The Best Navigation App: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

Nowadays smartphones have become the primary tool for navigating and searching the web. The online mapping services sector has been intensely competitive with unexpected monetization methods. Google is the strong market leader, but Apple is increasingly clipping their heels.

The Market Leader But Not The Pioneer 

MapQuest was a household name in 2000, soon after being purchased by AOL. It was a verb, people were “MapQuesting” instructions and a travel guide to their destination was printed to better assist. Launched in 2005 and 2008, Google Maps, the current industry leader, proceeded to rapidly replace MapQuest as the number one web mapping tool. In order to replace the Google Maps app on all iOS smartphones, Apple Maps released in 2012 with iOS 6 and is now Siri’s native built-in navigation with activated visual assistance. 

Newest Features

A variety of new features have been introduced by Google, continually upping the ante of current functional mapping technology and seeking ways to combine their large division of Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality. Walking instructions combined with virtual reality are among the most inspired new Google Maps features now being carried out. Google Maps compares the view from your camera to Google Street View when you keep your phone open, then directs you in your chosen direction. While this feature has been confirmed as in the works, it has yet to confirm its launch date. 

Conversely, the newest update announcement from Apple Maps is a beta of maps embedded in your browser. Apple eventually catches up to the baseline functionality, at least with touch screen accessibility, including pinching to zoom, flipping the direction of the globe with two fingers, and the option to display the map in the street view or satellite mode, one of the earliest features available from Google Maps. 

Apple has built in a few fun gimmicks, such as Big Ben showing the current time in Flyover mode, which might provide a fun glimpse into how immersive these mapping characteristics could get over the next little bit. A ground-breaking implementation, introduced in 2007 around several cities in the USA, Google Street View has since extended to cover cities and rural areas worldwide. The Traffic Prediction function is perhaps one of Google’s best implementations: using the cellular data of drivers, it can forecast the flow of traffic based on the number of signals and how fast they travel in a location. 

Who Wins? 

Although Apple has been creeping up on the web mapping industry’s stronghold of Google Maps, they are still only sitting at around 25 percent of the market share of smartphones, although Google is at a solid 50 percent. Ultimately, Google Maps has become a household name and plans to remain that way for the first to market style of delivery for the Mobile boom. Over the past 4 years, Apple Maps have significantly expanded their market share, mainly related to the popularity of the iPhone, but Apple Maps have a long way to go before they lead the way through creativity, and not just holding on to Google Maps’ coattails. 

If you are interested in learning more, contact us today!

Top IT Support Tips for Small Businesses

It’s no surprise that the small business market has grown exponentially, especially this year, with people trying to think of alternate ways to make money.

With all the rapid changes in technology, and new demographics there has been new client and customer behaviours. Starting with social media platforms becoming more accessible, making it easier to build a professional reputation. 

Building a professional reputation for your business is more important than ever, because it provides your consumers a good impression on your business.

In order for small businesses to be competitive, you must increase both the internal and external communications. As well as grasp the big data and analytics to predict your customers’ needs. ISU Corp can assist you in taking advantage of the Cloud to achieve these things and to grow your engagement.

With our team’s expertise, you have the ability to:

Engage Clients

ISU Corp provides cost effective IT and Software solutions that will enable your organization to engage with your clients in a unique way. Much like ecommerce and transactions. We will also provide efficient, and always available support.

Empower Employees

We understand that employees need to be able to do their jobs from anywhere. At ISU Corp we will strive to do just that, utilizing the right technology to make it easier for your employees to connect and collaborate.

Turn data into business insights

We use data-driven decision-making, which is a smart business practice. ISU Corp encourages you to utilize the right business analytics tools to make your data an actionable insight, which will help you make the right decisions.

Reduce IT costs

At ISU Corp, we will use a strategic approach to personalize the IT and software infrastructure, which will help reduce your IT costs significantly. ISU Corp’s solutions are based for small businesses which are usage based, making them cost-effective. An example: you pay per license, or pay per user, so you only ever pay for the infrastructure you need and will actually use.

We will build solutions for your pain points!

We hope this expertise will help support your small business. If you have any further questions reach out to one of our experts at ISU!

What’s Better? - Comparing SaaS Apps vs Desktop Apps

You have probably seen or heard of the acronym 'SaaS' which stands for ‘Software as a Service’ and has become quite a popular term nowadays. It is often known by most individuals as cloud-based computing, and the premise is that a user saves their data on a server application rather than on their own device directly. Users usually need to log into a website where the software is located. Instead of running and installing each of the programs on the computer units being used in the company, centralized computing is such that an entire company and possibly thousands of its employees can "rent" online software.

SaaS generally comes at a rate, either monthly or annually, and covers hosting, maintenance, development, and support costs. To reduce recurring monthly payments, you can opt to create your own SaaS programs. Know that the technologies behind them are different if you decide whether to use conventional desktop apps or SaaS apps, and organizations should weigh the pros and cons of choosing one over the other.

Desktop apps need to be installed on computers, while any user can access SaaS apps as long as it has a browser. There is no need for installation since all you need is to log in to use the specific application. But if you are not mobile, or if you are constantly on the go and do not always have a secure Internet connection, this may be beneficial. You can also easily access it for desktop applications, as there is no need to log in before using the program.

Product upgrades and updates are not mandatory for SaaS apps, because users can expect the latest version of the product to be what they are using. This can however, also prove to be a drawback if for familiarity or other reasons, the user chooses to use the old version, and this option is not available to those using SaaS. Compared to desktop applications, it is also easier to know how a specific software is used if it is a SaaS application. To get details about it, one will need to perform a survey, and you may check analytics and data for the former to see exactly what pages are accessed. In addition, as opposed to desktop apps, SaaS apps are easier to defend against piracy.

Meanwhile, desktop apps are more sensitive compared to SaaS apps, given the fact that users do not have to move through a remote server while accessing an application. For example, printing a document using a desktop app is faster compared to printing using a SaaS application. As you only need limited space for a desktop app and zero server fees, hosting costs are also lower. Due to the vast amount of bandwidth it takes, the costs for a web app may be high. More significantly, desktop applications are favoured by those that have privacy concerns as there is no third party involved.

Now that you know a bit more about how to build different desktop applications, you can have a better idea of what’s going to be perfect for your business. ISU Corp can create your very own desktop application, just reach out and we will get back to you shortly.