At GEOINT 2010, Letitia A. Long, Director, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), introduced her game-changing vision for the NGA that involved bringing the “power of GEOINT” into the hands of the warfighter through mobile apps.

In the past three years, NGA GEOINT App Store, which operates much like commercial storefronts that provide downloadable apps for smartphones and tablets, has grown to offering more than 270 apps.

Since 2012, the number of apps has nearly doubled and by 2017 the agency wants this platform to be the dominant method for its customers to create and use data. This self-service model is becoming the driving force for getting data to the users on any device and in any fashion. This has tremendous benefits for both the warfighter and for disaster and humanitarian response efforts, where timely and actionable information can save lives.

From a security perspective, the NGA apps are available in three security domains and reinforce the value of taking forward-thinking innovations built upon commercial solutions and using them in innovative ways.

Thermopylae shares a similar vision when it comes to mobile applications. We offer an extensible platform for creating dynamic, customized, and geocentric native mobile applications that are easy to use and manage. In addition, these ‘smart apps’ offer tremendous flexibility and allow for enhanced data collaboration through the entire enterprise.

As the Department of Defense, and even commercial enterprises, are embracing the right mobile applications to advance their mission and business goals, we will continue to see geospatial data being the foundation for all decision-making.

By making it easier for users to create, launch and use mobile apps, the NGA will further reinforce the power of GEOINT to all of its customers … and this power will literally be in the hands of all users.