 "Ola signs multi-year licensing deal with MapMyIndia to aid its push into smaller towns")
App-based taxi aggregator Ola has signed a multi-year licensing deal with MapMyIndia giving it access to more accurate location and mapping data in smaller towns and cities.
The deal will allow Ola to build layers on top of mapping data provided by Delhi-based firm that could help it improve route efficiency for drivers and lower estimated time of arrivals (ETA) for customers in areas that aren't richly mapped by Google.
"MapMyIndia definitely has India's most comprehensive and accurate mapping data, pan-India which will be of tremendous value for us as we go about building mobility for a billion people, across the country," said an Ola spokesperson to Business Standard.
As Ola looks to enter more Tier-II and -III cities and towns ahead of Uber, the lack of geo-location data in these regions could make it hard for the company to provide seamless services to customers. So far the company has solely relied on mapping services provided by Google, similar to its US-based rival Uber.
Moving away from reliance on Google's services is a global trend that is picking up steam. Uber, which counts Google Ventures as one of its investors, was reportedly one among the bidders for Nokia's Here mapping division. Here Maps was eventually sold to a consortium of German auto manufacturers.
Even in the consumer electronics space, software startup Cyanogen, which builds its smartphone operating system on Android Open Source Platform, is seen to be actively ditching Google services as default. The company has signed deals with Microsoft and other rivals of Google to offer their apps pre-installed on devices powered by Cyanogen OS.