14 DAY TRIAL // Google has announced that it is making it possible for its enterprise customers, using Google Earth Builder, to now license images from GeoEye, the satellite imagery company that Google itself has partnered with for satellite data in Google Maps.
"Since 2008, Google has worked with GeoEye to publish millions of square kilometers of satellite imagery to Google Earth and Maps users," Dylan Lorimer, Google Earth and Maps for Business product manager, wrote.
"In addition to the imagery the company shares with Google, GeoEye also collects satellite imagery for licensing by numerous governments and business customers around the world," he said.
"Today we’re delighted to announce that GeoEye is the first commercial satellite imagery provider to adopt the Google Earth Builder platform," he announced.
"By using Google Earth Builder, GeoEye will rely on Google's cloud infrastructure to process, host, and securely publish their satellite imagery and mapping layers," he explained.
GeoEye is the biggest player in satellite imagery and caters to enterprise and governmental customers. Google has exclusive rights to satellite imagery from GeoEye-1, the company's most advanced satellite, launched in partnership with Google.
However, GeoEye also provides imagery, from its other satellites, to Microsoft and Yahoo.
Google's Earth Builder, is a cloud platform designed for enterprises that want to leverage the Google Earth and Google Maps apps with custom data sets, available to all of their employees.
Earth Builder enables enterprises to acquire satellite imagery directly via the platform and GeoEye has become the first provider to integrate with the platform.
This move extends the type of data and services available to Earth Builder customers, but also makes it possible for GeoEye to reach new customers more easily.
Satellite imagery is no longer something that only governments and powerful corporations have access to, everyone can check out the entire planet in Google Maps or Earth.
However, the imagery there is generally not the most recent, it's not obsolete, but GeoEye can offer the most recent data and even acquire new ones in regions that interest a company.