When developers need to add maps or geospatial functions to their web or mobile applications, the first instinct might be to turn to Google to provide these functions. Google’s seemingly flexible terms, pricing, ease of integration make this seem like the obvious choice.
But as Google’s interests expand into automotive, travel, ride-sharing and other lines of business, companies that rely on Google Maps are finding that Google’s terms and conditions begin to limit what they can do with their technology. Google is in the advertising business. That can create conflicts when another company starts to use Google Maps. Maps are the canvas that Google uses to promote sponsored local listings. Have you ever wondered why 7-Eleven shows up on a map when you search for “gas”? It has more to do with their advertising spend than with customer convenience.
For over 15 years, Silicon Valley based deCarta, Inc. has offered an alternative to Google Maps. In fact, it was deCarta’s platform that Google chose to power Google Maps and the Google APIs for its first few years of its operation. And over those 15 years, numerous mapping, navigation, fleet and mobile application developers have come to rely on the flexibility and broad capabilities of deCarta’s platform to power their solutions.
For a deeper investigation of this trend towards alternatives to Google Maps, read Gigaom’s Whitepaper, “More than Maps: The Evolution of Location-Based Applications” available for review at http://www.decarta.com. Or try out deCarta’s map API for yourself.