DLIS uses a custom GIS called SWARMS (Schistocerca Warning and Management System) to manage the large volume of daily data and facilitate analysis and forecasting. SWARMS contains historical data from 1930 to the present and allows for the display of remote sensing imagery and the use of various models to estimate egg and hopper development rates, adult migration trajectories and seasonal forecasts of rainfall and temperature.

DLIS houses an extensive collection of maps of varying types and scales that covers some 50 countries or about 32 million sq. km (equivalent to 20% of the Earth's land surface). The maps are used to check location data received from the field.

A Locust Information Assistant is responsible for managing all of the data that arrives in DLIS each day. During emergencies, the volume of this data increases dramatically so it is important to have well established procedures and systems that can effectively and reliably store, query and display the data.

The Senior Locust Forecasting Officer in DLIS, Keith Cressman, has been analyzing locust, weather and ecological data from affected countries as well as satellite imagery for assessing the locust situation and forecasting the scale, time and location of breeding and migration for more than 30 years. The quality of the analysis and precision of the forecasts not only depend on the data but also on the experience and intuition.

DLIS prepares and distributes a number of products that summarizes and forecasts the locust situation. Every month, DLIS produces a monthly bulletin and six-week forecast. During periods of increased locust activity, these are supplemented by updates and alerts. Specific warnings of significant rainfall, locust developments or invasion threat are sent directly by email to the relevant country with suggested action to take, when and where. All bulletins, updates and alerts are in English, French and Arabic. They are archived in the Archives section of Locust Watch where they can be downloaded.