Consulting: implementation
Implementation: from a satellite data pilot to daily operation
In implementation, LETO SPACE designs a satellite data pilot with KPIs and a business owner, manages the project, steers the provider against the agreed plan and prepares operation, governance and scaling. Clients receive a pilot plan with KPIs, provider steering, an operating and governance model and a scaling plan.
- Pilot plan with KPIs
- Provider steering
- Operating and governance model
- Scaling plan
01When you need it
When you need implementation support
You have chosen a use case, and often a provider as well. Now the solution has to prove its value and become part of daily work.
Typical starting situations:
- A provider has been selected or the contract is signed, and nobody on your side has the time or the experience to steer a satellite data project.
- A pilot has run, but nobody agreed beforehand what success looks like, so nobody can decide whether to continue.
- Results arrive as maps or files that do not reach the people and systems where decisions are made.
- The pilot worked, and the open questions are who runs the service, who pays for it after the first year and how it is extended to other sites or departments.
If you have no use case yet, start with strategy and use cases. If you have a use case but no provider, start with requirements and procurement.
02How we work
What we do
We take you from a pilot with KPIs through operation and governance to scale.
Design the pilot
We define what the pilot must prove, for which decision and by when. The pilot gets KPIs, a fixed time frame and an owner in the business, not only in IT or an innovation unit. The criteria for continuing or stopping are set before work starts, so that the result leads to a decision.
Manage the project and steer the provider
We manage the project with agile or hybrid methods, whichever suits your organisation and the provider contract. We plan with your team, track progress against the agreed plan and deal with changes early. On your behalf we steer the provider: we check deliveries against your requirements, clarify questions on accuracy, coverage and update intervals, and escalate what affects the KPIs.
Prepare operation and governance
A successful pilot is not yet a service. We set up the operating model: who owns the service, who looks after the data, how the provider is managed and how models and AI outputs are reviewed over time.
Plan the scale-up
When the pilot meets its KPIs, we plan how the solution is extended to further functions, sites, regions or partners, and how its running costs enter your planning and budget.
03Deliverables
What you receive
Deliverables
What implementation delivers
- A pilot plan with KPIs: the decision the pilot supports, its scope, the KPIs, time frame, owner, and the criteria for continuing or stopping.
- Provider steering: regular reviews of deliveries against your requirements and the agreed plan, with open issues and decisions documented.
- An operating and governance model: roles, data stewardship, provider management and the review of models and AI outputs.
- A scaling plan: where the solution is extended next, what that requires and which running costs to budget.
04Your part
What we need from you
- A business owner for the pilot who can decide whether it continues.
- Access to the people who will use the results, and to the systems the results must reach, for example GIS, ERP or BI.
- The provider contract, or the requirements and the offer if the contract is still being negotiated.
- Time from your team for reviews and for the decision at the end of the pilot.
Who takes the final decision also depends on whether you buy a product, partner in an ecosystem or build the capability yourself. Our consulting overview sets out these options.
05Limits
When satellite data is not the answer
A pilot can also show that satellite data is not the right tool. That is a useful result if it comes early and costs little.
Limit 01
The data cannot meet the requirement
If the pilot shows that the spatial detail, the update interval or the accuracy does not support the decision, we say so and recommend changing the approach or stopping.Limit 02
Nobody owns the result
Without an owner in operation and a budget beyond the pilot, a solution ends when the project ends. In that case we recommend settling ownership and budget before the pilot starts.Limit 03
Free data is not yet a service
Copernicus services and data are free of charge, Source: European Union, EUR-Lex, 12 May 2021European Union, EUR-LexRegulation (EU) 2021/696 of 28 April 2021 establishing the Union Space Programme and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme12 May 2021Open source (opens eur-lex.europa.eu) but someone still has to process them, check their quality and deliver results into your systems. The pilot shows how much effort that takes.
06Team
Who does the work
Implementation is led by our core team from consulting, software engineering and AI. For specialist questions, for example on a sensor type or a sector, we bring in subject-matter experts from our network. We work in German and English, and in other languages when needed.
A solution lasts only if the people who run it understand it. Our workshops and training prepare them before the solution goes live.
Frequently asked questions
Q1What makes a satellite data pilot measurable?
A pilot is measurable when its success criteria are fixed before it starts. Together with you, we agree the decision the pilot supports, the KPIs that show success, the time frame and the criteria for continuing or stopping. KPIs can compare the satellite-based result with the current way of working, for example in effort, coverage or how early a change is noticed.
Q2Who should own the pilot, the business or IT?
The business. The department that will use the result should own the pilot and decide whether it continues, with IT responsible for integration and security. A pilot owned only by IT or an innovation unit risks ending with a demonstration and no decision.
Q3What happens after the pilot?
If the pilot meets its KPIs, the operating and governance model and the scaling plan take over: who runs the service, who looks after the data and the provider, and where the solution is extended next. If it does not, you have the evidence to change the approach or to stop.
Q4How do you work with the provider during implementation?
We work on your side. We review deliveries against your requirements and the agreed plan, clarify technical questions with the provider and document open issues and decisions. You keep the contract and the final say; we prepare the decisions.
Q5Do you use agile project management?
Yes, where it fits. We manage satellite data projects with agile or hybrid methods, depending on your organisation, the provider contract and how much of the scope is fixed in advance. Either way, the pilot keeps a clear plan, a named owner and agreed KPIs.
Q6Can a pilot use free Copernicus data?
Yes. Copernicus services and data are provided free of charge. Source: European Union, EUR-Lex, 12 May 2021European Union, EUR-LexRegulation (EU) 2021/696 of 28 April 2021 establishing the Union Space Programme and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme12 May 2021Open source (opens eur-lex.europa.eu) For many questions they are a good starting point; for others, the spatial detail or the update interval of commercial data is needed. The pilot shows which applies before you commit to a long contract.
Q7What does it cost, and how long does it take?
That depends on the scope, for example the size and duration of the pilot and how many systems the results must reach. We name the cost and the time frame in the free initial call, once we know your task.
Contact
Planning a pilot or about to start one? Talk to us.
Book a call, or send us a message if you prefer to write.
Prefer to talk?
Tell one of our experts about your project. Together we work out where you stand, whether satellite data and AI can help and what a sensible next step would be.
Both calls are free of charge and take place online. You choose a date in our booking calendar.
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