Microsoft makes Virtual Earth available via Maporama

Stuart Corner
Friday, 29 June 2007 02:46

Your IT - Home IT

Microsoft has struck another glow in its battle with Google Earth, tying up with French company, Maporama International, to enable enterprises to use Microsoft Virtual Earth in their corporate applications and web sites.

Microsoft's Virtual Earth mapping platform featuring roadmaps, satellite and aerial imagery, bird's eye and 3-D views and will be available for Maporama corporate customers following the signing of a commercial and technology partnership between the two companies. It was launched in November 2006 as an upgrade to Microsoft Live Search.

According to Arnaud Gstach, Virtual Earth business development manager for Southern Europe, "it has never been so easy for a company to add value to its applications and web sites thanks to these new customised mapping solutions...The partnership concluded between Microsoft and Maporama ushers in a new era of services for the mapping market by offering companies the innovation of Virtual Earth through Maporama solutions and service platform."

Danièle Drahy Maporama's director of operations said the collaboration with Microsoft would enable it to include "fundamental mapping data enabling our customers to design new types of applications." He added: "Several industries (real estate, tourism, assistance, retail, call centres, banking and insurance) have expressed an interest in multi-dimensional visualisation (bird's eye and 3-D views) in additional to traditional mapping."

Microsoft claims that Virtual Earth is "the leading corporate mapping platform, used by over 1000 enterprise customers worldwide." Maporama claims 500 customers for its range of corporate services and solutions that connect mapping information to business applications (ERP, CRM, SFA, etc). For mobile users, Maporama provides GPS navigation solutions, trip planning assistance for sales teams, and fleet management.