European Marketplace for EO Services

As many of you will know we are studying the possible conditions for establishing a Marketplace Alliance for EO Services (MAEOS). We have just about reached the half-way stage of the work. We have held an extensive consultation with the stakeholders and mapped this to possible functions and architecture. The results are looking good and have helped enormously to clarify the complex landscape in which we are working. We presented the outcome to the EARSC board last Tuesday (4th October).

The bottom line, I am delighted to report, is that the EARSC board has decided that the industry should move immediately towards establishing an EOMall which would be a completely separate legal entity to EARSC. The EOMall would operate a marketplace on behalf of those companies which choose to join and invest in the venture. At the same time, EARSC will define possible policy and governance conditions for companies working together under a lighter structure which will be the MAEOS.

The result is that every company will have a choice whether to join the close collaboration in the EOMall, work in a lighter co-operation under EARSC/MAEOS or stay outside both and operate independently. All companies will be able to remain in the EARSC network and benefit from the lobbying and information activities but those seeking closer co-operation will receive additional benefits.

We shall complete the MAEOS study early next year and plan a meeting in January to present the packages to industry in order that they can start to take decisions on the level of co-operation each one wishes to engage in. In the meantime, the interim results, including those from the stakeholder consultation analysis, will be presented on 25th October 2016 at the EO Innovation Europe: Network of Platforms Architecture and Implementation - Stakeholder Consultation Workshop at ESRIN in Frascati. The registration is open under the registration link