RASDAMAN GMBH

Their core work

Rasdaman is a Bremen-based SME that develops and operates the rasdaman array database engine — a specialized technology for storing, processing, and serving massive multi-dimensional data cubes (satellite imagery, climate data, scientific datasets). They provide the backend infrastructure that allows research consortia and Copernicus services to run analytics directly on petabyte-scale Earth observation and environmental datasets without downloading them first. Their technology sits at the intersection of big data management and geospatial analytics, making complex scientific data queryable through standard interfaces.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2015-2018), Rasdaman focused on foundational big data infrastructure — building array database capabilities for scientific data cubes, contributing to the European Open Science Cloud, and establishing their technology within e-science ecosystems (EarthServer-2, EOSC-hub). From 2018 onward, their work shifted decisively toward applied Earth observation services: Copernicus data uptake, land-use decision support, and remote sensing commercialization. By 2021, with CENTURION, they moved into AI-enhanced datacube services aimed at industry and new markets — signaling a transition from research infrastructure provider to commercial geospatial analytics platform.

Rasdaman is moving from being a backend infrastructure component in research projects toward offering AI-enhanced, market-ready geospatial data services — expect them to seek industry-facing and Copernicus downstream application partnerships.

How they like to work

Rasdaman operates exclusively as a specialist participant, never coordinating projects — they bring a specific, well-defined technology component (the rasdaman data cube engine) to large consortia. With 147 unique partners across 38 countries from just 6 projects, they consistently join broad, multi-national consortia rather than small focused teams. This pattern suggests they are easy to integrate as a technology provider: they slot into diverse consortia, deliver their data infrastructure piece, and don't compete for leadership.

Despite being a small SME, Rasdaman has built a remarkably wide network of 147 unique partners across 38 countries through participation in large-scale European infrastructure projects. Their network spans major research computing organizations (EGI, EUDAT), space agencies, universities, and Earth observation companies across virtually all EU member states.

What sets them apart

Rasdaman is the company behind the rasdaman array database — one of the few production-grade systems worldwide for querying massive multi-dimensional scientific data in place. This makes them nearly irreplaceable when a consortium needs scalable geospatial or climate data cube infrastructure. For consortium builders, they offer a rare combination: a focused SME with deep technical IP in array databases, yet battle-tested across diverse domains from agriculture to space — and small enough to be a genuine, responsive partner rather than a corporate subcontractor.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CENTURION
  Their largest-funded project (€569K) and most recent, marking the strategic pivot to AI-enhanced Copernicus datacube services for industry and new markets.
• EarthServer-2
  Their foundational H2020 project (€387K) that established the rasdaman data cube technology as a core component of European big data analytics infrastructure.
• LANDSUPPORT
  Demonstrates cross-domain reach — applying their data cube technology to agriculture, land use planning, and climate resilience, far from their typical space/digital domain.