It would be helpful if you could be more specific.
For example, what opportunities are they failing to grasp? From what I see, they believe USA to be an opportunity, so they are going for it hammers and thongs. Much more aggressive, in fact, than I would have liked.
I do not know what structural deficiencies you are referring to, so I cannot comment on that.
I have stated this many times, and I will say it again. NEA is not a technology play. Taking overhead pictures is nothing new. Existed for ages back to the 50s and 60s when the Blackbird was build. Any advances in technology benefits NEA rather than hinder them. Faster camera? No problem. Drones? We can use them if they are cheaper than piloting a plane, and if regulatory requirements for drones are relaxed (fat chance). Higher resolution? What use is higher resolution to customers wanting to install solar panels or checking tidal wave levels? Satellites? Are they as cost competitive, and provide the same solution? Just try buying something from a satellite imagery provider.
It is a common market misperception that NEA is a technology play. In fact, it is actually a low cost provider with first mover advantage. And the low cost advantage will start to get really big with scale. In terms of competition, the winner is not the fastest, biggest or tallest. The winner is the one with the ability to adapt to its environment. NEA's approach, which is solutions centric, is a better bet than satellite imagery which is product centric.
And even as I type, the image database is getting wider (due to geographic spread) and more importantly, getting deeper (due to timeline). The latter is an advantage that cannot be replicated.
