We sat down with a few clients who utilized our Audit and Discovery (A&D) services within the last year to learn more about their experience. Was this an effective use of their organization’s resources? What did they gain from the process?
Our A&D work with Earth Observation (EO) data providers is generally focused on streamlining their processes, distilling pain points, and establishing a clear path forward. The aim is to improve their systems and save their organization money in the long run. The clients that have benefited from this offering in the past maintain a complex infrastructure and an equally complex workflow. Because of this, there are a lot of moving parts – and many possible avenues for positive change. The key to our work is defining the potential changes that will deliver the largest impact for the smallest amount of investment.
How the Audit and Discovery process works
We’ve found that, for EO data providers specifically, the A&D process can be comfortably distributed across eight customizable sessions. Although defining a number of sessions introduces structure into the process, our team approaches each iteration with an open mind in order to meet your team where you’re at. We come to the table with introductory questions, but we want to hear from you first; What is working for you already, and what isn’t? Where does your team feel you need the most help?
Facilitating internal client discussions to advance their work
For one organization who utilized the A&D process, the discovery sessions served a dual purpose: “[the sessions] allowed Element 84 to gain insight into our organization’s challenges and helped us facilitate structured internal discussions across our teams. Through relevant questions about our use cases, these sessions enabled us to clarify our objectives. As a result, we were better equipped to define a plan and determine the next steps for the project discussed.”
Helping clients to leverage STAC through our deep expertise in geospatial data
Our team has decades of experience in the geospatial field. During this time, we’ve played a key role in the development and proliferation of community specifications, including STAC and STAPI (Sensor Tasking API). One of our Audit and Discovery clients cited this expertise as the reason they chose to come to us while working through some uncertainty within their organization:
“Recognizing E84 as an expert in geospatial data, particularly in the STAC standard, we found it logical to leverage that expertise during our discovery phase to begin adapting to this new standard.”
As it turns out, education and implementation related to STAC frequently make up large components of our A&D process. One client shared that, “the discovery sessions identified how STAC in particular could fulfill a lot of our delivery gaps, and STAC helps us position ourselves to serve future product direction.”
Personalizing guidance for practical insights
After completing the A&D process, one of our recent clients noted the benefits that came with “personalized guidance” from our team. By engaging with our A&D offering, this organization was able to gain practical insights, supported by concrete examples that wouldn’t be possible without having faced similar challenges on our own projects and work at Element 84. Other clients have noticed an improvement in overall confidence surrounding their work: “The project plan we eventually used was aligned with our needs and goals, and E84 personnel understood our platform, technology and business”. Specifically, this confidence is possible due to a more unified and established game plan.
Our clients’ results
So, is this process a worthwhile investment for other EO data providers? So far the verdict is positive. We heard from one of our clients that they would recommend a discovery contract because, “leveraging this experience and gaining external input is very useful for avoiding mistakes, minimizing risks, and ensuring best practices in handling geospatial data.” Another client directly referenced their cost-benefit analysis of the offering, sharing that:
“Element 84 personnel have a depth of geospatial software engineering knowledge that is rare. The discovery contract was a low-cost way to align subsequent effort with [our organization’s] needs.”
Our team at Element 84 gets excited when we have the opportunity to help organizations in the geospatial sphere tackle their goals. If your team could benefit from increased clarity in this way, we would love to chat more about A&D – and what it might look like for your organization’s specific needs. You can also find more info about our Audit and Discovery offering any time on our website.