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Telcontar Inside
Last week Google quietly rolled out Google Maps.There was a definite buzz about the technology (DHTML and JavaScript are key parts), the look (very pretty) and the speed (very fast).While many early users of the application simply like to point to Google and say, “They are smart,” there are players behind the scenes.

In the case of Google Maps one key player is Telcontar.The world, at least the mapping one, was agog when Yahoo! “rolled its own” mapping solution, Yahoo! Maps, on the company’s technology back in 2002.So, perhaps it’s no surprise that Google (and Rand McNally and Ask Jeeves) also have it tucked into their websites.

Telcontar’s Place in the Value Chain
To understand Telcontar, take a giant step away from GIS.No, a bigger step.Ok, good.Now, have a look at the value chain for consumer mapping technology.Kim Fennell, Telcontar President and CEO, outlined five parts of the chain: content (a.k.a.the “data guys” - NAVTEQ, Tele Atlas, etc.), platform (the software that “processes” the data, where Telcontar fits), application developers (those who make the compelling offerings we consumer want to buy, Motorola’s VIAMOTO, for example), channel (the delivery mechanism, a portal like Yahoo or a wireless carrier) and finally the customer (those of us who pay money via our cell phone bills or generate revenue-producing advertising via our eyeballs on portals). Read the rest of this entry »