Great question, Eccles. I wont profess to have even a fraction...

Great question, Eccles.
I wont profess to have even a fraction of the answer. I dont believe I'm clever enough to predict new customer channels.. But I do know that:
a) GIS/spatial data demand is continuing to rapidly grow and expand into new markets
b) Highly versatile 3D will become an expected product
c) NEA have placed themselves in the front row of this strategic 'must have' in the GIS landscape.
d) It wont be limited to traditional GIS...

For instance....one of the biggest movements in the media world today is towards Virtual Reality (VR)...real 3D settings, backdrops will be in demand. Think also Virtual Tourism! Fly through the 3D Grand Canyon, take a 5 minute 'quick' tour of 3D Sydney Harbour, cruise down the 3D Champes Elysee and do some Virtual Shopping!

My point is that I dont believe we will be able to comprehend, at this stage, the full extent of possible markets. Your suggestion that the real estate market would go for this is very valid. I have moved cities on more than 8 occasions and would have killed to be able to fly through neighbourhoods and areas before I moved there! Google Maps just doesn't cut it anymore.

And we also have to postulate the current and future utility of ever increasingly accurate data and algorithms in the vertical axis. Complimentary to all this is NEA's expertise in managing massive amount of data...its historic snapshots will be, in the future, invaluable 2/3D evidence of what was/is. Each 2.5cm in all 3 axis will be preserved and tagged with innumerable data and algorithms. And it is very likely we'll see another leap in accuracy to 1-1.5cm over the next decade.

I'm thinking those who have the biggest and most frequent and flexible data sets will win.

How about we throw the question open to all?

What possible, outrageous and bizarre uses could highly accurate and flexible 3D GIS facilitate or encourage?

Cheers,