Satellite-Based EO Represents a US$ 43 Billion Opportunity Over Next 10 Years 

Cambridge, Mass., September 6, 2016–NSR’s Satellite-Based Earth Observation (EO), 8th Edition report, released today, projects data, value-added services, information products, and big data analytics from satellite-based EO to represent a $43 billion opportunity over the next decade. The market is expected to grow rapidly in downstream EO services, especially in the wake of increased supply of high resolution data with high frequency of revisits, driving demand for EO data and services across all verticals.

Constellations, consolidation, and a rise in analytics signal a change in commercial EO. New business models are emerging which make the most of the ever-increasing supply of data available, and new satellite operators find great competition in what becomes a very crowded space. Big data analytics opens the EO market up to new customers and investors by providing actionable intelligence, and is expected to represent over $6 billion in cumulative revenues by 2025.
 
“The EO market is gearing up for an onslaught of big data analytics-based services, powered by constellations of satellites, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence,” notes Prateep Basu, NSR Analyst and report author. “The growth in Defense & Intelligence markets; however, will continue to pivot around the traditional model of producing high quality images with a high degree of agility,” he adds. Meaning more direct revenues from traditionally demanding military users, while free data will cut down margins on the low-end of the market.  When combined with high revisit, medium resolution data from smallsat platforms, this will create a multitude of applications for new markets.
 
Dallas Kasaboski, NSR Analyst and report co-author states, “Pricing for very-high resolution imagery, less than 50cm, will continue at a premium due to little competition and key customers in this space willing to pay more for better pixels.” New satellite constellations add pressure to price points, but more so for high and medium-resolution data. “High-resolution, 50cm to 1m, will be the most active market, with many new constellations and applications in development. Over the next decade this supply will drive down data prices significantly,” Mr. Kasaboski adds. Even low-resolution imagery is seeing new life thanks to analytics.
 
NSR’s first commercial weather forecast is fueled by information products and announcements such as NOAA’s commercial weather pilot program. However, it is a segment facing great competition from government weather programs, and commercial satellite weather data will have more challenges to overcome by 2025.
 

About the Report NSR’s Satellite-Based Earth Observation (EO), 8th Edition provides a detailed and thorough analysis of trends affecting the satellite-based EO market and includes a new segmentation on Big Data and commercial weather data.  The report examines the data, value-added services and information products markets. It includes a step-by-step analysis of the industry’s environment, its competitive landscape, the context in each market verticals, regions and instrument-resolution.  It dives into the major players reach in these segments offers a comprehensive view of the whole value-chain. This completely updated NSR report forecast demand over the next 10 years, and presents revenues for seven verticals, five regional markets and seven instrument resolutions along with a data price forecast.

For additional information on this report, including a full table of contents, list of exhibits and executive summary, please visit www.nsr.com