Google Cloud Summit Czech Republic 2026 brought together more than 1,500 technology leaders at the Prague Congress Centre on June 9. For us, it was an opportunity to do what we value most: listen closely to real business challenges, connect them with practical cloud and location intelligence solutions, and separate inspiring ideas from what can actually be implemented.
There’s a familiar feeling after many technology conferences.
You leave energized. The keynotes are bold, the demos are impressive, and everyone is talking about the future: AI-powered operations, smarter infrastructure, modern applications, secure data platforms, faster decision-making.
And then the question slowly surfaces:
What does your IT team actually do next?
That gap between vision and execution was exactly what we wanted to explore. As a proud Google Maps Platform partner, we came to Prague not only to follow the latest conversations around GenAI, application modernization, open infrastructure, security, and productivity. We were also there to understand how these themes connect to the operational realities businesses face every day.
Google Maps Platform in the wider cloud conversation
At our Globema booth, we focused on Google Maps Platform, but not as a standalone tool.
For us, location intelligence sits at the intersection of cloud, data, operations, and customer experience. It becomes especially powerful when organizations stop thinking about maps as “just visualization” and start treating location data as a strategic layer for decision-making.
During the event, we represented not only Globema, but also the products, solutions, and expertise connected with Google Maps Platform. It was a strong confirmation of the role we play as a partner: helping organizations translate location-based technology into practical business outcomes.
And the discussions showed just how broad those outcomes can be.
What the conversations were actually about
1. The “classic” use cases are maturing fast
Google Maps has already played an important role for more than a decade in industries including:
- taxi and ride-hailing services,
- micromobility,
- shared mobility,
- on-demand services,
- logistics and field operations.
In these sectors, the challenge is no longer simply “how do we display a map?”. The questions have become much more advanced:
How can we improve route efficiency?
How do we make real-time operations more reliable?
How do we reduce friction for users?
How do we optimize costs while maintaining service quality?
How do we scale location-based services across markets?
2. Expansion decisions are getting smarter
We had some genuinely interesting conversations with businesses facing a challenge that sounds deceptively simple: where should we open next?
The topics included:
Selecting new supermarket locations
Planning parcel box networks
Understanding customer catchment areas
Analyzing accessibility
Evaluating traffic and movement patterns
Combining geographic data with business performance indicators
Instead of relying only on intuition or fragmented data, organizations can use spatial analysis to make an informed decision on where they should expand next (and why!).
3. Cities are asking bigger questions
Another important theme was the role of location intelligence in urban environments.
How can a city like Prague better understand its own traffic patterns in real time? How do you monitor road safety without a team of humans watching every camera feed? How do you model the downstream impact of a change in traffic rules before you actually make it?
These are complex challenges. Cities are living systems, and every road closure, speed regulation, infrastructure investment, or traffic policy affects thousands of people.
Location intelligence can help cities:
- identify traffic bottlenecks,
- understand movement patterns,
- monitor road safety risks,
- evaluate the impact of infrastructure changes,
- improve planning for citizens, commuters, and service providers.
The outcome is not just a better map. It is better-informed decision-making in spaces where the consequences are highly visible and deeply human.
What GCS 2026 told us about the industry
Across the sessions and the conversations, a few themes kept surfacing:
GenAI is moving past the hype cycle
The discussions this year were less about whether GenAI is real and more about which implementations actually deliver. Real-world use cases, not demos, are what people are hungry for.
Modernization isn’t optional anymore
Legacy applications aren’t just a technical inconvenience. They’re a strategic liability. The appetite for open infrastructure and cloud-native approaches was palpable across every conversation.
Location is a layer, not a silo
One of our key takeaways from representing Google Maps Platform at a broader cloud event: decision-makers increasingly see location intelligence as part of their overall cloud strategy, not a standalone tool. That integration mindset is exactly the right one.
And yes, there was an afterparty
Of course, no good summit is only about presentations and booth conversations.
The afterparty gave us a chance to continue discussions in a more relaxed setting, meet new people, reconnect with partners, and exchange honest perspectives on where the market is heading. And if our sources are correct, some Globemians were seen on the dance floor along other enthusiastic GCS 2026 visitors. 😉
A good reminder that innovation is still a human activity.
Thank you, Prague!
Google Cloud Summit Czech Republic 2026 was a valuable opportunity for us to listen, share, learn, and represent Google Maps Platform expertise in conversations that went far beyond technology for technology’s sake.
Thank you to everyone who visited our booth, shared their challenges, asked thoughtful questions, and spent time with our team:
- Bartosz Lech, CEO
- Julia Wojciechowska, Data Analyst
- Ondřej Martínek, Business Development Manager
- Adam Križan, Business Development Consultant
See you at the next event, and until then, we’ll keep mapping the path from cloud ideas to measurable outcomes. 😄