Telmap navigates the road to mobile success

Satnav software maker Telmap is a company that clearly knows which direction it’s going in. The privately held white label mapping and navigation firm has recently been undergoing a strategy shift, transforming itself from a subscription company into one offering LBS (location-based services) to operators like the Orange FT Group, Vodafone, Vodacom, SFR, O2, Telefonica, AOL, Pelephone, Carphone Warehouse and more.
LBS is hot stuff, lately and it would appear that many a firm wants in on the action, but Telmap is doing its utmost to fend off the likes of Google and Nokia who it says are trying to divert end-users’ attention and share of wallet from the operators to themselves.
At least this is Telmap’s pitch to operators, who seem to be biting. Indeed, Telmap can can even boast a 46% market share when it comes to the mobile LBS pie in EMEA, testament to the firm’s solid reputation.
What Telmap says it offers is not only a location platform with a set of APIs to support its customers, but also a “personalized location companion” with its latest Telmap5 offerings which comes with a Telmap Active Interface, Telmap Active Search and host of Telmap Active Widgets.
The firm is also hoping its change in strategy will help it go from around 1.5 million clients to around 15 million, but apparently has no plans for going public just yet. There have been rumors of acquisition talks with Yahoo, but Telmap remains tight lipped on the issue, leaving the speculators to do just that; speculate.
What is abundantly clear, however, is how focused the firm is on R&D, spending some 80% of its revenues in the development of new products.
Check out RCR’s interview with Telmap’s Chief Marketing Officer Moti Kushnir below