Over the past three decades there has been vigorous development in the satellite assets and the algorithms necessary to estimate precipitation around the globe.  In particular, the highly successful joint NASA/JAXA Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), followed by the joint Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, have driven these issues.  At the same time, the long-running Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) continues to extend a stable, climate-oriented view of global precipitation.  This talk will provide an overview of these projects and the wider international community of precipitation datasets, sketch plans for next-generation products (including key issues in using machine learning algorithms), and provide some examples of the best use for the different products.  One key lesson learned is that different data sets are needed to address the variety of issues that need precipitation data, including detailed 3-D views of hurricanes, flash flood forecasting, drought analysis, and global change.