SharePoint Bing Mapper Webcast!

SharePoint Bing Mapper Directory System Demonstration Webcast

I've created a webcast to demonstrate the Mapper.  The webcast show the Mapper in action.  Three demos are included in the video.  The first is a corporate campus with building interiors mapped.  It shows a sample of directory components that can be used to navigate around a map.

The second demo shows and event center and how the SharePoint Bing Mapper can be utilized in that scenario.

The last demo shows a university campus mapped on the system.

Upcoming demonstration will include mobile solutions for the SharePoint Bing Mapper and a scenario using it for convention center reservations.  The convention center solution will demonstrate how it can be used for reserving and assigning booth spaces, setup by the facilities workers and as a public facing page for a directory of vendors and their locations.

Building Information Management vs. Building Information Modeling

Building Information Management vs. Building Information Modeling?

Personnel location information on the 
SharePoint Bing Mapper Directory System.

Recently I’ve embarked on creating this blog largely to discuss my latest project, the SharePoint Bing Mapper Directory System (“The Mapper” as I will refer to it in this post).  I want to be able to share my ideas on the concept of placing organizational information on a Bing Map.  Exploring the ideas behind The Mapper has led to some interesting quandaries.

 My big question is how to classify this application.  I have done a lot of research lately at looking in to the field of managing information around campuses, buildings, locations in general.  I keep finding myself looking the concept of building information modeling.  Building information modeling is an all-encompassing science that models in an architectural context of a building or buildings.  Different versions of BIM(odeling) include everything from the beginning of a project to cost and time information to full lifecycle and demolition planning.

That’s great, but how is that going to help the person sitting in the lobby of an office building filled with 1,000 workers?

How will it help the I.T. personnel charged with tracking equipment throughout the organization?

How will it help a HR person in locating a person in a building they’ve never seen before or to assign and track who sits at what desk, cubicle or office?

What about flexible spacing such as at trade shows?  Is  BIM(odeling) the answer to RAD style applications for managing those types of spaces?

This brings us to The Mapper and the concept of Building Information Management.  Might I be splitting hairs with the naming? Sure.  The concept I have worked through and created The Mapper to address is the stuff where we get down to usability type information.  This type of information is what an end user would consume.  This type of information relies on BIM(odeling) for accurate physical details (floor plans, site layouts, etc.) but is intended to convey business centric information coupled with building detail visualized on a web enabled map (in this case Bing Maps).

 Floor plan of the CSU Administration building on the SharePoint Bing Mapper Directory System.

BIM(anagement) is intended to be more service oriented, to provide answers to general users and to allow easy management of information related to people and items in relation to location.  The platform is designed to be extensible, making RAD development possible for information to be visualized on a map.

Envision this scenario:  An operator of a complex that hosts multiple conventions each year would like to automate the registration process for each convention.  By combining BIM(odeling) with a layout of the convention and making it available through a web browser the process can be streamlined.  The host can place booth availability, size, location and cost information on the map.  A registration form can be provided directly over the space on map, once the space is reserved it can be instantly marked as taken and provide the name of the occupant.  Using this same information, the show layout can be displayed on a public site as a directory for those attending the show.  The same information can also be used by maintenance crews for setup and teardown.  This is Building Information Management, the combining of the model with business scenarios.

And since this is The SharePoint Mapper, a more SharePoint centric example:  SharePoint, for those who have not been initiated, by default contains people information and a search based profile tool.  When combined with The Mapper, you can retrieve a list of people with a link that can display where the persons assigned office/desk is located.  Okay, that is not a big deal if everyone in the company is sitting in the same building, however in a large organization with many campuses and many buildings it is a nice tool to have.  In this way The Mapper goes beyond BIM(odeling), combining multiple campuses to provide a map based contextual setting easily shared across an organization.

Geez, there you have it, my concept of Building Information Management…Perhaps it should be Organization Location Management…

SharePoint Bing Mapper Directory System Video Demo

SharePoint Bing Mapper Directory System

I have created two quick demos to give an idea of some of the basic functions of the system.

This first video demonstrates navigating around the map using the breadcrumb control and dragging the map. It also demonstrates how detailed information about an area can be provided in a popup.

This video demonstrates how navigation can be tied to a table control.  

These two demos give a small insight to how the system can present an end user with information on a Bing Map.  In the future I will put together a more comprehensive webcast about the Mapper.

Introducing SharePoint Bing Mapper Directory System

SharePoint Bing Mapper Directory System

Personnel directory information
 visualized on a Bing Map.

Okay, the application name might need to be re-worked.  It is however a tough nut to put a name on.

It performs the following:

• Building Information Modeling
• Personnel Location Tracking
• Asset Location Tracking
• Interior Route Management (in development)
• Directory Service for People
• Directory Service for Buildings
• Directory Service for Assets and Equipment (locate the printer with all the features you need or the conference room with that certain projector).
• Facilities Management

To sum it up it is an Enhanced Bing Maps Enterprise Application.  

A big bonus?  Once the application is installed and configured almost no developer interaction is required.  Now that doesn't mean you can't have developer interaction.  The application allows for advanced styling (css and jQuery) and extension.  Tying map objects to additional pages or even integrating with outside applications via web services are both easily achievable.

In upcoming additions to this blog I intend to create demonstrations for a few of the applications described above...for now, I will leave you with a few screenshots.  

An office interior with personnel and office equipment combined on the map.
The popup is easily configured to show information specific to the map object,
in this case a printer has been clicked and the printer features are shown.

The Larimer County Fairgrounds building interiors mapped.
Notice the slide down menus provide a directory of rooms
by category.

A conference room has been select, centering the map over the
room.  The room has been clicked, opening a popup describing
the room and the rates to rent it.

So how to name something with such broad capabilities?  That is my quandary...feel free to ponder with me in the comments section.