Hyperscalers will drive data downlink to the cloud but regional players will help to alleviate security concerns

The business advantage of cloud computing is that it can transform capital expenses into predictable, steady operational costs, thereby enabling smaller players and new entrants to scale flexibly and affordably. This applies to the satellite business where cloud data traffic worldwide is expected to grow significantly; the cumulative volume of data is forecast to be more than 1074EB between 2023 and 2033. The data downlink segment is a big driver of revenue and an important enabler of Earth observation (EO) data use but it is facing issues with security due to regional dominance of hyperscaler cloud service providers that are addressing this market. This article is based on Analysys Mason's Space cloud computing forecast report.