Might Microsoft buy HERE maps (this time) if Nokia sells it?
zdnet.com/article/might-microsoft-buy-here-ma...
zdnet.comPosted Apr 13, 2015, 2:56 PM UTC
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zdnet.comLove HERE maps. Great service.
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The smart move for Microsoft would be to implement it themselves, which could explain balking at the original price and not being interested in it now.
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Buying here makes sense for Microsoft from 2 perspectives:
Firstly, It would instantly give Microsoft an offline capable mapping solution available on iOS, Android and BlackBerry as well as Windows phone (which would mean a fair bit more usable mobile data - and hopefully increased market share - for Bing's mapping solutions).
And secondly, Microsoft's purchase would secure long term access to HERE maps services against the potential threat of another new owner cutting them off.
Add in HERE's enterprise, automotive, and third party mapping/location services (provision to Amazon, Oracle,Yahoo, Baidu, Sina Weibo ect. ect.) which are more icing on the cake then anything else, and, depending on the price, it might actually be a good purchase for Microsoft.
Also, since Microsoft is getting back to in-car systems with Windows 10, or at least it's demoed, that can help them gain a competitive advantage over other map programs. The speed indicator and offline maps was a huge thing my friends were jealous of that they didn't have.
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Not sure if it can be done, but seems Android was one of the earlier open source projects that a company was able to leverage back into their own revenue and market power. Could the same be done with Open Data? Take advantage of the resources available to non-employees to help gather your data, yet somehow both provide your own value, and reap your own benefits from it. I'm sure at some point, someone will come up with a great model, then they'll gain the benefits from being first on the scene and getting network benefits from those already hooked into the system.