April 04, 2006
There is no question that the world is agog over Google
Maps. Programmers and users laud the application programming interface
(API), the speed, the intuitive interface, the extensive data and more.
But for many, all of these goodies are unavailable due to Google's
licensing. Currently, if you want to use Google Maps in an intranet
environment, you are out of luck. If you need more than a limited
number of transactions, you are out of luck. If you need to have the
app branded with your, and not Google's name, you are out of luck. If
you don't want to see ads on your maps, you are out of luck. If you
need support beyond the basic documents and a bulleting board, you are
out of luck.
Enter Placebase and its Pushpin LE and Pushpin CX services.
The hosted
systems, to be launched next week at the Location
Intelligence
Conference in San Francisco, offer a Google Maps-like API and
interface
and limited but growing data offerings, without restriction. The
Pushpin LE service goes beyond Google's offering by providing access to
helpdesk support and a geocoding API, things Google does not yet offer.
Pushpin CX offers LE's tools plus the ability to add custom data sets,
control things like road symbolization, create thematic maps and more.
At rollout, Placebase will offer Pushpin LE with TIGER data for a
starting price of $1,600 for 150,000 transactions/month; enhanced data
from NAVTEQ cost a bit more. Imagery and other datasets are on tap for
future releases, along with enhanced functionality, as demanded by
customers. The data, in pre-rendered tiles, are held in PlaceBase's
server farm. The raw data are stored in shape files, ArcSDE or PostGIS
environments.
I asked Jaron Waldman, CEO of Placebase, how close the Pushpin LE API
is to Google Maps’. "They are not exactly the same, but a few tweaks of
an existing application will have it up and running on Pushpin LE in a
very short time." That plays into one segment of the market Placebase
seeks to serve: those who have built "hobbyist" sorts of applications
that they want to offer for commercial use. The other early adopter
group is likely to be corporate users who want intranet applications
with the look and feel of Google Maps, their own corporate branding and
no distracting advertising. It’s worth noting that this week Google
is
again testing ads on Google Local, leading many to speculate that
such
ads are coming to the Google Maps API very soon. Google has from the
start reserved the right to add advertisement to its mapping
environment at any point.
Placebase may be new to many who work in the geospatial arena, but the
company is not new to Web mapping. The consulting organization traces
its roots in Web mapping back to 2001, when it first worked on
integrating mapping into its clients' websites. Placebase learned quite
a lot from its work with the Fannie Mae Foundation, on DataPlace, which
I lauded
when I first saw it last year. "At some point," says Waldman,
"that sort of advanced functionality will be in the API of Pushpin."
Placebase is offering a unique set of services. The challenge it faces
is in keeping up with high expectations that Google Maps has set
regarding data availability, data updates, uptime and ease of use for
both developers and end-users.
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| The real challenge for Placebase is their business model, not as you suggest, "keeping up to Google". If sales materialize, keeping up is not a problem. Lets look at the target market: 1) They are people that did not previously use mapping because they did not want to pay, or didnt have the ability to pay, MapQuest, or MapPoint for services, or pay licenses to software vendors. 2) They are now accustomed to receiving the mapping service for free, 3) They have several free alternatives that are good enough, even if they have a Google logo, ads, and the easy to ignore license restrictions, 4) If they are using Google, its not because they have some sophisticated app, it's because they need to put some points on a map. How do you convince that person to pay $1600/mth = $19,200/yr? Dave |
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| It's simple, Dave. They're not trying to win over the amateur mashup artists. They are targeting businesses that are already won over by the concept of Google Maps but can't/won't implement them for any of the following reasons: (a) they don't want to be shills for Google's ad-based dot-com-ish business model (b) they want their own corporate branding on the maps (or perhaps none at all) (c) they want to use the maps in a "closed" proprietary system (d) they want some guarantee of accountability for these maps that can only come from a PAID service. I doubt we'll ever see chicagocrime.org or even flickr switch over to Pushpin. But that's just as well ... their needs are aleady being served well by Google Maps. |
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| - Dave (#1) and Joe (#2) are right. There are AT LEAST two segments to the map API market, as for most other markets. - Most big winners have historically chosen one or the other [or the other...] segment, though some have tried either switching when growth has either slowed or reversed, or have become the parent / partner to a new entity which sought success in another segment - I have in mind IBM and Xerox, for early technology examples. - Keep in mind that some successes are based on giving the clients not only what they want, but what they may not know that they want - yet. |
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