Reflections from the FOSS4G 2025 conference
Processing, Analysis, and Infrastructure (FOSS4G is Critical Infrastructure)
The high volume of talks on extracting meaning from geospatial data—including Python workflows, data pipelines, and automation at scale—reinforced the idea that FOSS4G represents critical infrastructure.
- AI Dominance: AI took up a lot of space at the conference. I was particularly interested in practical, near-term impact talks like AI assisted coding and how AI large language models can enhance geospatial workflows in QGIS. Typically, AI discussions focus on big data and earth observation, but these topics touch a larger audience. I sometimes wonder if adding "AI" to a title is now like adding a health warning: "Caution, a machine did this".
- Python Still Rules (But Rust is Chatting): Python remains the pervasive, default geospatial language. However, there was chatter about Rust. One person suggested rewriting QGIS in Rust might make it easier to attract new developers.
Data Infrastructure, Formats, and Visualization
When geospatial people meet, data infrastructure—the "plumbing" of how data is stored, organized, and accessed—always dominates.
- Cloud Native Won: Cloud native architecture captured all the attention. When thinking about formats, we are moving away from files on disk toward objects in storage and streaming subsets of data.
- Key cloud-native formats covered included COGs (Cloud Optimized GeoTIFFs), Zarr, GeoParquet, and PMTiles. A key takeaway was the need to choose a format that best suits the use case, defined by who will read the file and what they will use the data for, rather than focusing solely on writing it.
- The Spatial Temporal Asset Catalog (STAC) "stole the show" as data infrastructure, and DuckDB was frequently mentioned.
- Visualization is moving beyond interactive maps and toward "interactive experiences". There were also several presentations on Discrete Global Grid Systems (DGGS).
Standards and Community Action
- Standards Matter: Standards are often "really boring," but they are incredibly important for interoperability and reaping the benefits of network effects. The focus was largely on OGC APIs replacing legacy APIs like WMS and WFS (making it hard not to mention PyGeoAPI).
- Community Empowerment: Many stories focused on community-led projects solving real-world problems. This represents a shift away from expert-driven projects toward community action supported by experts. Many used OSM (OpenStreetMap) as critical data infrastructure, highlighting the need for locals to fill in large empty chunks of the map.
High-Level Takeaways for the Future
If I had to offer quick guidance based on the conference, it would be:
- Learn Python.
- AI coding is constantly improving and worth thinking about.
- Start thinking about maps as experiences.
- Embrace the Cloud and understand cloud-native formats.
- Standards matter.
- AI is production-ready and will be an increasingly useful interface to analysis.
Reflections: What Was Missing?
The conference was brilliant, but a few areas felt underrepresented:
- Sustainable Funding Models: I missed a focus on how organizations can rethink their business models to maintain FOSS4G as critical infrastructure without maintainers feeling their time is an arbitrage opportunity.
- Niche Products: I would have liked more stories about side hustles and niche SAS products people were building, although I was glad to see the "Build the Thing" product workshop on the schedule.
- Natural Language Interface: Given the impact natural language is having on how we interact with maps and geo-data, I was surprised there wasn't more dedicated discussion around it. I believe it will be a dominant way we interact with the digital world.
- Art and Creativity: Beyond cartography and design talks, I was surprised how few talks focused on creative passion projects built purely for the joy of creation, not necessarily tied to making a part of something bigger.
