1. A computer implemented method for creating cross-platform maps, comprising: receiving geographic information system (GIS) datasets encoded in respective source formats, wherein each GIS dataset includes one or more map assets, each map asset describing a feature, characteristic, or element of a respective map; translating said GIS datasets into a platform independent format, wherein said platform independent format differs from said source formats; extracting metadata from at least a portion of said one or more map assets; storing said metadata for subsequent access by one or more client platforms, wherein said metadata is stored in a first low latency non-persistent memory and said map assets are stored in a second persistent storage; and providing said translated GIS datasets and their respective map assets in said platform independent format to one or more client platforms, wherein said translating, extracting, and providing are performed using one or more processors.