Reconfirming its commitment to the development of (LBS) location-based services in South Africa, MapIT has launched its DevZone Portal (http://developer.mapit.co.za/), an online platform which provides developers with free access to, amongst others, deCarta’s geospatial software platform, the Drill Down Server (DDS), web and mobile APIs, MapSearch Engine and other LBS development tools.
Testament to the need for a South African-based LBS development portal, 62 companies pre-registered for access to the DevZone Portal that also offers an online forum and access to pressing FAQs – all improving and enhancing the development process. The LBS platform includes technology from world-renowned LBS provider, deCarta and data support from one of MapIT’s shareholders, TomTom Africa.
The launch of the DevZone portal followed hot on the heels of MapIT’s first DevZone Day, aimed at providing South African developers with in-depth knowledge on its new LBS offering. The DevZone Day included guests from France and Germany and comprised topics such as: Web Maps API and Going Mobile, exposing developers to the fundamentals of building LBS environments that are optimised for specific verticals, target audiences and needs – delivering maximum business returns.
Etienne Louw, managing director of MapIT, said that the launch of the DevZone portal together with the DevZone day represents his company’s commitment to providing developers with an environment that will both simplify and enrich the development of LBS-related services. He added that the portal’s usability as well as its key differentiators, such as the ability to operate behind company firewalls, would undoubtedly allow developers to develop rich, competitive LBS solutions.
The DevZone Day also included a competition for the best application developed on the day. The winner, InfoTech, built an application that attempts to find streets with the same names as listed friends. It displays a marker for each item found on the map. Friends can therefore be added and their names geocoded to specific related street names. The competition prize was valued at R30 000. The next, free DevZone Day is scheduled for October this year and will coincide with MapIT’s silver sponsorshiop of the GISSA Ukubuzana 2012 event.
Contact Carey Dodd, MapIT, Tel 012 003-0753, c.dodd@mapit.co.za