From Technology Push to Market Pull: SPOT, a Success Story

Abstract

The motivations of the 1978 decision on the SPOT 1 satellite were definitely “technology push” but fairly soon the commercial dimension of the system appeared, which led to the creation of the Spot Image company in 1982. Spot Image was created with the objective to develop the market in order to fund the renewal of the SPOT system by its revenues and guarantee its durability. This objective is still valid. the commercial results of SPOT satellite’s operation from 1986 to 1996 illustrate the success of the program, in particular on both technical and commercial levels. During these ten years, Spot Image succeeded in creating a market for satellite data and has become the leader in this market.

The three main reasons for the success of the SPOT program are: the strong and lasting wish to market the data, the quality of products and services, the continuity and the improvements of the system. Based on this success, the “market pull” approach is followed for future developments. With such an approach, the next generation of the SPOT satellites beyond SPOT 5 will be funded through both public and private sources. With a strategy adapted to a context of enhanced competition, Spot Image is able to reach its objective.