What is WEkEO and why should you use it ?

In 2018, the European Commission launched the DIAS initiative (Data and Information Access Services) to provide single points of access to all Copernicus data and information, along with cloud-based processing resources, tools and other relevant data.

As key organisations in the Copernicus programme, EUMETSAT, ECMWF and Mercator Ocean International have joined forces to develop the WEkEO Copernicus DIAS, one of the five DIAS platforms operating in the frame of Copernicus, the European Union's Earth Observation Programme.

In 2021, the European Environment Agency (EEA) joined the WEkEO consortium, further contributing to making the WEkEO DIAS unique.

Having EUMETSAT, ECMWF, Mercator Ocean International and EEA, which are the custodians and/or producers of most Copernicus data as backers and promoters, the WEkEO team is unique, insofar that its users can benefit from direct interaction with the most informed and competent experts of these data. It also avoids unnecessary duplication of data and enables WEkEO to offer truly expert User Support.

The WEkEO DIAS addresses a wide range of users, be they institutions, from the private sector, entrepreneurs, scientists or members of the civil society, and enable them to develop their products, applications and value-added services, or to access a one-stop-shop for all Copernicus data and information products.

The WEkEO DIAS provides users with a single distributed tool for accessing, visualising and analysing all Copernicus data and services, including big-data analysis tools, to develop applications tailored to their specific needs.

WEkEO's strength is based on its federated infrastructure built on the existing Copernicus organisation in the centres of EUMETSAT, ECMWF, Mercator Ocean International and EEA: the infrastructures and data of the four data centres are not duplicated but linked, reducing costs for the European taxpayer and avoiding the need for new energy-consuming infrastructures and lowering our carbon footprint.

This approach gives users direct access to work with the most up-to-date Copernicus data instead of relying on archive data sets. Finally, this federated approach can be extended to other selected external partners, so WEkEO has the potential to grow and expand continuously in the future.