Informer schreef op 13 december 2015 09:29:
[...]..
I don’t think they can do both HD Auto maps and maintain their position in non-automotive markets.I assume that this was to address the concerns of their many non-automotive customers about continuity of supply.The official press release has a different emphasis. After many paragraphs about the opportunities in new high definition automotive maps for autonomous driving, they address the other markets. The statement, in total is:
The company will continue to develop its position as a strong and independent provider of maps and location-based services, will expand its product offering and continue to make it available to all customers across industries. ..That’s it. OK, so I’ve read enough press releases to know that you can’t always parse too much out of them but it is a cause for concern.
I remain skeptical that HERE can afford to pursue both the HD automotive map while at the same time supporting some very big, demanding customers on the commercial side. HERE has signed up big companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Baidu, Facebook and many others who use their map data or services to drive offerings competitive with maps from Apple or Google. While strategically important,
this has never been a big profit generator.
But the competition for map based services is every bit as intense. Further the pressure from OpenStreetMap based providers has only grown in the last three years.
..
The new HERE (as sadly it will remain named)
will have a hard time investing for the future HD map market while fending off competition from Google, Apple and critically, OpenStreetMap on the local search/navigation front. In all the excitement over HD maps, don’t forget that the “other” map is supporting a huge mobile application business that exists today, not in 2020.
What does that mean:
... I think non-automotive users of HERE map data and services will be worried. Rightly so. I think the press release accurately reflects the new HERE’s focus: 95% auto, 5% other.
2. TomTom will have a similar dilemma. From public news, it seems like they will make the same choice and focus on the Auto opportunity. It will be interesting to see
how TomTom plays out its M&A options.
3. OpenStreetMap has a fantastic opportunity to become the obvious choice for local search applications. There is a lot of interest in an open, shared map data base since few companies really want to build their own.
..