One of the major advantages of technology firms is their ability to leverage their advantage relatively easily throughout the world because they basically tear down physical borders.

However, recently, governments around the world are finding ways to clamp down on companies by setting regulations which essentially allows government to control the data provided by these companies. (e.g. Blackberry, Google).

UrtheCast is facing an even bigger uphill challenge partly because it is still a new company with little resources and political clout but mostly it’s because of its fundamental business proposition: Allow everyone in the world to view the world in real time.

Digital mapsmaker such as Google and Apple have faced serious political consequences from exposing sensitive military bases but the static nature of their maps allows them to censor such information when needed. However, UrtheCast faces serious problems as the data it projects to customers are all in real time, with negligible delay.

Imagine the ability for everyone to pin point secret military bases and operations, or ability to view active government oppressions.

As Wade Larson explained in my class, western liberal democracies such as the U.S. and Canada allow such information due to the transparent nature of such governments. However, the 21st century, post-2008 financial crisis world saw the emergence of the middle class in developing countries such as India and China.

While UrtheCast can be successful in the short run capturing the North American and European markets, its long term future prospects are in doubts as purchasing power from developing nations become stronger in the future, rendering it irrelevant in the globalized landscape.