BLB
BLB is a privately held Norwegian Earth observation consulting firm founded in 2005 by Bente Lilja Bye, serving public sector bodies, intergovernmental organizations, and research institutions with data management policy, R&D project development, and global funding strategy advisory services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersNorway, Norway
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What BLB does
BLB is a privately held Norwegian research and consulting company founded in 2005 by Bente Lilja Bye, headquartered in Hønefoss, Norway, with a team of approximately 35 employees. The firm specializes in Earth observation-based business intelligence, data management, and decision-making support, serving public sector organizations, international research institutions, and private clients across the global Earth observation community. BLB has participated in at least nine EU-funded research projects — including ILIAD Digital Twin of the Ocean (€18.9M), NextGEOSS (€10M), CLEAR-EO (€4M), GEO4Water (€3M), and EO4Agri (€2.76M) — and works closely with GEO, the Research Council of Norway, UNECE, ESA, and Copernicus.
BLB's core service offerings fall into four professional-services streams: Research and Development Services (research strategy development, partner identification, Horizon 2020/UN programme project development, and science policy input); Global Funding Strategies (advisory on funding and resource mobilization for R&D projects); Data Policy and Management consulting (open data sharing policy frameworks, FAIR/CARE/TRUST principles implementation); and Co-Act-Webinars (co-designed webinar facilitation). The firm complements these services with educational and outreach products including a Citizen Science and Citizens' Observatories online course, the GEO Dialogue Series engagement methodology, the Climate & Classical infotainment format, and the Data Management Advent Calendar 2025.
BLB's go-to-market is sales-led and community-led: direct consulting engagements are won through the founder's network within the GEO ecosystem and through competitive participation in EU-funded consortia, where BLB often leads or contributes to specific work packages. Distribution is primarily direct via the website and founder-led outreach, with limited self-serve elements (newsletter signup, online course). Pricing is not publicly disclosed; engagement is project-based and bespoke. The firm has no external investors, no parent company, and is wholly owned and operated by its founder.
BLB firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- BLB
- Legal name
- BLB
- Website
- https://blb.as
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- BLB is a privately held Norwegian Earth observation consulting firm founded in 2005 by Bente Lilja Bye, serving public sector bodies, intergovernmental organizations, and research institutions with data management policy, R&D project development, and global funding strategy advisory services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
BLB industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Earth Observation Consulting
- NAICS
- Other Management Consulting Services (541618), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) (541715), Environmental Consulting Services (54162)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering Services (8711), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- B2B / Industrial Market Research (MPAAALAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Circularity Consulting & Program Management (EPR, Design-for-Circularity, LCA) (EUAIANAH)
Keywords
Where BLB is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Norway
- HQ country
- Norway
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
BLB business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Research and Development Services: BLB provides R&D project development and implementation services, including development of research strategies, establishment of research networks, finding strategic partners, R&D project development (national programs, Horizon 2020, UN programs), and formulation of input to science policies.
- Global Funding Strategies: Advisory and project participation services for funding and resource mobilization, helping organizations identify funding instruments and develop funding applications.
- Data Policy and Management Consulting: Consulting services for developing and updating data policies and management tailored to client needs, including open data sharing policy development.
- Co-Act-Webinars: Co-designed webinar services including content co-design, survey development, dissemination strategy, recording and editing for re-use and re-purposing.
- Citizen Science & Citizens' Observatories Online Course: Online educational course with 5 modules covering citizen science participation and citizens' observatories.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels8 records
BLB product offering
Product offeringCore offering
BLB is a research and consulting company that gathers, manages and applies Earth observation-based business intelligence for clients in the public and private sectors. It delivers R&D project development, global and national funding strategy advisory, data policy and management consulting (anchored in FAIR, CARE, TRUST and GEO Data Management principles), and capacity development through training, workshops, and webinars. Its founder Bente Lilja Bye personally drives client engagements, leveraging two decades of relationships across the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) ecosystem, UN bodies, the Research Council of Norway, and EU-funded research consortia.
Product overview
BLB offers a portfolio of Earth observation-focused services and products. Core services include Research and Development Services (research strategy, partner networks, Horizon 2020/UN program development), Data Policy and Management consulting, Global Funding Strategies, and Co-Act-Webinars. These are complemented by educational/informational products including Climate & Classical (live music and visual climate presentations), the Citizen Science & Citizens' Observatories online course, the GEO Dialogue Series (interactive online engagement format), and the Data Management Advent Calendar 2025. The offerings work together to transform Earth observations into actionable knowledge, supporting everything from funding acquisition to capacity development and science communication.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Research and Development Services Consulting services for developing participation in international research programs, including research strategy development, network establishment, partner identification, R&D project development for Horizon 2020 and UN programs, and science policy input formulation. Targets scientists and practitioners in the Earth observation community.
- Data Policy and Management
- Global Funding Strategies
- Co-Act-Webinars
- Citizen Science & Citizens' Observatories Course
- Climate & Classical
- Data Management Advent Calendar 2025 A collection of 24 daily practical insights covering Earth observation data management concepts including FAIR principles, CARE principles, TRUST repositories, machine-actionable data, and Open Knowledge practices. Available as website content and PDF download.
Quantifiable outcome
- 100+ webinars organized, 200,000+ article reads
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use BLB
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
BLB technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
BLB partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- CLEAR-EO ConsortiumcoreBLB partners in CLEAR-EO (€4M), developing an analysis and geo-spatial notification system for flash floods, climate change adaptation in agriculture, and air quality forecasts using new satellite data and European cloud infrastructures.
