"HERE topples Google to take first place" - Ovum*

Amsterdam - Developers, take a look: HERE Technologies has passed Google to become the world's leading location platform, according to the latest ranking from Ovum.

In the latest edition of its twice-yearly report, Location Platform Index: Mapping and Navigation, Ovum assessed 14 major location platform vendors, ranking them according to the mapping and technology they offer as well as the size of their reach across developer communities and industries.

For the first time, HERE scored higher than Google in the overall ranking, boosted by advancements it has made in several areas. In particular, Ovum highlighted recent changes HERE has made to its developer program, including the introduction of a new and simplified pricing plan. On August 1, HERE announced a new pricing plan, including a freemium option, designed to make it easier for developers to access high quality location data and tools.

"HERE has completely overhauled its developer framework [...]," Ovum analysts Eden Zoller and Charlotte Palfrey acknowledge in the report. The new price plan "appears more developer friendly and competitive than the new Google Maps model, which should play to HERE's advantage and bring long term benefits in terms of HERE's reach," they added.

Ovum also highlighted progress HERE has made in high definition (HD) and indoor mapping, as well as its introduction of new technology supporting the secure and efficient over-the-air delivery of software and data.

"To be recognized by Ovum as the leading location platform is testament to the hard work of the HERE team over the last two years in key areas. These include our continuous progress in high definition mapping, the forming of the OneMap Alliance, our new solution for tracking and positioning, our leadership in indoor mapping and the introduction of secure over-the-air updates through HERE OTA Connect," said Edzard Overbeek, Chief Executive Officer at HERE Technologies. "Our ambition is also to put the best location technology into the hands of developers everywhere, and I'm pleased about the progress we are making."

Extracts from the "Location Platform Index" from Ovum about HERE

"HERE topples Google to take first place. HERE has always scored well on the completeness of its offering, leading on this front for some time. Where it traditionally lagged Google was on the reach of its platform, but this has been steadily improving thanks to the wide range of verticals its platform addresses. An important factor in HERE topping the leader board has been its strong focus on the developer community: in 1H18 it carried out major overhauls of its developer program and associated API pricing policy, which have been well received."

Platform in general

• "HERE's Open Location Platform is a compelling proposition that will help the company attract new partners while providing a strong foundation on which to build services."

Developer

• "HERE's new developer hub and pricing model will help it gain further traction with developers, particularly given the dissatisfaction with the controversial new pricing policy for Google Maps."
• "HERE has an improved developer focus and has partnerships with some of the biggest cloud marketplaces, notably Amazon Web Services (AWS). The company says around 2 million developers have leveraged HERE location services on AWS."
• "HERE has completely overhauled its developer framework, with a new cloud location platform designed to make it easier for organizations and end users to create maps."

Automotive

• "There is no doubt that HERE is the leading mapping and location vendor in the automotive industry. In 2017, the cumulative number of vehicles sold worldwide with HERE maps on board surpassed 100 million."
• "In May 2018, HERE teamed up with its regional partners NavInfo (China), Pioneer (Japan), and SK Telecom (South Korea) to form the OneMap Alliance. The alliance, which is open to additional members, aims to create a global, standardized HD map offering, which will be aligned with the specification developed for HERE's HD Live Map."
• "By the end of 2018, the HD Live Map will cover more than 1 million kilometers of road across North America and Europe, providing information on configurations and markings, speed limits, and shoulders, as well as on roadside objects and obstacles via vehicle localization."
• "More than 20 auto OEMs are using HERE's HD Live Map in their autonomous driving R&D." "Daimler will use the HD Live Map in future Mercedes-Benz models while BMW is planning to feature the HD Live Map in BMW models from 2020 onward."
• "Over-the-air (OTA) solutions are useful to auto OEMs because they represent a fast, cost-effective way to remotely update software and firmware, and [HERE] OTA Connect can provide potential new revenue streams by enabling customers to buy new services OTA."

Indoor mapping

• "Increased indoor mapping capabilities will put HERE in a strong position to exploit a wide range of potential use cases, in the consumer, enterprise, and wider IoT domains."