Well, all this while we have been showcasing about how Maplytics has been bringing a new revolution for Dynamics 365 CRM users globally so we thought its time we move back and see how Maps were evolved.
It’s time for Evolution of Maps in Business – The Past, The Present and The Future. So this blog allows us to have a glimpse of the past and predict the future by studying patterns. Studies reveal that business has been instrumental in human evolution. Producing, buying, selling and distributing goods and services was as significant as today.
As we evolved, there was an essential need to do business between remote locations. For decades we used stars, mountains, tree lines and water bodies as the guiding force. This was a decent solution to travel nearby but for far away locations we still needed a more concrete solution. It is when the necessity of maps came and its inception took place.
Records of travelers and explorers were taken into account and based on it, a blueprint of the maps for Classic Era was created. These maps were basic but were improvised later to add details to it for future convenience.
The Past > Silk Route:
The Silk Route which was Trans-Eurasian ‘super-highway’ of its time gave further momentum thus seeding the birth of more maps. The trade caravan between China and Europe was charted by Europeans which was used for adding subsequent details.
Ottoman conquest:
The Ottoman conquest of Asia Minor blocked the Silk Route and opened the doors for maritime exploration. In quest of finding India for its rich heritage, the Europeans landed in America. Sailors like Columbus, Vasco Da Gama, and others displayed chivalry and braved the storms to discover new lands. While discovering new places they created latitudes and longitudes.
These discoveries were taken forward in the pre-satellite period. Arial photography enabled tracking smaller areas from lower altitudes. With the advancement in aviation technology, later on, larger geographical zones from higher altitude were located.
At the initial stage, Arial Photography located enemy territory by military force of a country but later on it was used for weather forecasting, studying traffic density and other significant purposes. Aerial Photography was going strong before the digital age was taken over by satellites. It aided in space imaging and provided an Arial view of earth to deal with weather, traffic, and other issues.
In 1970 satellite imaging swept the aircraft Arial Photography entirely. However, the images taken by satellite was grainy and pixelated owing to the poor extraterrestrial camera and atmospheric disturbances. These images were inaccessible until early 2000s when the internet came into existence.
Internet sealed the deal with few organizations thus leveraging the mapping interface. In infancy, the mapping was slow and not as adept as it is now. Xerox PARC Map Viewer created in 1993 provided an interactive interface instead of static. This ingenious creation gave birth to World-Wide Earthquake Locator in 1994 which located earthquake-zone on maps.
The invention of Google Maps and Google Earth in 2005 was a breakthrough in the field of mapping interface! It was user-friendly, intuitive and detailed. This was a revolution and since then a lot of mapping interfaces have been created.
You can read more about the Evolution of Maps in Business – Past here.
The Present > Mapping the trade with CRM:
Dynamic CRM/365 by Microsoft has been a pioneer in centralizing customer data along with customer management. This benefit was leveraged by creating geo-analytical mapping solutions that could utilize the customer data to visualize that how businesses were available geographically.
A solution to this was Maplytics that influenced Bing Map mapping capabilities and how Dynamics CRM data was analyzed on a map. Microsoft Dynamics 365 combined with robust geo-analytical mapping tools like Maplytics helped in analyzing Dynamics CRM data effortlessly.
The Frontiers of Mapping:
Noticing the potency of this technology many business verticals integrated their business applications with geo-analytical tools like Maplytics. The future of Maplytics looks quite promising and it could be incorporated in AI, drones and other technologies. It won’t be a surprise if this geo-analytical tool becomes a part of augmented or virtual reality environment.
For instance, if internet led to the emergence of mapping interfaces – Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and allied technologies are going to give mapping more like a human entity that has intuition and works in real time with accuracy. This mostly incorporates the feature of ‘real time,’ driven by Artificial Intelligence and ‘location intelligence.’
You can read more about the Evolution of Maps in Business – Present here.
The Future > The biggies joining the race:
Google and Bing that have been providing mapping solutions till date are now going to integrate them with artificial intelligence algorithms to make them smarter than they ever have been.
Augmentation Technology: Giving life to Maps
Augmented reality has been in existence since less than a decade but its contribution in empowering mapping experience with help of 3D visuals is massive. Now data can be visualized in real-world space with the help of Microsoft Holo Lens. Smartphones have also amplified our mapping experience through augmented reality.
Big shots like Apple, Microsoft and Google are betting that the future will be dominated by AR.
Smart Automobiles and Drones: An insight in future
Self-driven cars are tested with the latest technology but it is anticipated that in coming years they will sweep the automobile industry. Artificial Intelligence will give them a form and structure which can overtake current technology with ease.
Drones have also become fairly popular nowadays and it is predicted that in the decade they will be used to deliver real-time information. Drones come with an infinite potential of being used as a mapping service. And, as the drones will become mainstream their usage and number will start increasing like smartphones.
Technology significance in future:
3D topographic maps are the most exciting technology of today. This gives certain insight in what the future holds but it is not possible to predict what technology will dominate the future. However, that doesn’t stop us from putting our best foot forward and let the creative juices flowing.
You can read more about the Evolution of Maps in Business – future here.
Let’s come back again in the present and have a look at Maplytics revolution – The future of Maps in Dynamics 365.
Maplytics is one of the leading geo-analytical apps for Dynamic 365. It is amongst the first mapping solutions certified for Microsoft Dynamic 365(CfMD). Maplytics provides potent map visualization and routing abilities within Dynamic 365 to provide location-based business insights. This centralized app increases team productivity, leverages data analytics and visualization, saves travel time, has targeted locational marketing amongst the few features it offers. The upcoming characteristics in Maplytics will incorporate territory management, auto-scheduling and shape layer integration.
You can get your free trial at our Website or Microsoft AppSource!
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Happy Mapping!
