September 2022 Summaries

GPU accelerated analytics and cloud data warehouses with spatial capabilities are two approaches to analyzing large amounts of geospatial data. While GPU accelerated analytics provide fast analytics and visualization, they have several drawbacks, including high costs and continuous running requirements. In contrast, cloud data warehouses with spatial capabilities offer low-cost, highly efficient storage and serverless or scalable compute resources with no management. CARTO has focused its efforts on integrating natively into these cloud data warehouses to provide a cost-effective solution for managing and analyzing large amounts of geospatial data. The approach involves creating aggregated tilesets and using spatial index tiles to render map data, which can be faster and more cost-effective than GPU accelerated analytics.

Databricks has released built-in support for H3, a global hierarchical grid system that enables efficient management and analysis of large geospatial datasets. This collaboration with CARTO brings significant speed improvements to users who process and analyze geospatial data. The new functionality offers advantages such as efficiency, scalability, flexibility, collaboration, and analysis capabilities, making it easier to unlock massive-scale spatial analytics natively in the Lakehouse platform. With 28 native H3 functions, including functions to generate H3 cells and grids from geometries or well-known text, users can perform dynamic aggregation and run complex geospatial analysis. CARTO's Spatial Extension for Databricks allows users to connect directly to their Databricks cluster to access data and perform massive-scale data visualization and analytics. The release is part of the milestone 11.2 Runtime release and offers huge advancements for users who are processing and analyzing geospatial data, making it easier to unlock new types of spatial analysis and collaboration capabilities.

CARTO, a geospatial company, has established itself as a leading sustainability-driven company through its partnership with Google Cloud. Over the past decade, CARTO has expanded its focus from conservation to various sustainability projects worldwide, leveraging its cloud-native Location Intelligence platform to support cities and governments in achieving their sustainability goals. CARTO's collaboration with Google Cloud has resulted in successful projects such as supporting Tembici's expansion of micro-mobility services in Latin America, helping the Hawaii Department of Transportation identify climate-related risks, and preserving natural resources through spatial data analytics. The partnership also enables organizations to make data-driven decisions on sustainability initiatives, and CARTO offers grants to non-profit organizations working towards environmental causes.