Since Azure Space was launched, Microsoft has put a lot of effort into trying to partner with big corporations in the space community to extend its Azure Space ecosystem. This is aimed at empowering customers as well as partners to achieve more. Tom Keane is Azure’s Global Corporate Vice President. He is the head of the worldwide engineering team which aims at making the Azure cloud computing platform available to every corporation.
According to Tom Keane, they aim also to achieve access to every country, and everyone in the world. To achieve its mission of making Azure Space the best ecosystem and platform in the space community, Microsoft has partnered with Airbus and will use the readily available elevation data and satellite imagery in Microsoft’s Azure Maps. Airbus will be feeding Azure Maps with its Pléiades Neo.
Tom Keane explains that it will also feed Pléiades, and SPOT satellite imagery and elevation data from WorldDEM4Ortho. WorldDEM4Ortho uses elevation dataset from the global WorldDEM and it has a vertical accuracy of 4m and a resolution of 24m. Due to major spikes in traffic congestion, product shortages, and consumer demand, global supply chains and businesses have been experiencing unprecedented disruptions.
Through Microsoft Azure AI and Machine learning combined with Airbus satellite imagery, organizations can predict disruptions before they happen by analyzing global consumer trends, traffic patterns, and shipping routes. The Airbus partnership will also be very beneficial to first responders by identifying conditions that might cause fires. Tom Keane explains that this will help prevent loss of life or property while providing first responders with raw data they can use to do their work better.
A mapping of inventory can also be created using the combined power of Airbus satellite imagery and Microsoft Azure to pinpoint wetlands at risk of sequestration, decomposition, and carbon fixation. Tom Keane is credited for the Cyber Sovereignty at Azure, including security, data residency, compliance, and privacy. He works often with regulators and governments around the world making Azure become an industry leader in this field.