Bing Indoor and Venue Maps on the PdocTech SharePoint Mapper Demo

Combining Bing Indoor and Venue Maps with the SharePoint Mapper

Available parking mapped on Bing
Venue map with SharePoint Mapper.

Frenemies - an enemy pretending to be your friend or someone who really is your friend but is also a rival.  I'd like to believe we are all in this together, out to make the best product, share it with the World and enjoy our success.

So as I develop the SharePoint Mapper I often find myself being surrounded by giants playing in the same arena.  Bing (Microsoft), Apple, Google and others are all involved in the indoor/venue mapping arena.  How will the PdocTech SharePoint Mapper fit in to this picture?

The concept is to offer enhancements to these products that allow users to control their data and the presentation.  Each of the big players is focused on issues like how to map the indoors, how to gain market share, how to control the use of the maps in a way that can be monetized.  The Mapper is focused on the individual and enterprise needs.  It allows an organization to take control of their mapping experience, control their data and to use it in the way that benefits the organization.  

So for today's demonstration I will be combining a Bing Venue map with the PdocTech SharePoint Mapper.  Using the Mapper over top of a venue map allows the individual organization to leverage Bing Maps to their fullest extent.  With the SharePoint Mapper an organization such as a mall can use the venue map for directory services for their campus and control both the content presented to the user and look and feel, allowing them to seamlessly integrate the map in to their own website.  

In this demonstration I am presenting the Centerra shopping area.  The venue map is loaded through the Bing services and the functionality over that venue map is provided though the SharePoint Mapper.  In addition to the store layouts provided by Bing I have extended the layout to include the parking areas.  Parking information can be updated by an administrator to let customers know where there is available parking.  



   


This is the a fairly simple demonstration, but the possibilities to extend the use of this technology are many and can get quite complex.  Custom map layers can be added over the entire site or just over an individual store or area.  Clicking on a store could be made to show store information, including custom advertisements that could be individually controlled by the store personnel.  Mall maintenance and security can also use this tool for assigning work order or to track activity on the mall.

Thanks for looking and as always please feel free to leave a comment.

P.S.  Bill Gates, Microsoft, Bing Maps... I'd like to be frenemies (or really just friends!).