If councils move to Google Maps does that help or hinder Ordnance Survey?
Today’s Guardian Technology looks at how a number of councils, notably including the London Borough of Brent, and even some central government organisations, are moving to use Google Maps for their consumer-facing displays of map data.
In Councils bypass Ordnance Survey for Google Maps, Heather Brooke looks at the shift, which councils are making because in the first instance, Google Maps is free and comparatively easy both to program and use:
Traditional geographical information systems provide “complex data, complex systems”, said Dane Wright, IT service manager at Brent council in north London, at the annual conference of GIS in the Public Sector earlier this month. Google Maps, by contrast, provides “complex data, simple systems”.
Wright told the conference: “What we are doing is moving to Google Maps as the primary interface for casual use by public users. This will leave the GIS system for more specialist users. The reason for doing this is to provide a better user experience – familiar interface, easy to use, integrated aerial imagery, attractive, no need for training or large manuals.”
But, you say, OS is the source for pretty much all of Google Maps data – and where it isn’t then the company that is sources that from OS.
That’s true – but it does mean that OS becomes vulnerable if Google decides that it would like to shift to someone else for its mapping data. And without knowing the precise details of the Google Maps licence with OS – does it pay per map displayed, per frame downloaded, or is it a lump sum? – one has to wonder what the effect will be.
Meanwhile, even the government’s Directgov system for finding a school in a locality uses Google Maps (although a number of other Directgov systems don’t). Other examples of Google Maps (or indeed Yahoo! Maps or Live Local Maps) being used rather than OS for customer-facing products are welcome. Seen any?
- The following posts may be related...(the database guesses):
- Ed Parsons, formerly of Ordnance Survey, now of Google (8 April 2007; score: 32.98%)
- You cannot charge for property searches, councils told, and you might have to pay some back (6 August 2009; score: 22.59%)
- Susskind steps down (19 February 2008; score: 22.5%)
- Wouldn't it be wonderful to have this data for the UK? (18 January 2009; score: 21.98%)
- Postcode charges threatens split between councils and Post Office (16 November 2006; score: 21.49%)
May 31st, 2007 at 8:46 am
We’re using Google Maps for this local government funded site in Leicestershire & Rutland – http://www.infolinx.org/ (Search for a local organisation and you should see a Google Map on their details page).
There’s still PO/OS data being used behind the scenes (don’t get me started on the NLPG…), but Google Maps is a much more attractive way to present information, even though there are some minor place naming errors in their Leicestershire coverage.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:17 am
We always need to remember that the OS, urged on by the Treasury, has spent huge amounts of time and money recruiting senior staff whose main expertise is in commercialising its data. These people have no interest in seeing the OS move back to a public service model, as their public comments demonstrate: no doubt in private they are even more defensive.
May 31st, 2007 at 3:13 pm
All local authorities are bound by the terms and conditions of the MSA until 31st March 2009. That is where we are! If the original geospatial data is OS derived, OS terms and conditions apply therefore what will be the benefit of Google Map if you cannot legimitmately add any local datasets? You would need to derive your all your feature grid co-ordinates from a non copyrighted source before you used this information directly and simply with google maps. The OS acknowledgement and specific licence number is mandatory within the map window of the google maps to copyright OS based derived data location. The API would allow you to do this? There is no control of advertising which may appear therefore breach of MSA highly possible.
June 4th, 2007 at 8:58 am
Hmmmm … is that sounding a little defensive to my niave ears??
June 4th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
Sorry, Ian, but you’ll have to specify what you think is defensive – the Free Our Data campaign, OS, local authorities?
June 5th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
Google has just added public transport information to it’s mapping, so in forward thinking countries you can click on a bus or train symbol and retrieve all the timetable information and destination information.
Here in the UK, all this data is held in the National Public Transport Data Repository by Thales on behalf of the Department of Transport….and guess what it’s Crown Copyright. No chance of anything useful happening like this being supplied to Google for all to use then!
June 7th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
I can’t see why this is pitched as being about OS data pricing? Brent have chosen to use a simple free API rather than develop a solution using the OS data they have already licensed and a paid for or free Open Source map server. This is a technology choice.
Now I’ve got some views on that too but look at them and comment at http://giscussions.blogspot.com/2007/06/will-last-gi-professional-please-switch.html
June 22nd, 2007 at 10:13 am
Central government is doing it too.
In just the health arena http://www.qof.ic.nhs.uk uses Google maps and http://www.nhs.uk uses Microsoft.
September 22nd, 2008 at 9:14 am
John Laws is correct.
“UNDER THE TERMS OF THE MSA YOU [me being a local authority] MAY NOT PUT ANY DERIVED DATA ON SITES USING THE GOOGLE MAPS API BECAUSE IT GIVES THEM IPR OVER THE DATA WHICH IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO THE ORDNANCE SURVEY”(the MSA Helpdesk)
September 23rd, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Laura,
To clarify the Google TOS does not claim any ownership or IP rights over the data you add to a google maps api site. By using the maps api you are providing Google with a license to use your information, the information remains your intellectual property.
I would be grateful if anyone who has had communications from the OS on this matter, would forward the email/letter on to me at eparsons@google.com
Thanks
ed
May 14th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
One very good reason for not using third party sites is if you invest in these and say Google messes up their own data you site can become misleading and you will have no control over it. See http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/maps/thread?tid=6c515a66e1584e5e&hl=en&fid=6c515a66e1584e5e000469b6138b2996 for current situation.
Far better to have full control over your own cartography.
What is they plaster GM with hotel adverts? you have no say.
Carl