Centigon Solutions Blog: Google is Killing Off Google Maps Engine. What does this Mean?

Google Maps Engine is a product that Google released only a couple of
years ago to simplify the maps design process for non- users. My
assumption was Google released GME enterprise as a graphical interface
and tangible product to deliver Google Maps  into enterprise users in
addition to developers.

In some ways, it mirrors an approach that
the Centigon Solutions team perfected years ago with our GMaps Plugin.
However, Google Maps Engine clearly fell short to generate mass
adoption, along with a product called Google coordinate. A news story today confirmed that Google will deprecate Google Maps Engine and service will likely end January 29 2016.



Why
do we think GME failed? The functionality was limited, the target user
and consumer was not clear, and the biggest challenge was a requirement
to upload data to the cloud to extract any value from the solution.



This
does not tarnish the success of Google Maps or the fact that Google
Maps API is still the most widely adopted and data-rich mapping solution
in the marketplace thanks to Google's massive investment in geo.



However,
the deprecation of this product is yet another indicator of something
that is a core driver for our own Location Intelligence product
approach:

The Future of Enterprise Location Intelligence is Embedded Analytics.

The consumers and users of maps in the enterprise, specifically Google
Maps, are not data scientists or  analysts. They are typically business
users who consume information while on the go. The use and availability
of maps in the workplace should be where business users work, how they
work. For many of the large enterprise customers we serve, that work is
done behind the firewall even if some facets of the business like CRM
live in the cloud.

Learn More at: http://cmapsanalytics.com/designer/mapsengine.html



Our
team at Centigon Solutions is offering customers a fresh approach  to
deliver Google Maps for Work within your organization usingCMaps Analytics Designer.
Users get the same Google Maps basics they know and love, and
application, portal, or Business Intelligence administrators have
complete control where their maps live (on premise or cloud). With more
visualization and customization options at your disposal, you can charge
forward creating new maps experiences for visualizing your business
data and performance, embedded inside of your business apps.



See CMaps Analytics Designer in action for point and click map creation + more powerful visualization options.