Envinsa: MapInfo's New "Location Platform"

NP: What exactly is Envinsa, and how does it differ from MapInfo's current offerings? E.g.If I were to "buy" Envinsa, what kinds of boxes would I get?

MI: Envinsa is a Java platform that deploys location-based Web Services.It provides APIs that utilize SOAP, WSDL and UDDI so that any application may consume a service and utilize its capabilities.A customer in North America receives a single box that contains both software and geographic data covering the US and Canada.The software provides more than location capabilities, though.Envinsa provides an enterprise manager capabilities that allow customers to install, configure, manage and update the system.It provides account management, metering, monitoring, reporting and a full suite of capabilities any IT administrator would expect.Envinsa also ships with a content manager to help customers set up, manage and access their own content such as customer records, asset locations, and employee locations. And Envinsa provides software development kits designed for both Java and Microsoft .Net developers

NP: How does Envinsa differ from using a spatially enabled database?

MI: Envinsa works in concert with a spatially enabled database, in addition to other relevant systems in the enterprise.While the database allows an organization to store and manage their information and provides spatial querying mechanisms, Envinsa adds a rich set of APIs to create literally hundreds of potential applications.APIs include capabilities for geocoding, reverse geocoding, map presentation, spatial searching, point-to-point and multi-point routing, gazetteer functions, coordinate system conversion, and a host of other location functions.

NP: Is Envinsa the result of a partnership bringing new technology into MapInfo?

MI: Envinsa was built from the ground-up by MapInfo. However, we do take advantage of integration with technologies from a number of partners that our customers rely on such as IBM, Oracle, Sun, and others.

NP: Is Envinsa renaming of existing technology, or a substantial change to existing technology?

MI: Originally, MapInfo planned to release a new version (version3.0) of our miAware platform.However, we decided, since we made such significant technology modifications as well as functionality enhancements to provide value to many new markets, a complete branding change was necessary. This release is just the beginning.

NP: How will Envinsa's introduction affect MapInfo's current user base in various sectors?

MI: Envinsa offers MapInfo's current customer base an entirely new option for deploying location capabilities.It provides new opportunities for them to integrate location into their current enterprise applications, such as business intelligence, CRM, ERP and operation systems. Plus it affords them new options for extending their existing applications by adding new features that were previously unavailable.