Commercial Industries Hold Increasing Potential for Remote Sensing Applications.

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- 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 [e-mail] 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