Map Business Online has just implemented more advanced account management tools for business mapping software subscribers. Our most recent release, Map Business Online 4.3, initiates our account management tools by enabling subscription management tools. This means you as a map editor, can decide who views or edits your shared maps.
Not Concurrent Yet
To be clear, the current controls do not enable full featured concurrent map editing. They do however, allow you to decide who can view and edit your shared maps. If you enable one or more map editors, they will be able to edit your maps one user at a time. In our view, full concurrent editing would allow all map editors to edit the map and data layers at the same time. Concurrent editing software would provide a coordinating process to merge all data edits. The current release is not yet full concurrent editing. Look for concurrent tools in a release in the near future.
But it is our belief that most of our current customers will be pleased to allow some shared editing of their shared maps. For instance, sales territory mapping managers will be able to share sale territory maps with their constituents. For those constituents map viewers savvy enough to understand the company territory system, and having met whatever criteria is required to assure compliance with security guidelines, editing privileges can be extended that allow them to add or subtract territories, or add records and edits to a shared sales database.
Improving Sales Performances
At a high level, the reason a company invests in sales territory management software is to make things work better in a measurable way – to improve overall and individual sales performance so that both the company and the sales force make more money. Accordingly, shared map edits will enable a more up-to-date and informed sales territory map designed to help your company do these things:
• Clearly define sales responsibilities for all sales related personnel
• Improve inside and outside sales coordination – less duplication of effort
• Differentiate between active and inactive accounts while clearly defining areas of responsibility
• Provide a regular platform for sharing and measuring progress against goals and objectives
Your Investment
Of course costs are always a primary concern. At $249.95 per user per year for a USA map, costs could escalate quickly if every sales and support person became an Map Business Online subscriber. Fortunately sharing business maps doesn’t require everyone in the company to pay for a subscription.
One of the critical steps in setting up shared map editing is determining exactly who requires a full subscription. In order to edit shared maps, a shared map editor will need to be an annual subscriber to Map Business Online. But you can still share maps for viewing-only with anyone and those map viewers are not required to subscribe. (Subscribers can share up to 100 MapShare sessions per month at no charge.) So, as you consider your territory management team, think through the work-flow and decide who requires map editing capabilities. And remember, most of the people you think will edit the map probably won’t. Despite all your good intentions or your company’s heavy handed policies, most people just don’t love editing maps. Choose carefully. Provide subscription services to those employees you know are fully engaged or require editing tools to do their jobs.
Remember, MapShare viewing only audiences can still use the free maps for these purposes:
• To conduct radius or polygon queries of shared data points and export the result
• Click on color coded points to read about the shared data
• To view shared maps – with the ability to pan and zoom all over the world
• Save map image files as Jpeg or PNG files, or to print the map on 8-1/2 x 11 pages
• Create multi-stop optimized driving routes – Route planning software
That’s a pretty good value for no cost. Free map viewers simply click on the link to view the shared maps. No logging-in required.
Free viewers and designated map editors may be required to key in a password because the recent Map Business Online release allows map subscribers to password protect their shared maps. This means you can securely share your territory maps with designated constituent map viewers and editors.
With the 4.3 release Map Business Online has extended its reputation as the most appropriate replacement for BusinessMap and the best MapPoint alternative. Our growing list of loyal users has watched us add features based on their requests for four years now. And we’re just getting started. Users should look forward to even more capabilities in 2015.
More NEW!
In addition to user account controls, and MapShare security other new features released with Map Business Online 4.3 include:
• A map template folder to preserve a prepared map for regular editing
• Over a dozen new Census demographic categories
• School district boundary map layers
• An independent USPS postal layer with all zip codes
So if you’re new to this blog or new to MapBusinessOnline.com and you’re looking for business data visualization tools, territory mapping software, multi-stop optimized routing, retail mapping or market analysis tools you’ve landed on the right place.
Let a digital map help you learn about your business>
Contact: Geoffrey Ives geoffives@spatialteq.com (800) 425-9035, (207) 939-6866
MapPoint users – please consider www.MapBusinessOnline.com as your MapPoint Replacement.
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