Getting started with remote monitoring doesn’t have to be a long, technical process. Lens is built with a short runway in mind. Most users can start ordering and analyzing imagery on day one, and you'll have dedicated support and educational resources with you every step of the way. If you're considering Lens, here are some of the questions we hear most often from teams getting started.
Once you sign up, you'll be invited to create your Lens user profile. From there, you can hit the ground running. No waiting period, no lengthy setup. Here's what you can do right away:
Build your team. Invite colleagues and assign user roles. Whether you're setting up a few of your colleagues or multiple groups across a large organization, you can manage access and keep everyone aligned from the start.
Add your areas of interest. In Lens, your monitored locations are called "properties." You can add them by uploading a file, drawing boundaries directly on the map, or selecting U.S. tax parcels. Properties live inside portfolios — think of them as folders that keep your work organized, whether you're sorting by region, project type, or team. There’s no limit on how many properties you can add to Lens, and customizable tags help you maintain a well-organized portfolio structure.
Explore the full dataset library. You'll have immediate access to the Lens Library, a collection of powerful data layers — from vegetation indices to land cover and water data — that you can enable and apply to your properties right away.
Order high-resolution imagery. From day one, you can browse and purchase available commercial satellite imagery for your properties. Images typically process in 15–20 minutes, and you'll get an email as soon as yours is ready.
Set up change detection alerts. For standard and enterprise users, once your properties and datasets are in place, you can enable alerts to get notified when something changes — so you're never the last to know what's happening on the ground.
Begin analyzing, notating, and reporting. Once your properties are set up, you can start diving into our suite tools to start making sense of what you're seeing. Use the analysis tool to track trends and narrow down the timing of changes, add notes to document observations and keep your team aligned, and generate reports to share findings with stakeholders.
>>> Want a step-by-step walkthrough? Our Day 1 Guide has you covered.
When you join Lens, our Customer Success team will coordinate an onboarding session to help get your team oriented. For teams that prefer to go at their own pace, our getting started guide provides a simple, step-by-step process for setting up your account.
After onboarding, ongoing support is available via email, office hours, or one-on-one meetings depending on your plan. With in-house geospatial experts, we can set you for success if you’re integrating Lens into an existing remote monitoring workflow. And if you have a quick question, our in-app help chat is there to offer real-time answers.
Support can look different depending on the scale and complexity of your deployment. While standard plans come with everything you need to hit the ground running, for larger organizations, our enterprise plan can be tailored to your needs. This includes custom onboarding and deployment support built around how your team actually works, as well as monthly office hours, regular one-on-one check-ins, and custom monitoring support for more complex use cases. We can put together the right package for your team's size, structure, and monitoring needs.
There's also a community side to Lens. Through Lens Linkup, you'll have opportunities to connect with other users within your industry and beyond— whether that's for networking, swapping best practices, or just learning how other remote monitoring teams are putting the platform to work.
Lens is designed so that non-technical users can get up and running quickly — no GIS background required. The interface is intuitive, the tools are guided, and resources are accessible throughout the platform to help you build confidence as you go. Many teams start with little to no remote monitoring experience, yet they’re able to draw boundaries, order imagery, interpret changes, and generate reports within their first session.
At the same time, technical users will find plenty of depth. Seasoned GIS professionals can use Lens to tap into a wide range of analytic datasets and time-series tools. It also plays well with other tools in your workflow: you can stream data directly from Lens to GIS, add custom overlays, and export geometries and data used in your Lens analyses. Whether you're entering remote monitoring for the first time or looking to streamline an established workflow, Lens offers a flexible environment with room to grow.
The best way to get value from Lens is to dive in. Whether you prefer to explore on your own or want a guided walkthrough, we have the resources to help you make the most of the suite of tools that Lens offers. We have a vast library of resources — from webinars to case studies — and a full knowledge base to help you go deeper. These resources cover everything from feature how-tos to industry-specific use cases, so you can learn in a way that's relevant to your work.
Explore which plan with Lens is right for you, or chat with our team to get started.
.png)