A new version of the WEkEO DIAS platform, V1, will be launched on the 17^th of June 2020. WEkEO is a cloud platform with a comprehensive portfolio of original Copernicus service and Sentinel satellite data, with harmonized data access, cloud infrastructure, and expert user support.

At the end of 2016, the European Commission (EC) launched an initiative to develop 5 Copernicus Data and Information Access Services (DIAS’). By providing data and information access alongside processing resource tools, this initiative is expected to support scientists, institutional bodies, a wide range of industries, and to stimulate innovation and the creation of new business models using Earth observation data and information.

Following the directives from the EC, Mercator Ocean International, EUMETSAT and ECMWF harnessed their expertise to implement WEkEO:

Mercator Ocean International, pioneer of operational oceanography and implementer of the Copernicus Marine Service is in charge of Marketing and User Management.

ECMWF, the operator of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), is in charge of processing and data with access to services and tools.

EUMETSAT, exclusive provider of data services from the Copernicus Sentinel satellites, is in charge of building the infrastructure of WEkEO.

The implementation of the cloud platform has been realized by an industry consortium where the main contributors are Thales Alenia Space and CloudFerro for the infrastructure, GMV for the data processing tools, and Telespazio for the web portal. User support involves a consortium including CS group and Spacetec partners.

All this state-of-the-art expertise, combined together, allows WEkEO to propose a comprehensive offer:

• Provides direct, up-to-date, unreplicated access to the Copernicus portfolio (including the Land, Marine, Climate, and Atmosphere services) as well as the Sentinel portfolios.
  It includes in situ, satellite and model outputs covering the past present and future of our Earth environment;
• Offers a virtual environment with harmonized data access and a complete set of processing tools in a cloud-based platform to allow users to compute and transform data for their research and downstream applications;
• Affords skilled User Support with the first-hand expertise on the data sources.

WEkEO offer includes 2 packages

1. The Essential pack, is free and open, providing access to all Copernicus data, as well as Jupyter Notebooks and access to WEkEO User Support.
2. The Advanced pack, under a variety of paid plans, includes virtual cloud-based processing environments and processing tools and free networking (in and out).

WEkEO is unique in that it offers highly skilled User Support, given the expertise of the implementing partners as service providers of Copernicus and Sentinel data. WEkEO takes a federated approach, with the 3 implementing partners, the industrial consortium, and new data providers that can feed and continuously update the portfolio of Copernicus original data.

This new version proposes a fully-fledged user support service staffed with experts capable of handling all types of requests, from ICT issues to image processing library installation, to code debugging. The HelpDesk is organized in two layers: Level-1 agents that interact directly with the users. Level-2 agents can be reached for requests necessitating more in-depth expertise. The Helpdesk also maintains a FAQ section to provide answers to most frequently asked questions, develops, and maintains support materials.

A key pillar of the WEkEO service is the provision of free training. In 2020, the WEkEO training offer will include webinars and training and allow high-quality training for those who need to incorporate environmental data to their business, research, or projects and run their algorithms using cloud processing capabilities. Webinars aim to concretely demonstrate how the WEkEO working environment can help users to process data and derive results. The first WEkEO Online Training Workshop will be held on the 15th of July 2020 and will focus on marine data products.

Mercator Ocean International, its partners, and industry contributors are happy to launch a fully operational WEkEO cloud platform. With the changing climate, it is imperative to closely monitor Earth observation data in order to design and implement mitigation and adaptation strategies. Downstream users have at their disposal an extremely powerful tool to develop their Earth observation-based applications.  Please now register to get started and compute, process data, and make applications.