-powered platform. Conversational agents give users natural-language access to your entire national dataset catalog — finding the right data, running spatial queries, and generating visualizations automatically.
Publish & Serve National Data at Scale
Legacy SDI services like WFS were designed for a different era. Agencies still struggle with pagination over millions of records and services that crash under load. CARTO provides modern, scalable infrastructure for publishing and serving your authoritative national datasets through OGC API standards that actually scale — in cloud-native formats like GeoParquet and Apache Iceberg.
Deploy on Sovereign Infrastructure
Your most strategic data — cadastral records, elevation models, critical infrastructure maps — is too important to depend on a single vendor's cloud. CARTO deploys wherever you need it: public cloud, sovereign cloud providers, on-premise via Kubernetes, or hybrid configurations. Your data stays in open formats you control, on storage you choose. Sovereignty by design, not as an afterthought.
Bridge Legacy SDI to the Modern Data Stack
You have decades of investment in INSPIRE-compliant services, ISO 191xx data models, and WFS endpoints. But the broader analytics industry has moved to cloud-native architectures. CARTO provides the bridge — not a cliff — from legacy SDI to the modern data ecosystem. Transition incrementally from proprietary formats to GeoParquet and Apache Iceberg, from rigid WFS to scalable OGC APIs.
Catalog, Map & Analyze — A Modern Alternative to Legacy GIS
Many national mapping agencies depend on monolithic, proprietary GIS platforms for their core workflows. These platforms create deep vendor lock-in through proprietary formats and closed ecosystems. CARTO provides a modern, open, cloud-native platform for publishing and managing geospatial data catalogs, designing and sharing interactive maps, and performing powerful spatial analysis at scale.
Gateway to Government-Wide GIS Modernization
National mapping agencies are not just data producers — they are the regulators and advisors for geospatial across their entire government. When your agency adopts CARTO, you're setting the foundation for government-wide geospatial modernization. Cross-government spatial collaboration for emergency response, climate resilience, defense, and infrastructure planning becomes possible on an open, interoperable platform.
Interoperability & Global Collaboration
Sovereignty without interoperability is just isolation. CARTO is built on the open standards that enable global geospatial collaboration: OGC APIs for service interoperability, GeoParquet and Iceberg for data exchange, and Overture's GERS identifiers for entity resolution across borders. CARTO's founder chairs the GeoParquet standards working group at OGC and sits on the OGC board.
Why CARTO
Open Standards Leadership
CARTO's founder chairs the GeoParquet working group at OGC and sits on the OGC board. We don't just use open standards — we help define them.
Sovereign by Design
Deploy on any cloud, sovereign cloud, or on-premise. Open data formats. Configurable AI providers. No vendor lock-in at any layer.
European Investment Bank Backed
The EIB invested in CARTO as a strategic commitment to European digital sovereignty. A signal of trust for any agency prioritizing sovereign infrastructure.
AI-Ready, Agent-Native
Built for the agentic era. Conversational AI access to geospatial data. MCP-standardized tooling. Configurable model providers — frontier, open, or local.
Cloud-Native, Not Cloud-Dependent
Built on GeoParquet, Apache Iceberg, Kubernetes, and OGC APIs. Works with BigQuery, Snowflake, Databricks, DuckDB, and PostgreSQL.
Bridge, Not Cliff
Transition from legacy SDI incrementally. CARTO builds open-source components to bridge ISO standards and legacy formats to the modern data ecosystem.
Resources & Thought Leadership
Ready to Modernize Your National Geospatial Infrastructure?
Whether you're building a sovereign geospatial stack, modernizing your national geoportal, or preparing your infrastructure for the agentic era — CARTO's team works directly with national agencies to design the right architecture.