Location Intelligence and Business Geographics

Directions Magazine has been following the legal battle over a mapping patent held by Real Estate Alliance Ltd. (REAL) since 2005. The lawsuit started with a single Philadelphia agent and her use of mapping software and turned into quite a production before a ruling of non-infringement came in 2010. In this article, Executive Editor Adena Schutzberg summarizes the actions since that time.

“There is a certain amount of sensationalism about disaster maps,” said John Nelson of IDV Solutions. In this article, Nelson gets deep into discovering the variability of datasets but at the end of the day, maps must communicate a clear message. Nelson tells us that maps may not need to offer explicit conclusions but rather present the evidence as fodder for questions and conversation … and maybe more maps!

Saving a mile or two on fuel economy is a key metric for fleet truck companies. So is an hour or two a week per operator. Put them together and fleets large and small can save money. This article explores one solution from TomTom that puts fleet operators in the driver’s seat when it comes to saving time and money.

EDENS, a shopping center development company, is working to deliver a new way for its employees to visualize and access spatial data. The company has a new mobile application that not only allows users to access and display spatial data in the field but also emulates the workflow and thinking that goes into the leasing, development and marketing process.

The United States Department of Defense established the Mentor-Protégé Program in 1990 to provide major DOD prime contractors incentives to those serving as mentors and developing technical and business capabilities in small, disadvantaged, women-owned, and other small businesses. This article provides information on the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency's Mentor-Protégé program.

What is a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement? A CRADA is a formal agreement with an industry or academic partner to bring innovative solutions to government agencies. This article focuses on CRADAs managed by the

Nokia's Location and Commerce Division now provides Esri's Business Analyst and Community Analyst exclusively with street centerline data and will enhance numerous other Esri products. Read more in this exclusive interview with Nokia on the relationship.

As part of the launch of Alteryx 7.1 release the company is putting the capability for spatial analytics in the hands of more users.

Pitney Bowes Software’s legacy is rooted in MapInfo’s desktop solutions, but the company offers more than that. Its server and Web-based applications aimed at a broader set of users are worth a closer look. Editor in Chief Joe Francica describes the architecture and packaging of these solutions.

This article provides a product overview of Maptitude 2012 from Caliper Corporation. Paul Amos, GIS manager for the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, reviewed the product. He reports that the new features in this release provide inexperienced users with the ability to quickly generate presentation quality maps with an interface that’s user-friendly and intuitive. Experienced users will find the model estimation and statistical analysis tools quite comprehensive.