Microsoft as Data Provider?
community, digital earth, spatial data, virtual world July 29th, 2008The Microsoft and ESRI release has gotten some good play, and rightly so. It’s an interesting pairing that may have huge implications for the geospatial industry. At the very least, it should ratchet up the Google vs. Microsoft battle.
ESRI is wise to make use of Virtual Earth as a data source. It provides a ready means of global normalized data for both ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Explorer. The richness of the Microsoft data set easily outshines any other geospatial data source. Virtual Earth digital 3D cities combined with GIS data will be a beautiful sight to see.
GeoWeb was just last week, and we heard from both Google Maps/Earth and Microsoft Virtual Earth. Seeing both present was striking in their different approach to geospatial data collection. We enjoyed Michael Jones’ enthusiasm for collecting the world’s data, saying that they’re happy to host anyone’s data. Then we heard from Bill Gail at Microsoft with a focus on data collection and normalization of data for the entire world, insisting that at some point it would be constantly updated. Which of these two scenario sounds like a better foundation for the industry to be built upon?
The Web 2.0 approach of aggregator of everyone elses data just doesn’t fly as a means to support an industry. While Microsoft has it’s own camera, I’m rather certain that industry can play in the data collection and aggregation space. When all the data is free without service fee, there’s little business opportunity.
I like the idea of this combination, with Microsoft’s more serious focus on industry solutions and their model as a platform. There are good benefits for both parties, and I believe better prospects for the industry in the new GeoWeb world. I’ll be interested to delve further into this at next week’s ESRI/UC.
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July 29th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
“The richness of the Microsoft data set easily outshines any other geospatial data source.” say what? if you live outside the US this sounds pretty funny. lets take thailand for example: ms has no localized data (google now has both localized and “international” place names–at one time it only offered localized data) and ms’s imagery pales compared to what google offers over the same location. geez.
July 30th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Microsoft *AND* Google would be very wise to open their data (like this deal) to all GI vendors (Intergraph, MapInfo, Autodesk, CadCorp, etc.) – think of the possibilities!
July 30th, 2008 at 9:49 am
PaulH: Just as a categorical assertion that Microsoft’s data outshines any other data source is obviously not correct, so is an assertion that it is poor everywhere outside the U.S. not correct either.
Take a look at the metropolitan areas of Denmark and compare Google’s imagery with Microsoft’s (search: “Copenhagen, Denmark”)
As with everything in this world: it varies.