In the consumer space, Google Earth and Google Maps go hand-in-hand.
Now the same goes for Google Earth for the enterprise.
Business and
government users of Google Earth for the enterprise can now view
their organizations’ geospatial data in 2-D on a browser behind the
firewall.
As a part of the product upgrade, Google opened a
“special” Maps API for the enterprise. That means administrators
can now embed the Google Maps 2-D view into any Web application and
create mashups with information from external databases, spreadsheets
and other data sources, Noah Doyle, product manager for enterprise
geo products, told internetnews.com.
Doyle said that Google Earth for the enterprise prices will continue
to start around $20,000 and vary depending on the complexity of each
project.
Other new features for Google Earth for the enterprise that Doyle
highlighted include an enhanced search framework, which allows
integration with multiple search services through Java plug-ins,
including the Google Search Appliance.
Google also upgraded the
product to include a regions-based KML imagery data processing tool for
creating super overlays, which Doyle said will enable organizations
to publish large collections of images.
Doyle also said the new product is faster and safer. He noted time
savings of up to 10x for vector processing (points/lines/polygons)
and computational savings of more than two times for server responses to
imagery data requests. Industry standard security methodologies will be
supported for implementation of LDAP and SSL.
Two organizations have already put the new product to work, Doyle
said.
Dell uses Google Earth to manage their customer service
operation for their top-tier enterprise customers. With the
upgrade, each Dell service representative can access geo-located
information related to the customer on the phone.
Doyle said the Department of Homeland Security, partnered with the
state of Alabama, also uses Google Earth for the enterprise to
provide geo-located information to first responders. The new Maps API
will allow those emergency workers to access what’s become a rich set
of data from the browser.
Google last announced upgrades for its Maps and Earth products at
Where 2.0 in late May. During the show, Google Earth and Maps Director John Hanke announced Street View and Mapplets. He also
called for more standardization of the Geoweb.
