Overview
The remote sensing industry
has benefited greatly from some
recent trends. Post-9/11, many
of the countries in the world
feel the need to know more about
their neighbours. Regional tensions
have increased as North Korea
tested a nuclear device and
Iran announced development of
its nuclear capability. Those
tensions increased the demand
for satellite imagery. In the
US, for instance, the Department
of Defence has committed more
than $1.5 billion to commercial
satellite imaging companies
to buy imagery and make the
requisite commitments to enable
development of the next-generation
systems. So one can presume
the satellite imagery business
is here to stay and prosper.
During the same time, devastating
natural disasters occurred –
the tsunami, Hurricane Katrina,
the earthquake in Pakistan,
for instance. In each case,
high resolution imagery was
quickly made available that
showed the extent of the damage
and helped rescue workers navigate
the disaster areas. Later, that
imagery helped in the reconstruction
efforts.
Many developing countries still
do not have adequate, up-to-date
maps from which to manage infrastructure,
so we still see potential and
growth in the international
markets. China is a good example
of a country that is growing
fast and needs good imagery
to help plan development. Another
recent development that has
strengthened the industry is
the increasing use of satellite
imagery by on-line search engines
such as Microsoft, Yahoo and
Google. The search engines have
provided not only a new source
of revenue but a terrific marketing
tool. Their use of satellite
imagery has greatly increased
the public’s familiarity
with satellite imagery and its
many benefits. Consolidation
has also helped strengthen the
industry, particularly GeoEye..
Markets
It is true that governments
around the world still constitute
the largest part of the customer
and revenue base. Governments
still have the most funds available
for imagery and the greatest
needs. For instance, as India
increasingly links together
thousands of villages under
some key governmental initiatives,
maps will be critical to ensure
roads and key infrastructure
are constructed in an environmentally
sound manner. Map-accurate commercial
satellite imagery can be very
helpful in this regard. GeoEye’s
single biggest government customer
is the US Government agency
called the National Geospatial-Intelligence
Agency (NGA). This Agency is
the primary imagery intelligence
and mapping arm for the U.S.
Defence Department and Intelligence
Community. Clearly, our government
finds value in high-resolution
commercial imagery. Satellite
imagery is relatively current
too. The average age of a map
in the US is more than 20 years,
so there is value in utilising
satellite imagery to update
maps.
The on-line search engines are
a new class of customers that
have increased both demand and
public awareness of satellite
imagery. Two of GeoEye’s
newer customers are Microsoft
and Yahoo. They find great advantage
in our map-accurate imagery
for their emerging online map
sites. And according to recent
findings, the majority of our
value-added resellers –
firms on the front lines of
imagery sales – say the
online sites are introducing
satellite images to consumers
and industries that may not
have been reached otherwise.
To go one step further, a large
number of GIS firms are even
developing commercial applications
compatible with Google Earth
and Microsoft Virtual Earth,
which may have a trickle-down
effect on increasing commercial
user demand. Mapquest was launched
in 1996. It’s humbling
to think just a little more
than 10 years ago we really
did not have any notion of using
the Web for geospatial applications.. |
