Google Maps Engine Pro customers now have free access to Maps Coordinate to manage workers and share location information in real time.

Thomas Claburn, Editor at Large, Enterprise Mobility

July 24, 2014

3 Min Read
Google Maps visualization of customers generated by bike manufacturer Pure Fix Cycles.

 Government Data + Maps: 10 Great Examples

Government Data + Maps: 10 Great Examples


Government Data + Maps: 10 Great Examples (Click image for larger view and slideshow.)

Businesses and individuals using Google Maps Engine Pro for collaborative map creation now have access to a workforce management tool at no extra charge.

Maps Engine Pro subscribers can now use Google Maps Coordinate to manage workers and share location information in real time. The addition of this dynamic data visualization and location-based communication to Maps Engine Pro leaves the subscription price unchanged: $5 per user per month, or $50 per user per year.

Those already paying for Google Maps Coordinate will be switched to a Maps Engine Pro subscription and will see a significant price reduction. When Google Maps Coordinate was launched in June 2012, it cost $15 per user per month. Following the introductory period, the price was raised to $24 per user per month. Those paying for both services should cancel their now-redundant Coordinate subscription and contact Google support to receive a pro-rated refund.

[How to find sick populations in remote areas? Read GIS Technology Helps Eradicate Polio.]

Google Maps Coordinate was designed to help companies dispatch and manage mobile workers. The service supports three roles: dispatcher, worker, and administrator. Through an Android app, an iOS app, or a Web browser, a dispatcher can create jobs, create teams, check workers' locations and location histories, and assign jobs. Workers can view assignments, enable or disable location sharing, accept jobs or decline them, check-in for jobs, add job notes, view completed jobs, and communicate using Hangouts. Administrators can add or subtract Maps Coordinate users, update billing information, specify what job information is collected, and add Google Maps Engine layers, among other administrative tasks.

Google declined to provide data about the number of companies employing the service. The San Francisco 49ers discussed usage of the service last year. Dan Cory, director of security for the team, said in a blog post that the sports organization uses Google Maps Coordinate to handle pre-game logistics.

"When we're on the road and one of the players needs a ride back from the workout facility to the hotel, Maps Coordinate shows me which of my drivers is available and nearby to complete the transportation task," Cory said. "Moreover, it provides a visual communication tool, showing the real-time location of our security team on a Google Map."

With Maps Engine Pro, data from Google Maps Coordinate becomes potentially more useful. Users can customize maps to suit business needs, map business data alongside worker assets, and share and collaborate on maps with people inside and outside of their organization.

For organizations with enterprise mapping requirements, Google offers Maps Engine, which counterintuitively has more features than Maps Engine Pro -- despite having fewer words in its name.

Customer adoption of mobile banking -- whether they bank by smartphone, tablet, or laptop -- has increased exponentially. Join Bank Systems & Technology for a free 60-minute webinar, What's The Right Approach For Delivering Mobile Apps?, to get ideas about how banks can effectively deliver new mobile applications that will engage customers and drive growth. Webinar happens June 26.

About the Author(s)

Thomas Claburn

Editor at Large, Enterprise Mobility

Thomas Claburn has been writing about business and technology since 1996, for publications such as New Architect, PC Computing, InformationWeek, Salon, Wired, and Ziff Davis Smart Business. Before that, he worked in film and television, having earned a not particularly useful master's degree in film production. He wrote the original treatment for 3DO's Killing Time, a short story that appeared in On Spec, and the screenplay for an independent film called The Hanged Man, which he would later direct. He's the author of a science fiction novel, Reflecting Fires, and a sadly neglected blog, Lot 49. His iPhone game, Blocfall, is available through the iTunes App Store. His wife is a talented jazz singer; he does not sing, which is for the best.

Never Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.

You May Also Like


More Insights