FME's XML and GML Capabilities for INSPIRE Initiatives

To meet INSPIRE requirements, organisations need to restructure and integrate their existing spatial data into a complex GML data model, while also meeting the challenges of production efficiency, data validation and flexibility. FME handles the complexities of INSPIRE's XML data exchange schema, without needing custom software development or complicated data processing, enabling data providers to efficiently harmonise their data to deliver on INSPIRE's mandated pan-European spatial data infrastructure.

FME eases the burden of preparing and harmonising spatial data through its intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) that provides pre-defined, data transformation tools to seamlessly shift existing data into INSPIRE databases, without requiring a technical knowledge of XML. Through the GUI, stakeholders can create repeatable, automated workflows to maintain and manage data transformation processes. This, along with FME's scalability and high performance ensures that these data transformations are performed quickly, saving users significant time.

These capabilities, coupled with FME's industry-leading data and coordinate conversion support - including INSPIRE's European lat/long ETRS-89 - have garnered Safe Software a proven track record in enabling customers and European partners to develop customised INSPIRE solutions that inspire new business development.

For example, with the help of FME, ten Lithuanian agencies partnered to successfully create a unified INSPIRE-compliant SDI and in the process decreased duplication and improved efficiency for a cost saving of nearly EUR5 million. In just four weeks, a team at the Swedish Transport Agency successfully restructured more than 2 million road links and 20 related feature types into an INSPIRE-compliant VMS at 20 percent of the typical cost.

In partnership with Safe Software, Sweden's Metria has developed a protected-sites scalable publishing and data distribution prototype that readily harmonises different data sources into the common GML structure, providing a proof-of-concept SDI model that it can offer to other organisations facing data-interoperability and distribution challenges.

German consulting firm con terra has created a customised INSPIRE solution that builds on FME's existing data fusion and transformation strengths to simplify XML data integration and transformation workflows to create INSPIRE-compliant deliverables. A number of customers have already acquired this solution to help them achieve INSPIRE success.

"FME 2011's advancements in spatial data transformation are helping our customers to maximise the use of their spatial data by improving data access, quality, availability and distribution - many of the same challenges INSPIRE seeks to resolve," said Don Murray, President and Co-founder of Safe Software. "We are excited to see how many more organisations will use FME to meet INSPIRE's data harmonisation requirements."

Organisations interested in seeing FME in action are invited to visit the Safe Software booth at the INSPIRE Conference from June 27 to July 1, 2011 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Safe Software will also be demonstrating FME's capabilities for INSPIRE initiatives in a live webinar: "Harmonise Your Spatial Data for INSPIRE with FME" on 21st July 2011 at 3pm CEST / 9am EDT / 6am PDT.