12 November 2020
By Alvaro Sanchez, Integrasys CEO
We still have not realised the impact of the Covid-19, not only in our economy but also in our cultures and societies. Contrary to the global crisis arisen due to the uncertain situation and the disruption in the supply chain; some companies are now breaking records, as they are anticipating the opportunities that are emerging due to the new challenges.
The satellite industry has a traditional workflow and companies within the sector are anchored in the traditional ways of making business. There were only two ways to sell, visiting the customers or contacting them at trade shows. Now, we are adapting to schedule online meetings and calls through Webex or Zoom, and demoing products by AnyDesk or similar tools, that enable us to open new opportunities. Everything is remote; therefore, the challenge is to simplify the supply chain process, logistics should become very simple and effective, avoiding hardware, and moving to cloud services instead of complex programs that require on-site installations. Moreover, the industry demands software as a service, in order to obtain more OPEX and less CAPEX for maximizing the company’s liquidity.
Before the Covid arrival, the interest in new developments was notable within the sector, such as the ambitious project of the billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, who invested in rockets and new LEO constellations. The industry was turning upside down with OneWeb Speedacast, and Intelsat’s Chapter 11, and the Pandemic against all odds has been significant to increase the investments in these new developments, as the market is now demanding connectivity. For instance, satellite operators are currently immersed in many projects that aim not only to provide rural areas, but also developed cities in order to get a higher quality of internet service and a greater bandwidth.
The growing demand affects the quality of the services offered, and the speed with these projects can be concluded; time to market has been increased as COVID has affected the installers and network personnel, so automated tools are a must to start deploying and generating revenue. For this reason, there are tools in the market that allow to carry out the work quicker, automating significant parts of the processes. This is the case of Beam Budget a link budget calculation tool which enables satellite operators to sell new networks in these new times. Selling is important and Beam Budget brings a huge accuracy calculating the forward and return link in a fast and precise way, taking into account the degradation of the signal thanks to the graphically represented footprint, available for every type of constellation (LEO, MEO and GEO), in a very intuitive way, so that sales representatives and customers understand it. When the network is sold, Satmotion Auto Commissioning tool cam take over for an immediate deployment.
To sum up, we are witnessing a new era, full of new opportunities, and a possibility of imminent revolution, only companies who adapt will succeed.
