If 2018 started off on a sad note with the shutdown of Mapzen, it seems to be coming to an end with the acquisition of another well-known company. Planet, the San Francisco based Earth Observation company has entered into an agreement to acquire Boundless for an undisclosed sum. This is the second company that Planet has acquired since they were founded in 2010, the other company being Terra Bella (from Google).
What is interesting about this acquisition is that Planet announced that they have acquired Boundless to further strengthen their support of U.S. government business. If you recall, Boundless won a $36 million contract with the National
Planet has announced that all 90+ employees of Boundless will be retained and will be part of their new subsidiary, Planet Federal. Planet Federal will focus on our growing U.S. government business representing Planet’s commercial products for U.S. government requirements.
Is this Planet’s first steps towards becoming a complete geospatial intelligence provider? They have the data, now they have the analytical capabilities as well. It is going to be interesting to see how Planet Federal develops over the course of time.
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Flooding in Somalia due to Cyclone Sagar, Outbreak of Ebola in Democratic Republic of Congo, Earthquake in Osaka in Japan, Volcanic eruption in Hawaii – All around the world, relief workers and governments are increasingly relying upon OpenStreetMap (OSM) to help them locate the affected and coordinate rescue measures. Being on the map can literally change your life.
Unfortunately, millions of people around the world are still not represented on maps. Because of this, they lack access to basic services. Whenever disaster strikes, they’re not prioritized in relief operations. Without maps, they fall through the cracks of bureaucracy, not receiving the support and services that they deserve!
They are literally missing from any map. Maps & data are needed urgently to solve this problem. Local communities are working to add themselves to the world’s map using OpenStreetMap.
Help Pay It Forward and #MapTheDifference
Humanitarian OpenStreetMap (HOTOSM) Team is supporting these communities with Microgrants. With these grants, communities can gain the tools and training to ensure governments, relief agencies and community leaders can use this data for development and disaster response.
In the last 2 years, HOTOSM microgrants have helped train more than 7000 local mappers have been trained and who have made over 2 million edits to the map to date, mapping to reduce gender inequality, improve public health and reduce disaster risks.
At Geoawesomeness, we strongly believe in paying it forward. Over the years, we have had the privilege to meet some wonderful people and see first-hand how maps and location technology has changed the lives of millions for the better.
We have decided to contribute 200 euros to this cause from our end and we hope you will join us in helping provide the HOTOSM team with the grants they need to train more local leaders and help map the difference!
With your donation, more communities can continue their efforts to make sure no individual or community is left off the map. Even the smallest contribution can help make a huge difference. It takes less than 5 dollars to help train a local leader!
Join us today and #mapthedifference – here is the link to the donation page!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW3v18ZJYDg
