Launching the Maritime Copernicus Enablement Platform

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Copernicus, the enormous Earth Observation European programme based on satellites and intended to provide data for further uptake and use for companies, generates high volumes of information not easy to process and exploit. Anyone interested in using Copernicus data needs to pre-process and store the information in a high performance and big data repository for further querying. Eixo Digital (ED) is a Portuguese SME active in the areas of IT consulting and software development, focused and with proven experience on the development of telecommunication solutions for the mobile satellite communications market. ED has developed MCEP – Maritime Copernicus Enablement Platform, based in open-source technologies, in order to offer to developers an easy way to exploit this data by means of an open API. With this solution, Copernicus data is available to everyone – from the single developer to the large company- without having to set up the entire infrastructure. MCEP will boost the use of Copernicus data by providing a consistent, simplified and scalable access to this powerful resource. The MCEP solution will provide economic benefits to users by allowing them to create added-value services on top of Copernicus data. The platform can easily be expanded to other sectors beyond the marine environment granting a wider use of Copernicus downstream applications. MCEP is based on the Metry Framework, which serves as the storage backbone, already developed by us as part of the ESA Space Programme. Our overall objective in this essential project for ED is the broad exploitation of the proposed platform. In Phase 1, our specific objective is to prepare a clear Feasibility study and Business plan on how to reach and exploit this extraordinary platform for different target groups, which might imply different business models, and different market strategies. In Phase 2, our objective is to implement the actual work necessary to reach the goals outlined in the Phase 1 Feasibility Stu