GIS map provider Mapmechanics has boosted the number of African countries for which it offers HERE vector (scalable) map data.
HERE mapping from Mapmechanics consists of street-level vector map and includes major highways, main roads and also some minor roads and city streets, and is useful for route planning, drive-time analysis, vehicle tracking and geo-demographics. A key feature of the data is that its structure is consistent across many countries, enabling users to adopt the same analytical and display strategies from one country to another.
The new African countries added to the Mapmechanics portfolio are Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Republic of the Congo, São Tome and Principe.
Because it is in a standard and widely recognized format, the mapping lends itself well to use with other data such as traffic speed and density where this is available. It can also be used for techniques such as reverse geocoding (finding a location by its coordinates).
The mapping also enables users to add a sense of place to activities such as geo-demographic studies, store location analysis, leaflet distribution territories or depot management, and ensures that users can overlay just the features they need on shaded maps.
Mapmechanics already offers HERE mapping for many of the more prominent African countries, including for instance Botswana, Egypt, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa and Tunisia. Altogether around two dozen African countries are now covered, and more will be added in future.
HERE mapping is just one of a wide range of mapping products offered by Mapmechanics for the UK and the world, all of which can be obtained directly from the company or through its transactional website.
Half the year is over. It’s gone. Now it’s time to figure out where the location industry is going for the remainder of the year. One analyst (actually, several) believe that the industry, fueled by indoor location and place-based advertising, is around $14 billion right now — with no place to go but up — given some bump in consumer awareness. In other news in a busy month, Google bought Skybox Imaging for $500 million in cash.
As the mid-point of 2014 arrives, with a few big location industry deals already consummated, there is a chance for industry executives to study what is going to be a strong niche market in the months ahead.
One analyst believes a big location niche is indoor analytics and proximity marketing, which is defined as nearby a store or within a business. “The latter would include ads and coupons. We’ve estimated that roughly $3.5 billion of potentially $14 billion, or so, in 2014 U.S. mobile ad revenue, will be location-based [broadly defined],” said Greg Sterling, founder of Sterling Market Research. “Of that, about $1.4 billion will be ‘geofenced’ or nearby.”
Sterling believes that the in-store component is still in an embryonic stage. “There are billions of dollars of coupons distributed every year, but most of that is still print. Some of that is in-store distribution and redemption,” he said. “A portion of that over time will migrate to mobile in or near stores.”
Sterling said there are billions of dollars available from proximity marketing, but it will take time. He cites “Mapping the Indoor Marketing Opportunity,” a report he authored for Opus Research, that says the market for indoor location and place-based marketing/advertising will surpass $10 billion by 2018. (See a preview of the report here.)
In a published report, Sterling admitted that he was nervous about the $10 billion number, but it may turn out that the figure could be conservative because of the software licensing from indoor markets.
Sterling says that while indoor positioning has been important to the older location business, it is still in its early stages. The big deal is mobile, which has brought new attention and interest to location, he said. “Indoor location will feed mobile and online marketing with data and analytics as well as targeting opportunities,” he said.
Many executives and analysts in the location industry have marginalized privacy issues; some even say it is dead with opt-in approval by consumers. However, privacy issues will continue to hamper the location industry, Sterling said.
“Privacy is far from dead. Indeed, it’s on the rise, and a major issue that everyone in the location and mobile segments needs to tackle head on,” Sterling said. “Denial, delay and obfuscation will result in regulatory intervention and/or consumer fear/rejection.”
In a blog, Sterling said that the San Francisco-based Philz Coffee chain no longer will be tracking customers after a local ABC affiliate revealed they were using Euclid retail analytics. Sterling said the ABC report acted as if it had uncovered a big government or corporate conspiracy.
Sterling will be giving the keynote address at the Place Conference in New York on July 22 at the W Hotel. Topics include proximity marketing, indoor positioning markets, privacy and other location topics.
Google Continues Location Industry Dominance with Acquisition
Google enhanced its online mapping service by acquiring Mountain View, California-based Skybox Imaging for $500 million in cash. Sources say both Google and Facebook are purchasing satellite and drone companies in an attempt to expand into other market areas.
One of the ways Google will be leveraging Skybox is in disaster relief and to improve Internet access in remote areas, something the company has been strongly pursuing.
On its website, the five-year-old Skybox said that it plans also to share in the development of the burgeoning autonomous vehicle market and continue to design its own satellites.
A Skybox satellite image of Tampa, Florida.
AT&T Expands Location Information Services
AT&T’s new Location Information Services, which includes a security function and LBS, is expanding into more than 150 countries this summer in a pilot project. The Location Information Services are enabled through an API that can notify companies when their customers, who opt-in for the service, arrive in a new country.
Some application examples, provided by AT&T, include credit card companies confirming customers have traveled to a new country as soon as a device is turned on; allowing the credit card company to either decline or approve purchases overseas; companies using the service to track the movement of equipment to prevent stolen property; and the ability for hospitality entities to offer restaurant and other suggestions to consumers based on their location.
In other LBS news:
The new Amazon Fire Phone has GPS and location functions plus a new feature, Dynamic Perspective, which can be used for such built-in apps as maps and games. The phone is available on July 25, but Amazon is taking pre-orders. In the meantime, competitor Apple has a new iOS 8 feature that allows shoppers to enter their payment details on an m-commerce site by scanning their credit card with the camera on their mobile device, according to published reports. The operating system will use sensors to provide apps with indoor positioning data.
HERE acquired the mobile predictive analytics firm, Seattle-based Medio, earlier this month. The company plans to integrate Medio’s predictive analytics, in conjunction with its map platform, to customize LBS “prediction experiences” for consumers, according to published reports. These experiences (full disclosure, I hate it when companies use the word, “experience”) may include delivering restaurant or other information at a relevant time, such as around lunch. While no financial details were released, the deal is expected to close at the end of July.
