For companies using integrated satellite solutions, benefits include:

• Low-latency, reliable visibility into data-intensive activities
• Fewer geographic restrictions than terrestrial alternatives
• Standardized solutions across country borders, improving scalability
• Real-time communication of observational and navigational data between mobile assets and central control

From the expanses of agricultural fields to the skies navigated by commercial airlines, integrated space services are reshaping operating landscapes. They are supporting new applications and product development, generating data-driven insights, and enabling operations on a global scale. This is especially true for businesses whose assets have four key traits: they are geographically dispersed, mobile, operate in changing environments, and need persistent and/or real-time access and management. (See Exhibit 2.)

The results, based on our analysis, include:

• Up to 15% increases in gross margins
• 25% growth in revenues
• 10% reductions in operating costs
• 10% lower fuel emissions

In the agricultural industry, for example, using satellites for soil- and crop-health monitoring can boost yields by up to 15% while reducing water, fertilizer, and pesticide usage by up to 20%. And in aviation, airlines can optimize flight paths, reduce fuel costs, and use predictive maintenance to cut asset downtime significantly.

The Backdrop

The space services industry is evolving rapidly. Fleets of satellites are transforming from geostationary (GEO) satellites that orbit over the same location to growing constellations of low-Earth-orbit (LEO) and medium-Earth-orbit (MEO) satellites with global coverage and modern high-performance payloads. GEO satellites remain essential, but LEO and MEO can be less expensive while offering a host of improvements such as greater coverage, lower latency, higher-bandwidth communications, more timely imagery, or more accurate position data.

Satellite-based capabilities are also becoming more and more robust, with a host of new entrants in the space industry driving rapid innovation, and the number of satellites available poised to increase dramatically. These advancements will be bolstered by improvements on the ground, offering greater opportunities for different satellite technologies to converge. For example:

• Satcom operators and suppliers are developing multi-orbit, mobile terminals for trucks and other vehicles, allowing consistent connectivity anywhere in the world.
• Earth observation operators are improving the availability and ease of access to data through APIs, allowing for direct integration into operations management and decision-making tools.
• PNT ensures that end users can rely on precise data no matter where their operations may be.

Because of the recent availability of more advanced space capabilities and because adopting integrated space services is complex, many industrial companies have not yet tapped into the full potential of these services.

Many industrials are still employing out-of-date technologies or have failed to integrate available space services in a way that creates value greater than the sum of their parts—often purchasing and leveraging space services in a siloed manner. One challenge is that integrated solutions must be industry- and, in many cases, business-specific. There are few viable off-the-shelf integrated-space-services solutions currently available, and businesses will typically avoid developing, employing, and scaling cutting-edge tools independently. This is primarily due to the complex technical requirements and perceived high initial-investment costs of space services.

But some keen competitors are beginning to change the paradigm, achieving substantial gains in business performance. (See Exhibit 3).