- GEO4Water ConsortiumcoreBLB partners in GEO4Water (€3M), creating a data space for integrating geospatial and spatio-temporal datasets to help cities monitor and respond to water-related emergencies. Pilot sites include Valencia, Oslo, and Donegal.
- ILIAD Digital Twin of The Ocean ConsortiumcoreBLB is a partner in the €18.9M ILIAD Digital Twin of The Ocean EU-funded project. Bente Lilja Bye serves as Innovation Manager and member of the project's executive committee. The project aims to establish an interoperable, data-intensive, and cost-effective Digital Twin of the Ocean by capitalizing on new Earth observation data and advanced computing infrastructures.
- EO4Agri ConsortiumcoreBLB leads WP5 in the €2.76M EO4AGRI project, which aims to catalyze evolution of European capacity for agriculture monitoring based on Copernicus satellite data. The project works with farmers, farmer associations, and agro-food industry.
- NextGEOSS ConsortiumcoreBLB leads WP8 in the €10M NextGEOSS project, a European contribution to GEOSS developing the next generation centralized hub for Earth Observation data. The project focuses on engaging user communities and stimulating data exploitation by businesses.
- EGIDA ConsortiumminorBLB participated in EGIDA (€994K), a FP7 CSA project promoting coordination of GEO Science & Technology activities across European and international initiatives. BLB contributed €80,250 to the project.
- ESEAS-RI (European Sea Level Service) ConsortiumminorBLB coordinated the ESEAS-RI project (€2.3M FP5 project) for Norwegian Mapping Authority as Research Director. The project improved European sea level observing resources and standardized access to sea level databases.
- GEO (Group on Earth Observations)coreBLB works closely with GEO, specifically contributing to the GEO Data and Knowledge Working Group. Bente Lilja Bye co-authored the GEO Dialogue Series methodology and is an active member of the GEO Equality, Diversity, Inclusion Working Group.
- Copernicus/ESAcoreBLB leverages Copernicus satellite data and ESA resources extensively in its projects and educational content, including referencing Copernicus for Earth observation applications and marine biodiversity work.
- Plan4allminorBLB works with Plan4all as WP5 Leader contributor in EO4Agri project, collaborating on European capacity for agriculture monitoring.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
BLB competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- HE Space Operations: Private European space/EO consulting and workforce services firm. Comparable to BLB in terms of European private EO services profile, though more focused on human spaceflight and engineering.
- SpaceTec Partners: Belgium-based management consulting firm focused on space and EO strategy, funding, and policy advisory for EU institutions. Comparable to BLB in space/EO consulting, EU funding strategy, and public sector focus.
- Nottingham Scientific Ltd (NSL): UK-based EO services and consulting firm operating in Copernicus/EU programmes. Comparable to BLB as a small private European EO consulting firm serving public sector clients.
- GAF AG: Germany-based private EO consultancy offering data management, applied EO services, and Earth observation consulting to public and international clients. Comparable to BLB in geography, scale, and EO consulting focus.
- EOX Group: Austria-based private EO data management and IT services firm serving EU institutions and the Copernicus ecosystem. Highly comparable to BLB in terms of private, European, EO-focused consulting/data services to public sector clients.
- Terradue: Italy-based private EO cloud-computing and platform engineering firm participating in EU EO projects (e.g., NextGEOSS, Copernicus). Comparable to BLB as a private European EO services partner integrated into EU-funded consortia.
Emerging players
- Sinergise: Slovenia-based EO platform company providing data infrastructure and analysis services. Comparable to BLB as a smaller European EO firm, though more product-led; partial overlap in EO data services.
Broad incumbents
- European Space Agency (ESA): Intergovernmental EO/space agency that funds and coordinates the European EO ecosystem. BLB's projects and expertise are deeply coupled to ESA programmes; comparable as a stakeholder/context but not a direct competitor.
- Airbus Defence and Space: Large European aerospace/defence prime with material EO business (Spot, Pléiades, Copernicus contributions). Comparable to BLB at the broad EO category level; relevant incumbent but not a direct competitor at the consulting scale.
- Planet Labs: US-based public EO data company operating a large satellite constellation. Comparable to BLB only at the broader EO data category level; not a direct peer but a relevant incumbent in BLB's partner ecosystem.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
BLB social profiles
Digital presenceBLB financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
BLB leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
BLB funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
BLB M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about BLB
What does BLB do?
BLB is a research and consulting company that gathers, manages and applies Earth observation-based business intelligence for clients in the public and private sectors. It delivers R&D project development, global and national funding strategy advisory, data policy and management consulting (anchored in FAIR, CARE, TRUST and GEO Data Management principles), and capacity development through training, workshops, and webinars. Its founder Bente Lilja Bye personally drives client engagements, leveraging two decades of relationships across the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) ecosystem, UN bodies, the Research Council of Norway, and EU-funded research consortia.
Is BLB a public or private company?
BLB is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was BLB founded?
BLB was founded in 2005. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is BLB based?
BLB is headquartered in Norway, Norway, in the Europe region.
How does BLB make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Research and Development Services are the primary driver. The others are global Funding Strategies, data Policy and Management Consulting, co-Act-Webinars and citizen Science & Citizens' Observatories Online Course.
Who are BLB's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are HE Space Operations, SpaceTec Partners, Nottingham Scientific Ltd (NSL), GAF AG, EOX Group and Terradue. Sinergise is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are European Space Agency (ESA), Airbus Defence and Space and Planet Labs.
Does BLB have an API?
No public API is recorded for BLB.
What industry is BLB in?
BLB's product category is Earth Observation Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAALAA, B2B / Industrial Market Research, with a secondary code of EUAIANAH, Circularity Consulting & Program Management (EPR, Design-for-Circularity, LCA). Its NAICS code is 541618 and its SIC code is 8742.