Hundreds of businesses in Brixton, near London, will be integrating Apple’s iBeacon as part of the first networks for mobile payments, according to published reports. Businesses in Brixton are switching from currency payments to mobile payments by text. Previously, iBeacons have been used for proximity offers, advertisements and product information when a user is in a retail area. The mobile payment application allows users to quickly check out, reports say.
Nokia has released its financial results for the fourth quarter and the full year 2013, which show growth for its HERE division, formerly known as Navteq.
In the fourth quarter 2013, HERE had sales of new vehicle licenses of 3.2 million units, compared to 2.4 million units in the fourth quarter 2012 and 2.6 million units in the third quarter 2013. On a year-on-year basis, unit sales to vehicle customers increased primarily due to higher vehicle sales and higher consumer uptake of in-vehicle navigation.
Sales to vehicle customers represented well over 50% of external HERE net sales in the fourth quarter of 2013, as well as in the fourth quarter of 2012 and the third quarter of 2013.
The automotive success was partially offset by lower sales to personal navigation device (PND) customers. External sales for PNDs went up 10 percent, from €204 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 to €225 in the fourth quarter of 2013.
HERE total sales decreased from €278 million to €254 million (10 percent), which Nokia said is because of the fast decline of internal sales (such as navigation and maps found in Nokia devices). Sales were €74 million at the end of 2012, compared to only €29 million for the end of 2013.
In the wake of Microsoft’s recent purchase of Nokia’s mobile phone business, the Nokia unit formerly known as Navteq, and now know as HERE, has opportunities, but also a hard-to-guess future. At least one industry analyst believes that Navteq/HERE was not included in the Microsoft deal because it was too expensive.
“While much ado has been made of the Nokia/Microsoft deal in the press, I was interested in why Mr. Softy did not acquire Navteq/HERE with the other assets of interest. There are several possibilities to explain this omission,” said Mike Dobson, TeleMapics president. “First, it could be the case that Nokia did not want to sell Navteq/HERE. Second, it is possible that Microsoft had no interest in acquiring its current map database supplier. Third, maybe the price for Navteq/HERE was too high. My vote is for number three.”
Dobson said that Nokia clearly would like to sell HERE, as it does not fit with the company’s profile, growth strategies, or competencies, on a going-forward basis. “Just as Navteq was not a good fit for Nokia in 2007, it is now a less comfortable fit for the reconstituted company, which is being focused on network infrastructure services,” he said. “Conversely, I suspect Microsoft was ambivalent about a deal that included [Navteq/HERE].” Under the proposed Nokia/Microsoft deal, Nokia’s mapping assets are to be licensed for a four-year term by Microsoft, which gives them time to firm up their future strategy for spatial data. Note that the price of the license for the mapping products was not part of the $7.1 billion transaction, Dobson said.
“Why was Mr. Softy gun shy? First, I suspect that Microsoft concluded that owning a mapping company was not core to any of Microsoft’s current initiatives, including its bumbling approach to location and connected car services,” Dobson said. “Next, Microsoft has enough problems competing with companies in its distribution chain, without adding another business that would serve to complicate its relationship with manufacturers and resellers. Of course, all of these objections could have been overcome if the price was right, it wasn’t, but that does not mean it won’t be in the future.”
Where Does Navteq Go from HERE?
Dobson says Navteq, Nokia and HERE are in a world of pain. “While the ‘new’ Nokia will have the ability to fund all of the development to enhance the Navteq database that it has deferred over the past five years, I think it is unlikely to do so. Nokia does not appear to understand the fundamentals of the location market, the automotive navigation market, or the connected car market,” Dobson said. “Perhaps most importantly, they have lagged Google in evolving their map compilation process into a modern, synergistic, information sourcing engine. The Navteq approach to crowdsourcing hinders their potential speed to market with updated map information and has allowed Google to reach parity with Navteq in some areas, while exceeding it in quality in other markets.”
The future battleground in the location markets will devolve into a scarp for ownership of the last mile, Dobson said. “The type of thinking that believes that the ‘last mile’ is all about road geometry, simply does not understand the problem. People want to know that the map will support their journey to a destination, but they are focused on the destination and the various opportunities that it presents,” he said. “For example, the mobile phone has promoted an egocentric view of the world focused on ‘what’s around me?’ Providing the spatial detail of the total environment that surrounds the user is key to winning the last mile battle and I do not see Nokia having the assets to participate in this market.”
Nokia announced that HERE, at the recent Frankfurt Motor Show, partnered with Mercedes Benz, Continental Corporation and Magneti Marelli to offer connected products and services beyond navigation. Nokia believes that connecting the car to the cloud is one of the biggest opportunities for the automotive industry.
“Whether the concept of the connected car offers Nokia a lifeline is unclear. Connectivity may suck the spatial data out of the car and into phone based systems,” Dobson said. “Others would argue that smart cars will require a detailed, highly accurate database of spatial information to manage the safety systems in the automobile of the future. I’m not wise enough to predict the future, but I think the Nokia is going to have a rocky road with Navteq/HERE.”
Dobson said that it is interesting that Microsoft has loaned Nokia 1.5 billion Euros in three tranches of convertible bonds. “The bonds will be redeemed and netted against the deal proceeds, although the loan is not conditional on the deal closing, nor is Nokia obligated to exercise its option,” he said. “However, it would appear that Mr. Softy and Nokia are not quite through with each other: if Nokia exercises these options, Microsoft will become a shareholder in Nokia.”
