Photo: Bhavish Aggarwal on Twitter
The number of Google Maps alternatives is continuously rising, but on the other hand, Google’s platform continues to lead the market for obvious reasons.
It offers incredibly accurate coverage of the entire world, it has all the essential features that drivers would ever need, and above all, it’s completely free.
Companies investing in similar software, therefore, have a hard time beating Google Maps, especially given the search giant’s focus on innovation and new-generation capabilities.
And yet, Indian company Ola is about to step into this business and launch its very own digital map and navigation solution.
Google Maps is by far the most popular navigation app in India, but Ola believes that by building its own digital map platform, it will at least provide its customers with a worthy alternative. CEO Bhavish Aggarwal shared a teaser on Twitter (also embedded below) to provide us with an early look at Ola Maps, the solution that should one day provide users with a worthy alternative to Google Maps.
In fact, Ola wants to compete against Google Maps on multiple fronts, so the company is also building an API that would allow other services to use its maps and therefore power their own web applications. Google Maps already does that, but at this point, Ola decided to stick with MapMyIndia for navigation capabilities on its platform.
While at first glance, Ola building its navigation platform isn’t necessarily big news for Google, the search giant has every reason in the world to be worried.
First and foremost, the competition in this space is getting much fiercer, and the living proof is the focus that navigation experts like TomTom and Sygic are committed to these days. In fact, new research crowned HERE as the leading company in the digital mapping sector, with Google Maps only the runner-up because of its small penetration in the automotive industry.
Then, with Google investing in other capabilities for Google Maps, the navigation component is no longer getting much love these days. The only big improvement that Google Maps received recently on this front is the support for eco-friendly routes. Otherwise, the navigation focus right now seems to be on Waze, as Google still keeps the app as a separate offering that is independent of Google Maps.
Ola Maps, however, will represent a major milestone for the parent company, especially as its EV vehicles would no longer have to rely on third-party navigation software. This is once again a hit that Google Maps would eventually receive, as its Indian market share is likely to be impacted once the new mapping solution is ready.
For now, there’s no specific ETA as to when Ola Maps is projected to launch, but the CEO says the debut should theoretically happen at some point in the next couple of months.
Companies investing in similar software, therefore, have a hard time beating Google Maps, especially given the search giant’s focus on innovation and new-generation capabilities.
And yet, Indian company Ola is about to step into this business and launch its very own digital map and navigation solution.
Google Maps is by far the most popular navigation app in India, but Ola believes that by building its own digital map platform, it will at least provide its customers with a worthy alternative. CEO Bhavish Aggarwal shared a teaser on Twitter (also embedded below) to provide us with an early look at Ola Maps, the solution that should one day provide users with a worthy alternative to Google Maps.
In fact, Ola wants to compete against Google Maps on multiple fronts, so the company is also building an API that would allow other services to use its maps and therefore power their own web applications. Google Maps already does that, but at this point, Ola decided to stick with MapMyIndia for navigation capabilities on its platform.
While at first glance, Ola building its navigation platform isn’t necessarily big news for Google, the search giant has every reason in the world to be worried.
First and foremost, the competition in this space is getting much fiercer, and the living proof is the focus that navigation experts like TomTom and Sygic are committed to these days. In fact, new research crowned HERE as the leading company in the digital mapping sector, with Google Maps only the runner-up because of its small penetration in the automotive industry.
Then, with Google investing in other capabilities for Google Maps, the navigation component is no longer getting much love these days. The only big improvement that Google Maps received recently on this front is the support for eco-friendly routes. Otherwise, the navigation focus right now seems to be on Waze, as Google still keeps the app as a separate offering that is independent of Google Maps.
Ola Maps, however, will represent a major milestone for the parent company, especially as its EV vehicles would no longer have to rely on third-party navigation software. This is once again a hit that Google Maps would eventually receive, as its Indian market share is likely to be impacted once the new mapping solution is ready.
For now, there’s no specific ETA as to when Ola Maps is projected to launch, but the CEO says the debut should theoretically happen at some point in the next couple of months.
Testing our own Ola maps! Will be live in the Ola app and our vehicles in a couple of months!
— Bhavish Aggarwal (@bhash) January 5, 2023
Will also be making a dev API for all those who want to use world class maps for India in their apps. pic.twitter.com/L4pchILLfq
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