Large distributed networks – such as GBIF's Data Portal – that bring together many providers and consumers of data can be characterised as a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) where consumers discover providers and loosely coupled system components can be orchestrated as needed to serve particular cases. In an SOA, the key activities of inventory, discovery and access must be well coordinated through the provision of registries and metadata catalogues, and through the generation of specific indexes. Metadata are thus a central component in an expanded GBIF network.

GBIF is developing the informatics infrastructure to enable the discovery of, and access to, diverse biodiversity resources. The goal is to enable each participating member country to integrate biodiversity within their own national Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI). We also, through the GBIF network as a whole, aim to play a role in such global SDI initiatives as the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), and in particular, its Biodiversity Observation Network.