The “adagium” that there is no free, near real time Earth Observation and environmental data available is no longer valid. Environmental and Earth Observation data can already be obtained from internet based archives. Currently, GEONETCast provides free near real-time environmental and Earth Observation data and derived products to a worldwide user community without the need for internet access. Free near real time ENVISAT data (from AATSR, ASAR and MERIS) and products from e.g. Global Monitoring for Food Security can be obtained on a regular basis from the ESA Data Dissemination System, to complement the data from GEONETCast. These operational data delivery systems provide the user with continuous environmental and Earth Observation data streams. In order to effectively use the data, open source and freeware utilities are required facilitating automated data handling coupled with (semi-automated) data processing and visualization capabilities. The Earth Observation community develops tools to assist the user in these tasks in order to efficiently transform the data into information suitable for timely and informed decision making.