Log in
  
Home > GIS > Government & Military
Related topics: Government & Military,Feature
Government & Military

Picturing a Continent's Imagery Consumers

March 30, 2007 By: Cyrena Respini-Irwin


The eyes of the world have been watching Asia lately, focused in particular on the dramatic evolution of China and India. China is orchestrating a nationwide push for industrialization and urbanization, racing toward superpower status with astonishing speed. India, familiar to many in the geospatial industry as an outsourcing powerhouse, boasts an economy growing 8 percent a year.

Of course, booming economies aren't the only force behind the increasing power of these markets; size matters too, and these are the two most populous nations in the world. China currently claims more than 1.3 billion inhabitants; India follows close behind with 1.1 billion. That's a lot of consumers — and more and more of them consume remote sensing products.

To better understand this expanding market, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hired Global Marketing Insights to prepare a report entitled "Survey and Analysis of the Asian Remote Sensing Market, Aerial and Spaceborne." The consulting, research, and planning firm conducted a study of the Western remote sensing market for the agency in 2005, and NOAA's Satellite and Information Service Division extended the contract to include Asia in 2006.

According to Global Marketing Insights President Shawana Johnson, "NOAA's primary goal for the survey was to learn about the technological, political, economic, and environmental trends impacting each of those sectors. The survey results provide a comparison to the Western study completed a year ago and provide an overview of where the worldwide remote sensing market is heading — from the viewpoints of both data and service providers and end users."

To prepare the report, Global Marketing Insights picked the brains of industry professionals and end users, asking questions about aerial sensors, satellites, and six other sectors of the market. In addition to the 408 surveys participants completed online, 50 personal interviews were also conducted. When indicating their country, participants most frequently named India, Australia, or China.

In order to collect all that data, the company enlisted the help of its Alliance Research Partners, a network of firms that hosted the survey Web site and urged their clients to participate. The network comprised such institutions as Corbley Communications, DigitalGlobe, Spot Image, and our very own Earth Imaging Newsletter.

Trends highlighted in the 49-page report include:

  • On average, Asian respondents possessed fewer than 10 years of professional experience, as opposed to more than 16 years for their Western counterparts.
  • The Asian remote sensing workforce is about half the age of its Western counterpart.
  • Remote sensing data usage was very similar between Western and Asian respondents, although more Asian participants use satellite data.
  • The Asian satellite sector predicts strong growth over the next ten years, thanks to government support.

"In summary," the report states, "the Asian remote sensing profession is growing and will continue to do so . . . During the coming decade, Asian data producers and providers will continue the rapid advancement of their technologies and will further blur the distinction between Western remote sensing programs and their own."

Add Comment