MapmyIndia: Pioneer of the Indian Navigation Industry Date:   Monday , January 04, 2010 With the Indian roads not being mapped well, it is a humongous task for the Indian drivers to receive information for their way around in a new city. It then becomes an embryo for the entrepreneur couple – Rakesh Verma and Rashmi Verma to come up with MapmyIndia, which provides digital map data and consumer navigation services. With full range of its navigation products and services, the consumers can have the information at their fingertips with a feeling of never getting lost in a new city. “Finding ways in a new city or neighbourhood becomes easier through MapmyIndia,” affirms Rohan Verma, Director of MapmyIndia. Since the year of its inception in 1992, the company offers reliable navigable map dataset for all India through its field surveys and mapping technology. Head-quartered in New Delhi, with eight offices across India, the company offers consumers products for navigation, wherever a consumer might be. At home or office, using the internet, consumers can access MapmyIndia.com online portal for all their navigation questions. As claimed by the companies, while driving or travelling by car, consumers can also conveniently use the company’s Navigator series of in-car portable GPS navigation products, making their travel a hassle-free experience. On the move, with just their mobile phone at hand, consumers can use the company’s series of GPS navigation mobile software products, thus getting real-time voice guidance all the way to their destination. In this regard, MapmyIndia has launched its ‘MapmyIndia Sygic Mobile Maps’ - GPS navigation software, which works the across the GPS phones running Windows mobile, Symbian, Android and iPhones. With this release, the customers will be able to explore 401 cities across India with street-level turn-by-turn directions and information on POIs, as well as national, state or district highways. In addition, they would also be able to access information on points of interest like budget/premium hotels, petrol pumps, eating joints, ATMs, hospitals as well as tourist and religious spots. The iPhone users can also purchase and download the ‘mobile maps India’ application at price of $79.99 from the iTunes application store. Verma reveals this mobile app is the number one grossing application on iTunes since the last two weeks. MapmyIndia Sygic Mobile Maps is a one-time purchase (no recurring charges) of lifetime all India navigation for Rs. 2490 only. On the mobile application, the MapmyIndia navigation maps are being offered by CDMA operations on BREW platform by Virgin and MTS. And, for mobile internet users with the basic handsets, the WAP application is being offered by Tata Indicom, Tata Docomo and Vodadone. Also, MTNL is launching a slew of location-based applications all with MapmyIndia maps. “We are releasing free map soon mobile application (showing maps, directions, local search – Google Maps), which is soon being offered by Samsung, and will be available for all customers to download – across J2ME-enabled and Blackberry devices,” says Verma. As a part of growth strategy, the company stands out in the market amongst its competitors in being able to offer consumers the entire range of consumer navigation products and services on real time. Trusted by over 500 enterprises and millions of consumers, MapmyIndia has proved its mettle with over 250 employees and 400 plus surveyors in fulfilling the demands of the consumers for their daily navigation needs. Interestingly, the Indian market is one of the very few worldwide where mobile phones with GPS capability were the first to arrive on scene, and the personal navigation device (PND) firms are confident that the phone companies will help create a market for them. “Enterprises use digital maps for decision support like in planning logistics and distribution, site selection, urban and rural development, cellphone tower placements, and many more,” explains Verma. However, overcoming the barriers of gaining the acceptability of digital maps among the Indian consumers, the company’s team of surveyors continually drives across the length and breadth of India, equipped with GPS tools, digital cameras and laptops loaded with reference maps, thus being able to rapidly collect accurate data. These maps incorporate the latest updates from the field and from enterprise and consumer feedback, thus keeping the maps highly updated. MapmyIndia has chalked out a clear plan for its growth. To expand its business overseas, the company has recently received a funding of $9 Million from Qualcomm Ventures along with the participation of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Sherpalo Ventures and Nexus India Capital. Going ahead, the company plans to tap more and more customers in the market and give them the best of services improving the technologies, which will complement the company’s growth.