Microsoft Planetary Computer Pro: Unlocking AI-powered geospatial insights for enterprises across industries

We are thrilled to present the Public Preview of Microsoft Planetary Computer Pro, a robust platform designed to significantly simplify how organisations can leverage geospatial data for tangible outcomes.

The surge in satellite constellations and connections to extensive cloud services has rendered geospatial data accessible across numerous sectors and applications. From optimising supply chains to assessing climate risks and planning urban developments, the potential is vast. However, geospatial data is often intricate and fragmented, scattered among various sources like satellites, drones, and sensors, and frequently accessible only to specialists.

To address this issue, Microsoft has committed to demystifying the geospatial landscape, and we are proud to unveil the Public Preview of Microsoft Planetary Computer Pro. This innovative platform enables organisations to easily harness geospatial data for real-world results. It empowers users to ingest, catalogue, store, process, and share substantial volumes of geospatial data within Microsoft Azure, utilising familiar tools and AI-driven insights. The outcomes include improved accessibility, streamlined datasets, unified security, and quicker insights.

Various industries are already seeing the advantages. For instance, energy firms are employing Earth observation data to monitor infrastructure health and predict maintenance requirements. Meanwhile, agricultural entities are enhancing crop yields by analysing soil health, weather patterns, and land usage. Additionally, retailers are improving site selection by integrating demographic data with mobility and foot traffic analytics.

These examples reflect a larger trend. As businesses face increasing demands for efficiency, resilience, and sustainability, operationalising geospatial data has become a crucial competitive edge.

Partner Momentum: A Thriving Ecosystem

Microsoft’s dedication to partnerships is central to our mission.

We are working closely with Esri to seamlessly integrate ArcGIS Pro and Enterprise into our platform. Users of Esri will have direct access to managed content for their imagery analysis tasks, regardless of scale. This collaboration allows Geographic Information System (GIS) professionals to continue using their preferred tools while benefiting from the scalability and AI features of Microsoft’s cloud.

Another partner, Xoople, is introducing an end-to-end Earth Intelligence system powered by a new satellite constellation and Microsoft’s Planetary Computer Pro. By leveraging the efficient data ingestion, management, indexing, and processing capabilities of Planetary Computer, Xoople intends to transform datasets and deliver the newest industry insights to customers via the Azure Marketplace and specialised Independent Software Vendors (ISVs).

Our partnerships are also instrumental in providing value to organisations globally, championing a more sustainable future.

• Space Intelligence supplies customers with auditing-level data regarding forest cover and carbon storage for nature-based initiatives. They employ geospatial data analysis and machine learning through Microsoft Planetary Computer Pro to support zero deforestation and mass restoration. Space Intelligence needed straightforward access to a large-scale catalogue of both public and private data for their AI/ML operations, processing petabytes of data annually. Microsoft Planetary Computer Pro facilitated the scaling of their AI data storage, enabled API integration, visualised data seamlessly through an on-demand tiling stack, and maintained alignment between open and closed data sources.
• Impact Observatory uses Planetary Computer Pro, Azure Batch, and proprietary models to enhance the production of their land-use land cover map. By migrating their inference pipeline to Azure and utilising Azure Batch, Impact Observatory successfully ran their model concurrently on 1,000 virtual machines, totalling 1 million core hours. Within just under a week, they produced their global land-use land cover map.
• EY Consulting has established itself as a key player in advancing geospatial capabilities across various industries. Their collaboration with Microsoft has empowered customers by integrating leading-edge geospatial functionalities into Azure. With their extensive expertise in geospatial data analytics, EY Consulting has advanced the integration of these insights into business operations, redefining the geospatial landscape.

Looking Forward: Mainstreaming Geospatial Insights with AI-ready Infrastructure

Microsoft Planetary Computer Pro addresses complexity by integrating seamlessly with tools such as Microsoft Fabric, Azure AI Foundry, and Power BI, along with third-party platforms. This compatibility allows data analysts, developers, and business users to readily access and act upon geospatial data within mainstream analytics workflows. Beyond mere access, Planetary Computer Pro lays the groundwork for applied AI—standardising diverse datasets within a secure, cloud-native environment to facilitate sophisticated modelling, forecasting, and decision-making. This establishes a future where geospatial insights can inform decisions across nearly all industries.

Conclusion: Geospatial Insights at Your Fingertips

By enhancing access to geospatial insights, making them actionable, and preparing them for AI applications, Microsoft Planetary Computer Pro enables organisations to make informed decisions that benefit both businesses and the planet.

The public preview of Microsoft Planetary Computer Pro is now available in select Azure regions.

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In a world facing complex challenges, Microsoft Planetary Computer Pro ensures that geospatial insights are accessible to everyone, not just specialists.