BitApps Group was spun off as a separate company from Bitcomp, a Finnish-based ICT service company, in June 2022. The purpose of this restructuring was to establish a dedicated team that could focus solely on the development and sale of scalable global products utilizing the innovative and advanced AI, GIS, and mobile services that they started in Bitcomp to develop in connection of the ICT services for Finnish Forestry clients. As part of this restructuring, the founder and chairman of Bitcomp, Jarmo Oittinen, transitioned to work exclusively for BitApps Group. The BitApps team is a formidable combination of expertise in ICT, bio-economy, GIS, and smart design.
Interview with Jarmo Oittinen, CEO & Founder of BitApps.
Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
Jarmo Oittinen: In our products, we blend satellite monitoring and remote sensing technologies with modern smartphone solutions to distribute remote sensing data on a mass market. We heavily utilize AI and cloud computing in this platform. We are introducing a completely new kind of solutions for the management of natural resources. WoodsApp is the first application built on the BitApps cloud-based platform, where everything is in a scalable cloud environment.
E.E: What’s the news about new products?
J.O: We are now launching WoodsApp for the German market. This powerful platform enables landowners, forest organizations, and other professionals to easily collaborate on top of spatial data aimed at improving the health and management of their land and parcels. In WoodsApp we introduce completely new methods for managing land property by using scalable cloud-based solutions together with light weight, easy- to-use mobile apps.
E.E: What are the ranges of products?
J.O: We believe that networking is key to effective business management in this ever-changing environment. Through networking, you can gain valuable insights into market conditions in your industry and identify opportunities for task-based or subscription-based models. While our core business centers around easy data sharing for the mass market, as specialists in processing satellite data, it’s natural for us to focus on automated and continuously updating earth monitoring services, rather than manual data collection.
E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?
J.O: The market is currently very favorable, as the latest EU directives require member states to provide open and free access to publicly funded geospatial and Earth observation data. This has arrived at an opportune moment for businesses like ours. We make this data easily available for everyone, everywhere. Climate change is transforming our environment and necessitating action, which is a challenge faced jointly by landowners and forest organizations. We can offer the solutions required to cope with these large-scale changes. Using satellite-based products, we support the necessary transformations in land management for the future.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
J.O: Satellite monitoring and remote sensing technologies have experienced significant growth in recent years. There is a growing demand for our expertise in processing business data from raw datasets in a variety of industries. Our global and scalable monitoring services, together with lightweight smartphone solutions, dramatically reduce costs in monitoring, controlling and managing land property, especially amidst the challenges caused by climate change.
Jarmo Oittinen, CEO & Founder of BitApps.
E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?
J.O: In our products, we introduce an innovative combination of the latest technologies, all in powerful, scalable cloud solutions. Not only do we provide satellite data (which many companies also do), but we also process this data and customize it to meet the specific business needs of our clients. Additionally, we offer an easy-to-use platform as a distribution channel for this data, along with communication tools and task management features, all on top of spatial data. Features that were previously only available in heavy ERP solutions are now accessible via a lightweight app. Furthermore, our business model is truly innovative, as users can start utilizing our products with a free version or by registering for a smart version for a few euros per month subscription only.
E.E: What estimations do you have for 2023?
J.O: I am extremely positive. Over the course of my two-decade history in the ICT business, I have never been more confident in the value that we currently offer! In 2023 we bring on the market products that really are game changers.