Join Us at CNG Forum 2026: Building the Future of Cloud-Native Geospatial
Next October, we’re bringing the global cloud-native geospatial community back to the mountains of Utah. CNG Forum 2026 will gather geospatial data practitioners from governments, startups, universities, and enterprises who are shaping how we work with geospatial data.
If you were at our inaugural forum earlier this year, you know what made it special: over 250 people from over 100 organizations having real conversations about where geospatial data is headed. We surveyed our attendees and received a 4.7-star rating, and over 95% of attendees said they’d attend another CNG event.
So we’re putting one on: October 6-9, 2026 at Snowbird in Utah.
What we’re building
Our goal with CNG Forum is to create a space where geospatial data practitioners can come together to talk about what’s working, what isn’t, and what comes next. If you’re working with geospatial data – whether you’re a GIS analyst, data engineer, software developer, scientist, researcher, educator, policymaker, or student – CNG Forum is for you.
For 2026, we’re aiming for more participants, but fewer talks. One consistent bit of feedback we received from our first event was that we had too many interesting talks on the agenda. This time, we’re prioritizing case studies and creating more space for in-depth conversations about creating resilient data ecosystems. We’re also adding extended afternoon breaks to give people time to enjoy the mountains together and network during the day.
A full day dedicated to learning
CNG 2026 will kick off with a Workshop Day on October 6. This will be a full day of technical hands-on training, led by experts from across the community. We want these to be practical, skill-building experiences you can apply immediately in your work, whether you’re just getting started with cloud-native tools or pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.
If you’re interested in leading a workshop, we’d love to hear from you. We’re offering space for both large workshops (up to 6 hours) and smaller focused sessions (2-3 hours). You’ll have full decision-making authority over workshop content and format, allowing you to design a learning experience tailored to your expertise.
Note that workshop registration is separate from forum registration. You are welcome to just join for the workshop day, or purchase both tickets and experience the full week.
The main forum: October 7-9
Similar to CNG 2025, we’re organizing the forum around three tracks over two and a half days:
- On-Ramp to Cloud-Native Geospatial for those new to the field
- Cloud-Native in Practice for real-world case studies and implementations
- Building Resilient Data Ecosystems for strategic conversations about policy, management, and funding
How to participate
Get your ticket now
Super Early Bird registration is now open through January 9, 2026. After that, we move to Early Bird (January 10 - May 15), Regular (May 16 - August 15), and Last Chance pricing (August 16 - September 15).
Share your work
For the Cloud-Native in Practice track, we’re looking for case studies, lessons learned, and honest accounts of what works in production. The bar for talk acceptance will be higher this year, but this is intentional to make sure all talks clearly align with their track.
The submission deadline is May 17.
Exhibit at the forum
Want to showcase your tools, products, research, or projects? Apply to become an exhibitor.
If your organization is an existing CNG Commercial member, you can exhibit for free (space permitting, first-come, first-served basis).
Sponsor CNG Forum 2026
Sponsorship connects your organization with the implementers and decision-makers shaping the future of geospatial data.
We’ve designed sponsorship opportunities for organizations of all sizes. For organizations unable to support a full sponsorship independently, co-sponsorship options are available.
Beyond the event itself, sponsorship allows us to stay community-led and create a unique space for geospatial data practitioners year-round.
Why this matters
We have more geospatial data, better tools, and greater computational power than ever before. We’ve created CNG Forum to convene the people who are using these resources to address real challenges while building the institutions and communities that can sustain this work over time.
For CNG Forum 2025, attendees came from organizations like Google, Microsoft, AWS, Esri, Planet, The World Bank, USGS, Meta, NVIDIA, DuckDB Labs, The New York Times, Bloomberg, Development Seed, and dozens more – united by a shared commitment to making geospatial data more accessible and useful.
As Frederic Leclercq, IT Project Manager at Flanders Marine Institute in Belgium, put it: “Without a doubt, this was the most inspiring conference I’ve attended in a long time. The content was top-tier, with so many brilliant sessions and speakers that choosing between simultaneous talks felt like a real case of ‘choosing is losing.’”
Join us
We’re grateful to our founding sponsors – Overture Maps Foundation, Safe Software, Taylor Geospatial Engine, and Esri – who helped establish the foundation that makes CNG 2026 possible.
Whether you’re presenting your work, sponsoring the forum, exhibiting your tools, or simply showing up to learn and connect – we want you to join us.
Learn more and register at 2026.cloudnativegeo.org
See you in the mountains.
Our blog is open source. You can suggest edits on GitHub.