Intelligence advantage: How real-time GEOINT is reshaping military decision-making

In today’s contested operational environment, adaptability is key. The new Geospatial-Intelligence as a Service (GEO IaaS) solution from Fujitsu and MAIAR empowers militaries by enabling intelligence advantage, combining advanced technology with human expertise to deliver actionable insights.

The ability to make timely decisions delivers a crucial intelligence advantage.?

This depends on two key factors: the utilisation of cutting-edge technological solutions – including innovation in the commercial sphere – and expertise on demand from skilled GEOINT specialists.?

‘Intelligence advantage is all about being able to understand enough in the time needed to gain freedom of manoeuvre – the ability to make a decision before the adversary gains that advantage over you,’ explained Chris Beeson, solution owner in Defence and National Security (DNS) at Fujitsu.?

Beeson previously worked in various geospatial and imagery intelligence roles in the UK Ministry of Defence and the Home Office. He has observed the intelligence advantage concept become increasingly complex in a world of multiplying data sources and capabilities.?

He warned that the advantage can quickly change in spatial and temporal terms. Crucially, it is never absolute: it might persist only in a particular environment or timeframe. With NATO members and their allies facing increasingly assertive peer or near-peer rivals, constantly adapting and evolving is essential to maintain that intelligence advantage.?

‘It’s about being more competitive – it’s not an absolute. We need to react and respond.’?

An evolving market?

Geo IaaS provides that adaptable, evolving intelligence advantage to operators, tapping rapid innovations in the commercial geospatial arena.?

Once only available to governments through their defence programmes and capabilities, there has been ‘incredible investment within the commercial sector in geospatial capabilities’, said Beeson, aiming to satisfy growing demand in everything from agriculture to tourism and utilities to logistics.?

GEO IaaS was launched at DGI 2025, a geospatial intelligence event held in London on 10-12 February.?

The new solution leverages AI, machine learning (ML) and geospatial analytics alongside on-demand expertise to deliver real-time intelligence. It offers data collection and analysis by aggregating data from various trusted sources, enabling real-time decision support in a rapidly evolving environment.?

‘GEO IaaS brings the most relevant and cost-effective geospatial capabilities from across the sector to provide customers with geospatial answers to meet their needs – enabling greater sharing, where appropriate, of unclassified material at levels of resolution appropriate to the need,’ Beeson explained.?

GEOINT and related open intelligence capabilities are delivered by a diverse range of organisations of various sizes, with a varied and complex customer base. In this complex arena, DGI offered an ideal environment to launch GEO IaaS, with a unique reach among geospatial practitioners, capability providers and customers.

‘This enabled us to connect with people and organisations it would be extremely difficult to reach, as well as engaging with those we already know,’ Beeson said.?

Fujitsu has sought to tap this wide body of expertise to advance its own capabilities, building an intelligence campaign partner ecosystem that includes innovative SMEs and niche companies. Its work with intelligence analysis specialist MAIAR on GEO IaaS is a powerful demonstration of the advantages of such partnerships.?

‘Whilst MAIAR Ltd have established the basis for delivering GEO IaaS, Fujitsu can bring our size, reach and expertise to underpin accelerated maturing and operationalisation of GEO IaaS, together with the expansion of relevant capabilities and services,’ Beeson explained.?

Rapid, on-demand intelligence?

Like Beeson, MAIAR founder Tony Reeves is a former intelligence specialist in the UK Ministry of Defence, serving in the Royal Air Force (RAF). He also pointed to a rapid evolution in GEOINT in recent years; such capabilities are no longer simply an element of traditional equipment programmes but require a far more fluid, on-demand service.

‘This gives you insights at pace and provides the ability to adapt and bring new capabilities really, really quickly,’ Reeves added.?

In this environment, providing a trusted capability to military customers is vital. But it goes far beyond imagery alone – defence and national security organisations also require rapid analytical capabilities to support their decision-making as they determine whether it is safe to send a cargo aircraft or personnel into a particular environment, for example.?

GEOINT can provide this capability and can be further enhanced through non-traditional sources, such as social media analytics. ‘It can give you the answers you need without having to deploy exquisite, expensive assets or put people at risk,’ noted Reeves.?

Data: the new oil?

The future of GEOINT will be defined by the rapid evolution of AI/ML. The technology is already a crucial enabler of GEO IaaS, tackling the huge volumes of data available today, extracting features and objects, and highlighting when things change, all vital features that complement the analyst in efficient human-machine teams.?

‘This will continue to extend and expand,’ said Beeson.?

AI/ML plays a crucial role, Reeves agreed; for instance, it can detect objects that would not be visible to the human eye. However, even as technology continues to evolve, human analysis will always be vital.?

This combination is central to the success of GEO IaaS and will continue to enable intelligence advantage for defence and national security long into the future, Reeves said. ‘Let the analytics do the mundane, heavy lifting, and let the analyst be the analyst.’?

The intelligence advantage must be maintained in the coming years, if not improved and enhanced, said Chris Haley, senior business development manager at Fujitsu DNS and previously an intelligence specialist in the Royal Navy.?

‘Data is the new oil: it allows for freedom of navigation; freedom of manoeuvre; freedom of thought; and time to make an enhanced decision, tactical through strategic,’ he said. ‘It must be protected at all costs, and that must be a top priority.’