Press Release

Commercial Industries Hold Increasing Potential for Remote Sensing Applications

By SpaceRef Editor
July 12, 2004
Filed under , ,

Primarily used
in the U.S. Department of Defense and other state and federal
governments, remote sensing applications and imaging are gradually
foraying into the relatively untapped commercial industries.New analysis from Frost & Sullivan
(http://www.aerospaceanddefense.frost.com), “North American Remote
Sensing Vertical Markets,” reveals that revenue in this industry
totaled $1.29 billion in 2003 and projects to reach $1.68 billion by
2010.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides
manufacturers, end-users and other industry participants an overview
of the latest analysis of the North American Remote Sensing Vertical
Markets, then send an email to Melina Gonzalez – Corporate
Communications at melina.gonzalez@frost.com with the following
information: your full name, company name, title, telephone number,
fax number and email. Upon receipt of the above information, an
overview will be sent to you via e-mail.

“Remote sensing vendors can draw upon their expertise gathered
from serving existing end-user segments to lay the groundwork for
growing the commercial markets such as mining, petroleum exploration
and utilities,” says Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Vignesh
Kadirvel.

Lack of remote sensing capability awareness, tight budgets,
economic downturns and highly specific vertical market needs were the
prime reasons for disappointing attempts at capturing the commercial
segment. Therefore, vendors are realizing the urgency in effectively
communicating the benefits and value-added services that they can
provide to commercial end-users.

Another approach to success in the commercial market would be to
adopt a customer-centric product development strategy, likely to
bridge the gap between the product development team and the end-user,
eventually leading to greater customer satisfaction.

High capitalization costs are challenging the future of remote
sensing applications in the commercial space. Many remote sensing
vendors feel that it is impractical to recapitalize on the
next-generation remote sensing systems while still trying to operate
with existing ones.

The high capitalization costs have affected the satellite imaging
market in particular. Additionally, the high-level technological
expertise and government approvals required in launching such a
satellite for purely commercial reasons serve as major bottlenecks in
the development process.

Technological improvements in the form of digitization have
enhanced the value proposition that the vendors are able to offer
their customers. Digitization of imagery helps vendors in archiving
and cutting costs, thereby grabbing the attention of commercial
industries.

E-commerce expects to drive the market toward greater
interoperability and standardization, and in turn, lower the cost of
value-added services. Coupled with increasing bandwidth of the
Internet, this factor is likely to increase the demand for remote
sensing applications from commercial organizations.

Light detection and ranging imagery (LIDAR) is showing increased
promise as a tool for commercial utilities and mining. Though the ‘up
market’ prices for LIDAR equipment deter most customers, as the
technology catches up prices are expected to decline rapidly.

In order to gain a stronghold in the commercial market,
remote-sensing vendors must have the capabilities to serve diverse
end-user needs. However, smaller vendors must build up their customer
base gradually by focusing their efforts on niche markets.

“Targeting and increasing competence in a few commercial
applications will help vendors improve product quality and provide
specialized and expert support services that are critical for
penetrating the commercial market,” concludes Kadirvel.

“North American Remote Sensing Vertical Markets,” part of the
Geotechnologies subscription, is a comprehensive analysis of the
challenges and drivers in the remote sensing applications and imagery
markets. Revenue forecasts and pricing trends provided herein enable
market participants to construct reliable business growth plans. It
discusses trends in various remote-sensing techniques such as
panchromatic, hyper-spectral, synthetic aperture radar, multi-spectral
remote, and LIDAR imagery. Executive Summaries and interviews are
available to the press.

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been
supporting clients’ expansion for more than four decades. Our market
expertise covers a broad spectrum of industries, while our portfolio
of advisory competencies include custom strategic consulting, market
intelligence and management training. Our mission is to forge
partnerships with our clients’ management teams, to deliver market
insights, and to create value and drive growth through innovative
approaches. Frost & Sullivan’s network of consultants, industry
experts, corporate trainers and support staff, spans the globe with
offices in every major country.

North American Remote Sensing Vertical Markets 6950

Keywords in this release: remote sensing, value-added services,
satellite imaging market, digitization, e-commerce, panchromatic,
hyper-spectral, synthetic aperture radar, multi-spectral remote, light
detection and ranging imagery, LIDAR, research, information, market,
trends, technology, service, forecast, market share

Contact:

Frost & Sullivan
Americas:
Melina Gonzalez, 210-247-2440
melina.gonzalez@frost.com
or
Europe:
Kristina Menzefricke, +44 (0) 20 7343 8376
kristina.menzefricke@frost.com
or
Asia Pacific:
Donna Jeremiah, +603 6304 5832
djeremiah@frost.com
or
www.frost.com

SpaceRef staff editor.