 This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of Earth observation, EO, platforms and initiatives. It classifies them into three categories based on their level of user onboarding and uptake success. Furthermore, it identifies the main limitations and obstacles faced by users when using the existing EO platforms. Finally, it proposes a set of good practices that can be adopted to improve the usability of existing EO platforms. This article was authored by M. D. Leo, M. Mingini, Akona, and others.